Summary: AU-She was kind and too forgiving. Everyone picked on her, beat her. She never seemed to hear them, but it was a heavy burden. What happens when she meets Syaoran, a seemingly ordinary bully? Will she forget the past, and move on? S/S
AU: Hi, everyone. I know I haven't updated in probably what seems like an eternity. Life's been passing so quickly, I hardly know where the time goes. I guess it's been a combination of things, school, work (of sorts), other miscellaneous activities like reading and catching up to my muse. I would be lying (after all, "omission is betrayal", -little black book) if I said I was working this entire time. I worked a lot, but not always. I read Twilight and New Moon by Stephanie Meyer, I wrote a bit of a sequel to Untitled Memories but decided against writing the rest, and surprisingly, got caught up thinking about another fanfic idea. I'm such a hypocrite. I hate it when author's do that, but at least I didn't post it to tempt you right? It was about vampires, after I read Twilight, I got inspired. But that's no excuse, so I hope I can make this chapter enjoyable. I was also afraid that my writing style had changed within the few months of non-updating and that the characters would become different. So here goes…
On another note, the first time Sakura called Syaoran's name, she was actually supposed to say "Li-kun" but I guess I slipped up and had her yell "Syaoran", just to clarify that. I also don't think I ever had Sakura call Touya "onii-chan" (or however you spell it) before, so she'll just call him Touya still.
"talking"
'thinking'
written/typed
flashback
Crystal Droplets
By Dream4luv
Chapter 15-Date
Sakura yawned as her sleep misted eyes opened. Her mind automatically expected to adjust her eyes to the sunlight, but none came. She glanced at the clock. 6:00 AM. She shivered and drew the covers tighter to her body (and then blushed in embarrassment to realize that she had stolen almost the entire blanket, leaving Syaoran with a corner). She wanted to go to sleep, but it was already beginning to get lighter outside.
She sat up slowly and leaned her back against the headboard, drawing her knees up to her chest, making sure not to wake her partner. It must have been quite a hassle for him to take care of such a baby. She shook her head at the silly notion. It seemed quite stupid now that she had been so scared with the lightening room.
'I must have been such a bother,' but her lips turned upward slightly into a smile despite herself.
She untangled herself from her blankets and shivered slightly as the exposed skin not covered by her pajamas made contact with the cold morning air. Sakura kept the heat at the minimal level for survival, meaning the heater was off by this time of day. She draped the blanket over Syaoran's form.
She smiled widely as she made her way over to watch the beautiful light of dawn that filtered through the translucent curtains. She lightly pulled the curtains away from the window and stared outside. This was probably one of the rare occasions she'd seen this time of day, considering that she never woke early enough to watch the sky without some semblance of sunlight. It was still dark outside, but at the same time, there was no sun. It was a moment that was shrouded in a combination between magic of the night and the certainty of the day. Blue hour is what she remembered her mother had once told her it was called when she was little.
"Pretty isn't it?"
She looked around, slightly surprised to see Syaoran sit up as he pulled the blanket closer to his body. But she didn't feel compelled to say more. The twilight was beginning to draw her into a trance. She smiled and nodded, looking out the window to the empty street again.
"It's so peaceful." She murmured softly, more to herself than company. Sakura pressed her fingertips against the window's glass. "I never really see this time of day. It's like being somewhere else."
Syaoran nodded, already knowing that Sakura could not see him. He shivered. If he was cold, Sakura was probably freezing.
The springs under him squeaked as he got out of bed and walked over to the girl, pulling the blanket over her small form. She turned her bed slightly and looked at him with emerald eyes, "Thank you, but you don't have to do that. You must be cold. I'll go turn on the heater…"
"It's really okay."
"Here," she shrugged out of the blanket, preparing to hand it to him. "I'll go get mine from my room."
"That's okay. I'll get it." He left swiftly and returned with her comforter around his shoulders. "See? All warm."
She nodded. The two of them stared out at the barren street until sunrise, completely mesmerized, until the magic was broken by the nearly risen sun and the piercing shriek of the phone going off.
Sakura jumped at the noise and pulled the blankets to her body as she ran to grab the receiver. "Hello?"
"Sakura? Did you call last night? We were moved to the shelter."
"I thought it was the Motel?"
"Yeah, it was, but it was crowded with people passing through Tomoeda that got caught in the storm…"
"You had to sleep on the floor? Were you warm enough?"
Sakura heard Touya chuckle a little. "I'm fine. I was more worried about you. I know you hate thunderstorms…especially when you're by yourself."
Sakura's tone brightened a little, "I wasn't alone. Kero-chan was here, and my classmate Syaoran-kun slept over since he couldn't get home."
"He?" Touya's voice turned stiff over the phone. "A boy's there with you? He didn't try anything did he?"
Sakura frowned a little, "No, Touya. He didn't try anything." She looked at Syaoran who was currently still standing awkwardly next to the window looking confused.
"Good. Well, anyways, I have to go now. Tell him your OLDER BROTHER said no funny business."
Sakura looked downright annoyed now, a face Syaoran had never seen happy-go-lucky Sakura Kinomoto pull before.
He realized at that moment how little he really knew her. Sure, he knew ABOUT her, about her life…but he didn't exactly know HER. He didn't know the girl, the person that lived that life. He felt his heart tighten, suddenly wishing that he did. He thought he knew her, about what she went through; he had ASSUMED he knew…he thought he knew because he knew her story, which was stupid, jumping to conclusions never got mortals anywhere, as he had learned from The Phantom Tollbooth in fifth grade. He understood now that he had barely grazed the skin of her character. She was a mystery and his chest filled with unease at the fact that he had made such incorrect, not to mention, immature assumptions.
"Bye, Touya." The girl clicked the phone off.
"Had a squabble with someone?"
"Sometimes Touya really annoys me. I know he's always there for me and he's willing to help me…but he's so overprotective sometimes." The girl pursed her lips for a second before dropping it and returning to her normal smile again. "Sorry. That must have been very awkward for you to watch, Syaoran-kun."
"No, I know what it's like. I have four overbearing older sisters that coo over me like I'm a baby."
Sakura giggled.
Syaoran was about to make a comment when the phone started shrieking again.
Sakura rolled her eyes, this time with a look of good humor on her face. "Touya must've forgotten to tell me something." She clicked the 'talk' button on the receiver, "Touya, don't worr—"
She paused and than blushed. Syaoran wondered if Touya had something that would cause her to flush like that.
"I'm really sorry, Hiroshi. I thought you were my brother." She laughed lightly into the phone.
'Who? Hiroshi? Does he go to our school?' Syaoran wondered at the unfamiliarity of the name.
"Um, breakfast? Oh, I don't know about that. I don't have any money right now." The girl continued blushing.
Syaoran heard a distant murmuring on the phone.
"Well, no, I would never ask you to feel so obligated as to pay for me!"
'Is he her boyfriend?'
"Actually, I have company over right now…oh, no! Nothing like that. I guess I could make it there, it's down the street from my house…I can bring my friend? Are you sure? I don't think he has any money either…Oh, no, I couldn't ask you to pay for BOTH of us…Well…I guess, okay. I'll see in half an hour? Okay. Bye." The girl's face was flushed with a healthy pink glow as she pushed the receiver into the cradle. Her hands went to cup her face as if her cold fingers would allow the red to fade.
"Who was that?"
"It was Hiroshi Tokuzen. I met him a few days ago at the bakery…He asked me to join him for breakfast. Gosh…You don't mind do you? He said you could come with me. Would you like to? I mean, it was completely rude of me to just tell him I'd drag you along…" Sakura looked away.
"Yeah, sure, that's fine. I think I still have a few dollars in my wallet." Syaoran managed a smile.
What the heck WAS this? A date? Was she having a date with this guy…if so, wouldn't it be wrong to intrude on their private time? This Hiroshi guy was even planning on paying for "her friend"? Wouldn't that be wrong?
Syaoran pushed away the questions and walked downstairs, as Sakura went to her room to change.
Sakura face brightened as she entered the café and saw Hiroshi sitting at a table in the corner. She waved excitedly and headed towards the other boy. Syaoran looked around uncomfortably but followed nonetheless.
Sakura looked at the table a little confused. It was tiny, and it was next to the window. There was only one chair across from him. "Um, I'll go get another chair. Syaoran-kun, why don't you go ahead and sit down?"
"Sure." He seated himself across the other boy and eyed him dubiously. He looked a little too nice. The boy was pale and his eyes were light red, while his raven hair draped around his face in uneven wisps. Syaoran wondered idly if this boy was an overprotected albino freak child. "You must be Tokuzen Hiroshi." Syaoran extended his hand.
"So you've heard of me?" Hiroshi laughed lightly and took Syaoran's hand, shaking it. "I'm afraid I've never heard of you though…"
"Li Syaoran." Syaoran inclined his head slightly. "Actually, today was the first time I've heard your name."
"Sakura sure is a wonderful girl." The boy smiled more to himself than Syaoran, "I was surprised when she gave me her phone number. I was expecting her to tell me and say that she was already seeing someone."
Syaoran chuckled a bit at that. "I was surprised she was seeing you."
"She doesn't date much?" Hiroshi glanced at Sakura on the other side of the room fumbling with a chair on the other side of the room.
"I don't know. I've only known her for a little while. Maybe two weeks…not even, probably, but she doesn't really seem like that type of person." Syaoran shrugged as he watched Sakura lugging the huge chair past other tables. He stood up at the same time as Hiroshi, meaning to help the girl with the obstacle. "Oh, uh. Go ahead."
His amber eyes followed Hiroshi as he made his way past the influx of customers to help Sakura. He watched as the girl smiled gratefully. The two were laughing at something Hiroshi had said when he placed the chair at the empty side of the table.
"Oh, um, I live in the neighborhood. Yeah, I'm by myself most of the time. Both my dad and my brother are gone most of the time." Sakura smiled.
Syaoran noticed that Sakura had left out the part about her father being in the hospital, and the part about her mom.
"What about you, Hiroshi?"
Syaoran also noticed, to his disgust, that Sakura felt so at ease that she didn't use the suffix "-kun" when addressing him.
"Well, I come from a pretty well off family. My parents get me whatever I want, usually, and they give me a lot of freedom to do and go as I please. They're both usually working."
"Oh, where do they work?" Sakura inquired.
"Actually, they both work at the same place. Most of the time they're in China. My mom's an employee for Li Corporations and my dad is on the board of directors, working as the treasurer."
"Oh wow. That's amazing! You must be so proud of them!"
"What does your dad do?"
"Oh, he's an archaeologist. He used to teach at the university too." Sakura smiled, taking a sip of her hot cocoa. As if noticing Syaoran there for the first time since the conversation had started, Sakura turned to him, "What about you, Syaoran-kun? What do your parents do?"
"Uh," Syaoran was reminded of his father, "My dad used to own Li Corporations but now my mom's running things. I think she's the first female CEO they've ever had. I guess the corporation has been in the family for a while…"
"WOW! Your mom and Hiroshi's parents work together? This is such a small world! You guys will probably be such good friends!"
"Maybe." Hiroshi laughed at Sakura's ability to see the best in situations. "What do you say, Syaoran?"
The boy shifted uncomfortably under both of their gazes. No, he didn't want to be friends with him; he didn't know him. He had hardly even participated in this conversation and Hiroshi hardly seemed to care. But Sakura looked like she really wanted them to like each other. "Yeah, sure. That'd be pretty cool…"
Sakura suddenly stood up from her chair, nearly tipping it over. "Oh, no! Have I really been here that long? Touya's going to KILL me!"
Hiroshi smiled politely, "That's okay. You two go ahead. I think I'm going to stay a while longer."
"Well, really, thank you for paying for me, Hiroshi. This is so embarrassing, after you paid for me the last time t—"
Hiroshi laughed and waved, "I don't mind doing it if it's for you, Sakura. I would've paid for you too, if you'd ordered something." Hiroshi's gaze drifted to Syaoran.
"I wasn't hungry." Syaoran shrugged. Even if he was hungry before, he'd certainly lost his appetite after meeting Tokuzen Hiroshi, probably the most perfect of the perfect members of the opposite sex he'd ever met…
"Bye, Hiroshi. I hope we can get together again sometime."
"As do I, Sakura." Hiroshi stepped forward and embraced Sakura in a friendly hug, leaving her surprised and blushing when he stepped backward. "Bye."
The walk home had been quiet. A small stream of water flowed steadily down the sidewalk, lapping gently at the heels of Sakura's sandals. Sakura's hands were clutched tightly together in front of her.
"Syaoran-kun?"
"Hmm?"
"Please don't tell anyone about this…"
"Why?" He stopped and looked at her.
Sakura stopped as well and turned around to face him, her long sky blue skirt puffing out slightly as the force blew the fabric around. "He's the first boy I've ever been with. I'm just scared that if people know…if Tomoyo-chan knows, she'll get too excited about it. And then she would make me so nervous, planning what I should do…maybe filming something…I don't really know. I'm just afraid that if she does that, gets my expectations too high, tell me to move faster than I can…I'll end up messing something up."
"I'm sure you won't screw things up. He seems pretty smitten with you."
"You really think so?" Sakura looked up gratefully as she leaned against a metal fence, her fingers wrapping around the wires. "That's good. Because…I like him. I mean, I really do; I've never felt this way for anyone before. I was starting to think that I was bothering him…I seem to do that a lot, bothering people, I mean…"
"No you don't." Syaoran sighed, trying to grasp onto any evidence he had that proved her statement false, but he couldn't seem to as her previous words rang around in his skull.
Sakura looked at him, her striking emerald eyes reading into his amber ones, as if delving into his soul to see the truth, as if she were unsure. Unsure if he had meant what he said. She took a breath and covered her face with both her hands, allowing the fence to cushion her weight. She removed her fingers and a smile replaced the doubtful expression she had before.
"You're right." The bounce returned to her step as she left the fence and continued walking.
Syaoran stared after her, surprised she had gotten over her doubt so quickly. He walked a bit faster until his pace matched hers.
"Sakura, can I ask you something?" he asked tentatively.
"What is it?" she looked up at him, curious.
"I was wondering…why didn't you mention your father's illness to Hiroshi? Or your mother…?"
Syaoran half expected Sakura to ignore his question or become sad…All she did was smile at him.
"I don't think Hiroshi would want to know that right now. I don't want him to know that there's such an awful part of my life. He would feel sorry for me…I don't think I want to hear 'I'm sorry, I didn't know' anymore. And I KNOW I don't want another casserole if he finds out my mom died." She giggled at her own implications.
"How can you be like that?" Syaoran asked, exasperated. "I know you don't think what's happening is funny."
"I don't know. I guess it's okay, you know, to be sad sometimes because your dad's ill or that your mom died, but I don't think they would want me to always be unhappy when I think or mention them. I don't want to be unhappy because of that. I realize there are those days when everything just goes wrong. You ask 'What did I do to deserve this?', but I have no doubt that when my mom died, she went to a better place, and if someone else dies, they will end up in that better place, too. I'm just mourning for myself and what I've lost, what I no longer have. And I do that because I'm human, and I'm selfish. But most of the time, I recognize the fact that my parents would like me to move forward and find happiness, or at least pursue it."
"Wow…"
Sakura looked away shyly, "Sorry, was I rambling?" When she didn't hear an answer she peeked at Syaoran's face, which was more contemplative than annoyed. "Um, Syaoran-kun, can I also ask you a question?"
"Go ahead."
"I was just wondering, that, um…in the café, you mentioned that your…dad, he was the head of the corporation right? You said that your mother had taken over for him…Where did he go?"
She noticed that Syaoran visibly stiffened. "He died, in a car accident. A drunk driver hit him. You'd expected the impact to kill him right away, but he actually suffered…his body was broken and there was nothing they could do but give him pain killers, and that didn't even help too much. My family just sat around waiting until he died. Twelve hours…And you know, it's stupid, but it's like when you're a kid, you always think that your parents are invincible, and then shit like that happens and it's like a reality check."
His voice was bitter.
Sakura nodded, and she gave him a sympathetic look. "I feel awful for bringing it up."
"Are you apologizing too?" There was some tension in the air and there was a long pause, the only sound to be heard were their footsteps clapping against the sodden ground.
Sakura looked away and shook her head slightly, "Only if you want me to."
"No, I'm sick of hearing apologies too. My dad knew all these huge business heads and everyone in his company too…they always came by and gave us this look. That look like they pitied my family, pitied my mother for being left as a widow to take care of five children…and under all those looks they gave us was the real question, not 'Are you okay?' or 'Do you need me to take care of something?'…the real question was 'Who are you appointing as the new CEO to the company?'" Syaoran laughed a hollow sound and looked away from Sakura. He was disgusted by humanity.
"That's why your mother appointed herself and took over the business?"
"Yes."
Syaoran felt his arm being tugged away from his side as he felt Sakura's arm hook around his. She leaned closer and rested her head on his shoulder. He was grateful, as he had found before, for her presence. The two walked the rest of the way like that.
She looked up again at him and a soft smile graced her face, "Syaoran-kun, I'm really glad we're friends now."
"Yeah."
AU: Well, there's chapter 15, I guess. How was it? Please tell me! I hope the characters didn't change too much…I seemed to have forgotten how they were before. Was it too intimate at the end? Is that what friends would do? I thought it would be more appropriate for them to loop arms since that doesn't imply as much as holding hands…Again, sorry for the late update. I hope I have made this worth your while! Please don't butcher me for not making them wake up spooning or something. I didn't want to make it too cliché.