Can you guys believe it's been almost a month since I last updated? Time's really been unkind to me lately.
School's started up again. Which means no more late nights of me typing away in the dark while the rest of the household sleeps =/
That's one reason why I haven't updated, the second being that this chapter's so short. But I don't know. It just sounds better if I leave off here.

My room's a mess. My books are scattered all over my room, and there's a bookshelf blocking my closet -.-
We're in the process of making built-in shelves that are like four feet wide (which means a whole lot more shelf space), though we're going on the third week of it being "in-the-process".
Pretty sure I'm just starting to believe that means "is-never-going-to-be-finished".

So yeah. I also can't believe that we're up to seven chapters already, but according to fanfic we really are.
Hope you guys like this one, even though it's obnoxiously tiny.

Sakura sat perched in a computer chair, swiveling herself back and forth in it as she typed away. The girls were gathered in Tomoyo's bedroom, chatting as they waited for Tomoyo'smaid to arrive with all of their junk food. The hostess's mother was out of town for the weekend for some big business meeting, so they had the house to themselves. Sakura leaned back on her perch and smiled as she listened to Rika speak of her date.

"After the movie, we went to that really expensive french restaurant. You know, that one on the corner of 45th street?" The girls nodded in unison. Rikablushed pink at the memory, winding a curl around her finger from her place on her friend's bed. She sat neatly withher feet tucked beneath her and seemed a bit stiff, contrasting against how relaxed the other girls were. Tomoyowas dancing about the room, enjoying the way her designer nightgown swayed with each movement; Naoko was lying on the floor, spread out on her stomach while her head rested in her hands and her legs scissored in the air behind her; Chiharu was bouncing from her place on the floor beside Naoko, her blonde pigtails now pleated into buns; and Sakura was in the computer chair, twirling herself in place. "Well over dinner he was so sweet, he held my hand the whole time. And he kept mentioning the ring-" she stopped, examining her left hand. The ring he'd given her all those years ago still shown just as brightly as when she'd first seen it.

Her companions exchanged knowing looks, letting out encouragements for her to continue. Rika sighed wistfully. "Yoshi-sama's always been like that. I'm sure that he doesn't want me to feel rushed, though he's always made sure that I know what he hopes for us. I think he's worried that I'll feel like he isn't interested in me anymore. But after all these years ..." she shook her head and her cheeks flushed again. "We've only grown more attached to each other as time's passed."

"Anyway, there was this time during dinner. He squeezed my hand slightly and our eyes met. I could have sworn that the wind got knocked out of me from the intensity of it. And then he spoke very seriously and straight to the point, something he never does. He said something like 'I hope you know that whenever you want it to happen, I'll make the arrangements for the wedding.' Though he said it so much more-" she paused, looking for the word. Finally, she settled on sounding cliche. "Romantic." Tomoyo and Chiharu let out a collected sigh while Naoko rolled her eyes. Sakura merely continued to type away on her cousin's laptop as she listened, a grin tugging at the corners of her lips.

There was a knock on the door. Tomoyo danced over to it and held her arms out to assist the elderly woman as Rika added softly, "And that was it." The elderly woman and the lovely heiress covered the long coffee table with all sorts of unhealthy snacks, from chocolate covered strawberries to every dip that you could think of.

"Hey Sakura, aren't you going to grab a seat over here?" Naoko called from her spot on the floor as Tomoyo passed her and Chiharu a bowl of popcorn to share.

Tomoyo shook her head and laughed. "Nope. This is all part of Sakura-chan's plot. She hopes that if she's far enough away from it all, she'll be able to ignore the scary movies."

Sakuragave a sheepish smile, affirming what her cousin had put together. "I'll come and sit withyou guys during the mellow parts, but I know that they always start off the movies withsomeone getting attacked. So yeah." She shuddered then relaxed back into the chair, as she seemed to read over something. The girls just nodded, seeing that it was no use to argue with their light-hearted friend.

Chiharu bounced up then skipped over to the blueray player, giving a high-pitched squeak once the movie was set up. The other viewers made similar sounds of anxiousness and Sakura got the hint; she pressed her ear buds into her ears, then pressed the 'play' button on her pink iPod. Once the music was loud enough to block out all sounds emitted from the large television, she relaxed again and went back to her reading.

Dreams are a very curious subject. They are made up of subconscious thoughts and can often come off as being quite bizzar if the dreamer is unable to understand the meaning to them. Some are of dreams and aspirations, while others can act as reminders. Because the average human can think of multiple things at once, the dreamer may experience more than one dream in a single night. Dreams can also repeat themselves or continue where they left off if the subject of them is important to the dreamer.

Nightmares often show the dreamer fears, though it has been studied and proven that the brain will often block out images that the dreamer would be unable to recover from. Therefore, nightmares may not always show the dreamer their worst fears. Or if they do, the dreamer will most-likely not be able to recall the subject of such dreams when they've become conscious once more. Some nightmares have been known to cause the dreamer to wake abruptly, or even cry while still asleep. Cases of sleepwalking have occurred as well if the nightmares cause the dreamer to become restless or receive small amounts of rest.

Remember, dreams are just mental projections of thoughts that the mind goes over while one's body is at rest. A person dreams each night; when they believe they haven't, they've merely forgotten the dream(s).

Sakurafrowned at the web page, re-reading it as if she expected the words on it to change. She'd read many articles like this one, each containing almost identical material, and wasn't pleased with what she'd found. She come to two conclusions: either she'd merely forgotten the dream from the previous evening, or it had been too awful for her to bare and her brain had been merciful, blocking it out. To her uneasiness, she believed more in the latter scenario. Her brother had found her screaming her lungs out, after all. She was pretty sure that wasn't exactly what a person would consider normal.

Touya had told her to listen to her 'feelings', though she was sure that they were hinting at something bad. And she was afraid of it. Suddenly, watching a few scary movies with her friends didn't seem so bad.

What's wrong with me? Meiling Rae questioned herself as she stared down at her freshly painted nails. After the guys had finished up their soccer practice and Sorahad blown her off, she'd tried to talk to the new student once again. Though he'd been preoccupied, answering her questions of small talk with one or two words and then had rushed off to the boys' locker room. Feeling put out, she'd ended up taking up Miki on her offer. Shina and Haru had tagged along as they always did, and were currently seated on either side of the ebony-haired girl as they each got their toes done as well. Miki was to Haru's left, the two were talking quite adamantly about the upcoming game that was taking place the following week, Shina was leafing through a magazine, while Meiling was lost in her own thoughts. The shade she'd picked, Chick Flick Cherry, contrasted against her fair skin and complimented the color of her eyes, though she didn't seem to notice.

Whenever I show the slightest amount of interest in a guy, they suddenly become enthralledwith Kinomoto. What does she have that I don't? The girl's dark brows came together, the shape of a frown taking hold of her lovely features. Nothing. She has nothing that I don't.Pinching the bridge of her thin nose, she let out a long sigh and shook herself. There was no way in hell that she was going to envy that little parasite. That was just unacceptable. As well as humiliating. Meiling's crimson eyes narrowed, cursing the tiny cheerleader's very existence. Though she was pulled from her thoughts when she heard her phone go off.

Where R U? I need 2 C U.

When had humans become unable to write out two and three letter words? Weren't cell phones nowadays being made with full keyboards? Still, her heart gave a flutter when she looked at who'd sent the message. He never was one to care for spelling, much less take notice of how much it irritated her when he didn't type out full sentences. While she wasn't some crazy super nerd, she still preferred using proper english with a bit of slang peppered into it all. It had been a trait she'd picked up from an old friend; even when they'd had to push a single button three or more times to get the letter they wanted, they'd never succumbed to becoming too lazy to type out what they actually meant.

She sighed again, recalling the way he'd treated her during their last encounter. Gritting her teeth, she tossed her phone back in her purse, not responding. After a few minutes passed, her phone buzzed again with another text. When she ignored that one too, he called her. His tone chimed out over and over again, though she refused to answer it.

Shina lowered her magazine to her lap, raising a brow to her. "Aren't you going to get that?" her tone was flat, thick with boredom, though her face belayed irritation. The others became quiet as well, listening in on the conversation. Meiling just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"It's just Hojo. He's being immature and perverted." she said, her voice never betraying the lie. "You'd think he'd eventually grow up." The girls snickered at her remark, then they began talking to her about going shopping after they'd finished up the salon. Needing a distraction, the popular girl was quick to agree to the trip to the mall. She just hoped he wouldn't be too upset with her when she eventually did choose to talk to him.

Syaoran sighed as he pulled the new house key from the pocket of his soaked through hooded sweatshirt. He'd had a long day, was exhausted from it, and was just happy for the chance to rest his mind and aching limbs. Making the soccer team on his first day was a feat in itself. Though he hadn't just made it. He'd managed to best that strangely unsettling person and had gotten the position of captain. Not that he'd wanted it. Even now, he still couldn't muster up the excitement he knew was expected of him from earning the position.

And then there had been that peculiar, vibrant girl. She'd been so full of energy, alive and bright and kind to a fault. Her emerald gaze had left him breathless and immobile. She'd been ... odd. Though he hadn't ever had much experience with girls his age, even he had been able to take notice of her being a bit different. Though he'd also gathered that her friends and teachers excepted her for being strange.

The blondeteenager he'd dealt withearlier resurfaced in his mind at that moment, the image of him embracing the girl monopolizing his thoughts. For some reason, the idea of it sat ill withhim - the two of them being together the way his new-found rival's actions had implied. He couldn't explain why meeting the blonde's gaze had caused his arms and neck to prick with goose-flesh. Nor could he explain why the atmosphere suddenly felt so foreboding whenever the blonde teen showed up near him.

He twisted the knob then and the door creaked open. He was met with blackness. Of course no one's home. No one ever is. He frowned at the thought, flicking on lights as he made his way to the kitchen to find something to eat. On the dark, marbled surface of the countertop he found a note.

Xiao Lang,

Wei made you dinner. I went shopping with Feimei and her friends for her dress. We'll probably be out late and will most-likely eat out so don't bother waiting up. The twins went to see that movie they've been talking about and Shiefa said something about the Aquarium. Make sure to do your homework.

Typical. His mother was busy planning her eldest daughter's wedding and had been so wrapped up into it that she'd had her younger children unpack the house full of boxes. The moment they'd arrived, she'd bolted for the door and had taken off in her sleek new town car. Syaoran figured it was only a matter of time before she just decided to not come home and bunk it out at the bride's temporary apartment. After they'd finished unpacking, his other sisters had refused to stay in the house. Though they despised being uprooted into this small town, they seemed to hate their new 'home' even more so.

At first, their new butler Wei had stayed with Syaoran. He'd tried to keep him company in the large and echoing house, though the young man's quiet demeanor had been hard for the elder man to understand. And so, he too, had ended up leaving Syaoran alone in the empty space.

He sighed as he slid into a cushioned chair with his warmed-up dinner. Spearing a piece of chicken, he muttered to himself. "If the old man could only see us now . . ."

So I'm titling this song after Amanda Seyfried's "Little House" because I love her singing in Mama Mia and her character in Dear John went against being chiche. I ended up balling my eyes out while watching it in the theatre, but for an entirely different reason. I believe they played "Little House" in the credits, though I haven't watched the whole thing since it was playing at the local cinema, so I can't be sure.

While writing the last part of the chapter, I decided it fit Syaoran's POV more than Ke$ha's "Take It Off" fit Meiling's character.
I don't know why, but I'm constantly imagining that girl out partying O.o
Mehhhh. Go figure.

On another note, Black and White is officially out in Japan! Gahhh. I am so freaking excited. With everything I've seen on Serebii and Youtube, I've even began debating over whether or not I should go and buy the Japanese version of the game rather than wait for March. Because March seems so far away. Since the Japanese release I've been working on a story as a way of counting down till the release in America. I'm still debating over whether or not to post my obnoxiously nerdy Pokemon tale, so you all should give me feedback on whether or not you'd read anything of that sort.

I've written too much here again -.-
Okay, I'm going. I'm gone.

Till next time,
-jo