FAIRYTALE

Genre: Romance/Drama/Humor

Rating: T

Summary: A girl. A guy. Twenty-first century. An arranged marriage. Based on Goong.

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS or Goong or Kodocha.

v. Madness, Cakes, and Bras

"Did a UFO land here or did another one of our neighbors get arrested again?" Sakura heard Touya ask their father annoyingly from upstairs. "It's a school day with double math, I'm already hating it, I don't want to add blindness to –"

"I'm sure they'll go away soon, I called the police, they're trespassing –"

"Soon? I don't have soon, I need to go out now!"

Frowning slightly, Sakura walked downstairs and watched her brother and father look out their living room window through the curtains. "What's going on?"

"Oh, uh," Touya coughed, avoiding her eyes, "you see, I think –"

"– they've found out," Fujitaka cut him off. His son shot him a glare, and he shrugged, peeking from behind the curtain again, "You need to stop lying to your sister."

"Who said anything about lying?" Touya retorted. "I was going to tell –"

"Who? The media?" Sakura gawked, open-mouthed at them.

"I'm not sure if it's just the media," Touya grumbled. "Looks like the whole country knows."

"WHAT?" Sakura shoved her brother away and reached for the curtains. "Let me see, I wanna see –"

"THERE SHE IS!" someone shouted from outside and all of a sudden, bright, vibrant flashes blazed everywhere as the photographers snapped pictures of her semi-hidden form and when Fujitaka yanked her back, her eyes burned.

"How could they find out so fast?" Sakura wailed. "We only told the Lis two days ago!"

"They're the paparazzi, Saku," Touya mumbled. "They probably even know what brand of shampoo you use."

Sakura could only look at the closed curtains sadly. "But – but I don't want to be like Britney Spears!"

"What?"

"Look at her! Look what the paparazzi's done to her! I don't want to end up like that!"

Touya snorted. "You don't have to battle with your ex over custody of your two sons, and you haven't shaved your head, you're just getting married. That's it."

"Easy for you to say," Sakura grumbled. "You're not marrying someone who hates you and has a girlfriend – who isn't his fiancée."

"What?"

"Forget it."

Fujitaka grabbed something from the table next to them. "Sakura," he started, clearing his throat, "do your friends know already?"

"No," Sakura sighed. "I don't know why, but I just want to … let it sink in for a while. Find a right moment to tell them."

Snatching the paper from his dad's hands, Touya shook his head. "You don't need to worry about telling them," he said. "Not when you have a full-blown picture of yourself on the front page of the national newspaper."

Sakura could only stare, flabbergasted, at the page in front of her face. "'SYAORAN LI – ENGAGED!'" she shrieked, reading the title. "THAT LITTLE BABOON!"

"And," Touya pointed at a line, "here you are."

"How do they KNOW?" Sakura screamed again, seizing the newspaper and waving it around. "HOW – Syaoran Li told them, didn't he? I knew it! He's just another one of those rich, pretty boys who loves publicity! Well, I'll show him, I'll give him a piece of my mind, that –"

"You're going to be late," her father interrupted, pointing at the clock.

"I still have ten minutes!"

"Not if you want to push through that mob out there," he said. "I wonder when the police will come, how hard is it to ask for – oh, they're here."

Touya went to the front hall and opened the closet to reach for his coat. "Come on, monster, I'll drive you there."

"Oh dear Lord."

"Shut up, garlic head."

Sakura rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag. "You're running out of insults," she commented, standing at the front door. "Bye, Dad!"

Fujitaka could only chuckle. "Be careful, then," he smiled, and then lowered his voice to Sakura, "seriously. Be careful."

"As if. Between the media out there and Touya's driving abilities," Sakura snorted, "I'd take the media any time. Guess I have no choice right now."

"I HEARD THAT!"

Sakura slammed the bathroom door and leaned back on it, panting heavily. The media huddling around her when she walked out, even with the ever SO helpful of the police, it was insane. Not to mention all the flashes and yells, 'What are you feelings about this arrangement?' 'Do you like Syaoran Li enough to marry him?' 'What is your favorite brand of toothpaste?'

AND Touya's driving skills.

The HORROR.

Then, upon arriving at the school's front door (literally), they were still there. How did they get there before them? Then she had to fight through another mob of paparazzi, when finally, the principal called school security and had them escorted to the front gate.

And now, finally without a photographer in sight, she was alone.

Except for the yells of a teacher across the hall, but never mind.

What am I gonna do? Sakura thought miserably. Class has already started – I can't walk in like this! What am I gonna do? What am I gonna DO?

Twenty minutes later, she couldn't stand the smell, and decided to push open the bathroom door and walk around for a bit. I still have fifteen minutes left – maybe I can hide in a corner and cry, she thought, storming down the hall and pulling on her hair furiously. Maybe I can find something more interesting to do, or maybe I can see how many bananas I can peel in five minutes –

"Hi," a voice suddenly came from behind her, "do you know where the cafeteria is?"

Sakura let out a little scream of shock before whipping around, hands on her hips and glaring at a surprisingly familiar pair of amber eyes. "I know who you are!"

"You … do?" the guy looked at her weirdly.

"Yes!" she shot back. "Don't think you can pull that I'm-Just-An-Innocent-New-Student trick on me, I know you've got a camera or video tape hidden underneath that jacket of yours somewhere –"

"But –"

"Don't you 'but' me, mister!" Sakura huffed. "Where's security? How did you get pass them anyway? I WANT SECURITY HERE!"

The guy finally shoved a school ID under her nose. "Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Shen," he grinned at her. "I'm hungry, I haven't had breakfast. Mind showing me where I can get some?"

"I – oh," Sakura's eyes squinted as she tried to focus on the card. Blushing, she realized the mistake she made. "Sorry about that. I'm – well, I'm just – "

"– not used to cameras?" the guy flashed her another smile. "Don't worry about it."

Not sure of what to say, Sakura blushed again and looked away. "Well then," she cleared her throat, and pointed down the hall, "go down there, take a right turn, go down the stairs, find the Mona Lisa painting but with Paris Hilton as the head instead, turn around the corner and there you have it."

Shen blinked at her. "Uh – what?"

Sakura just laughed and beamed at him. "I'll show you," she offered, and started down the hall. "New student, huh?"

"Yep."

"Odd time to transfer," she commented. "Senior year?"

"Yeah, well," he shrugged, and adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder.

As they started down the hall, Sakura suddenly grabbed his shoulder bag and shook it. "Let me give you a grand tour!" she said, excited. "Come on!"

"But – my food –"

"Fine, fine – grab a sandwich and let's go!" She tugged her new-found friend into the cafeteria, snatched a sandwich away from the display tray, and Shen literally threw the coins onto the counter as if he was practicing for some pitching contest before Sakura hauled him away again.

"This," she started, waving her arms around, "is the New North Building. It's got some fancy name no one can remember, but no one really cares, so, you know … and that building that looks older than the Colosseum is the Old North Building, which comes in no surprise, I mean look at its state – knock on a door and the whole thing falls apart."

"Why's it still there, then?"

"It's for holding our extra curricular activities – clubs and stuff. They're pretty important in our school," she explained.

Sakura gave him the fastest tour of the school in existence, running down the stairs and talking faster than the speed of light. Shen kept on asking her questions as well, each one getting … well, more interesting than the last.

"Why do we need two cafeterias?"

"I'm not exactly a light eater," she giggled.

"What's that dog doing over there?"

"He's cute and fat and ugly and disgusting. Also a sexist," Sakura huffed, glaring at the plump dog rolling by. I mean, strolling. "He loves guys – and he barks like crazy when a girl stands fifty feet away from him."

"He's sweet," Shen chuckled, getting down on his knees and petting the plump fat sausage – that is, the dog, who was now purring like a cat.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Haven't you listened to a word I said?"

"Hey, who's that?"

"Guess not."

"That fat lady with squinty eyes and big, bushy hair that looks like it hasn't been combed in a while and – is that a skirt? Or a lampshade?"

Sakura slapped his pointing hand away quickly, realizing who it was. "That's my teacher!" she hissed. "Great, now I'm gonna be in so much trouble –"

"Shen!" the Teacher, in her usual fake voice when she was talking to Syaoran or kissing-ass to the principal, beamed at them and strolled their way. "My new student, I believe!"

Sakura stood aside, agog, before smiling happily. A new student! In her class! Oh this is going to be awesome, she thought, already planning what they could do over the weekend. We can go to the movies, go shopping, paint our fingernails, give each other free makeovers in the department store with all the 'FOR TESTING USE ONLY' makeup –

Oh wait. He's a guy, isn't he?

Damn.

"– hope you adjust to the new environment," the Teacher was telling Shen, whose smile looked glued onto his face. "I'm sure you'll do fine! And – Miss Sakura Kinomoto!" she barked, turning to the girl in question. "Or should I say, Mrs Sakura Li?"

"Kinomoto is just fine –"

"What are you doing out here, during class time, I might add?" she narrowed her eyes at Sakura, who started to panic.

"Just – giving Shen here a little tour! Hehehe … " Sakura giggled nervously.

"…"

Forget the media. She's gonna kill me.

"That's great!"

Sakura's smile froze. What?

"Very well done, Mrs Li, maybe –"

"Mrs Kinomoto," she grumbled. "I mean, Miss! Miss Kinomoto! Stop calling me –"

"– underestimated you all this time!" she beamed another smile at her. "A fine way to spend quality time with your future cousin-in-law!"

WHAT?

"Well, I'm off to spike your English teacher's coffee now – I mean, get ready for my next class," she coughed nervously. "Tata!"

Sakura only stood there in shock. Cousins? She turned to Shen, who was standing sheepishly by her side. "You're a Li?"

"That I am."

"…"

"You hate me now, don't you?"

"… this is great!" Sakura squealed, clapping her hands together. "At least I know a member of the family when I get there, and at least there's one sane, non-money-obsessed person in the same area with me! I think –"

The bell rang.

Uh oh, Sakura thought glumly, here comes the hoard of people.

"– I think – uh, you have a really nice shirt! And shoelaces! BYE!"

Shen stood there, a little confused, with the lump of fat aka the dog curling beside his feet. Dotted eyed, he shook his head and strode away as students began filling the school grounds.

"Soooooooo."

Sakura winced inwardly, and played around with her food. "What?"

Rolling her eyes, Chiharu leaned forward, their faces inches apart. "Were you ever going to tell us, Mrs Li?"

"…"

"How does it feel," Tomoyo asked, "to be engaged to Syaoran Li? The Syaoran Li?"

"He's not some superstar," Sakura scoffed, taking her glass of water and waving it around, as if to make a point. "He's just a guy. I'm engaged to a guy. That's all."

"Not when the guy is a Li!"

Sakura had dreaded this moment. The explaining. Best friends or not, currently they were the people she wanted to see right now. She did manage to hide behind the leftover bin for about three seconds before they spotted her and dragged her outside to eat lunch … or rather, the three of them crouch around Sakura and look at her each lunch.

"Look on the bright side," Rika chirped in. "At least now we've got a place big enough to hold parties and sleepovers and tea time –"

"We've never had tea time."

Rika huffed at Sakura's expression. "We could start!"

"Seeing how the Lis don't even eat sushi at their house, how are we going to hold a party?"

"Come on, they're not that naïve," Tomoyo said, playing around with the orange in her hands.

"Naïve isn't the right word," Sakura sighed. "More like weird. Have you ever heard of someone who lived in Japan and never seen sushi?"

Chiharu frowned, tapping her chin lightly. "My mom mentioned that she had a cousin whose best friend's sister's father-in-law now lives in this hut on some mountain in the Alps –"

"The point is," Sakura cleared her throat, "is, um … I have a new friend!"

"I'd hardly consider Syaoran your friend, the way you treat each other," Rika raised an eyebrow, "husband-to-be is more suitable."

"No, I mean a friend!"

"What are we then, toilet seats?"

"Shen!"

Chiharu's jaw dropped open. "Shen?"

"Yep! I gave him a tour his morning," Sakura explained, and reached for her bag to pull out some dental floss. "You've got something between your teeth, by the way."

"No need to tell the whole school," Chiharu mumbled, but clamped a hand over her mouth all the same while she took out a mirror.

"Seriously though," Rika placed her chin on her hands, elbows on top of the table, "Shen?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You lucky little –"

"Very dreamy," Tomoyo smiled, staring into space. "Looks nothing like Syaoran, how could they be related?"

"That's exactly what I said!" Sakura exclaimed, and pounded a fist onto the table. "I know I look nothing like Touya – thank God – but that's different, I –"

"I can totally relate to how Syaoran's related to Eriol though," Tomoyo continued under her breath. "Next to his cousin, Syaoran's a nice little angel with a big shiny halo on top of his head, while Eriol here doesn't just have a devil tail and horns, also a stupid face that just screams out 'DUUUUR I'M STUPID!'"

"… ANYWAY," Chiharu coughed, awkward, "when's the date?"

Sakura shrugged. "They said after my birthday, as soon as I turn eighteen. Mid-April, maybe?"

"That soon?" Tomoyo's eyes lit up, ending her rant about Eriol and his evil ways and soy sauce and halos. "So it's going to be a big, big ceremony, right?"

Rika snorted. "It's the Lis, what do you expect?"

"With lots and lots of celebrities?" their ecstatic friend squealed, oblivious to Rika's comment. "And a huge wedding cake with loads of yummy sugar tulips? With five thousand guests and maybe – we can be your bridesmaids!"

"That's crazy!" Sakura exclaimed, stricken.

Rika nodded furiously. "I know! Who wants a boring, traditional wedding cake when you can have a wedding cake in a shape of a flamingo?"

"What? No, that's not what I meant! I don't want five thousand guests at my stupid wedding –"

"You can do that?" Chiharu gaped. "Cool! You think they can do cakes in Snoopy too?"

"Yup. My uncle's sister-in-law's cousin's daughter had it in a shape of a Louis Vuitton trunk."

"That's so creative!"

"When I'm married, I'm gonna have mine shaped like a bra. With matching panties."

"Wow."

"I know."

"… hate to break up this very interesting conversation," Sakura butted in sarcastically, "but I don't think it'll be that big."

"What, so you're going to have two muffins with two candles on top?" Rika's face fell.

"No, the wedding!"

"Shame," Tomoyo sighed, fiddling around with her tissue paper. "I want to meet Ashin, you know, the lead singer of Mayday? The new CD's coming out next month and I really wanted an autograph on my door-sized poster –"

"What would a Taiwanese band be doing at a boring Chinese wedding?"

The three of her friends rolled their eyes. "Hello," Chiharu said, shaking her head. "The cake?"

"… you guys are obsessed."

"Chicken wing."

"Where?"

Tomoyo pulled out a cell phone and immediately started to type, her thumb flying across the keypads. "I'll make some reservations at the wedding dress boutique, this is awesome, I've always wanted to go and try on three million white, puffy dresses –"

"I already went."

"WHAT?"

Sakura shrugged. "Two days ago. Remember? I asked all of you if you guys could do me a favor, but nooooo, you all brushed me off –" She broke off at the looks on their faces. "Cheer up," she tried, smiling a little. "When I'm at the Li's, you guys can come over any time and swim in the pool of gold –"

"So they DO have one?"

"– or we can have a huge sleepover with lots to eat, including bear's paw –"

"A sleepover we're not going to."

"– and my family won't be in debt," Sakura smiled wistfully. Her friends looked uncomfortable for a moment, but smiled all the same.

After a while, Tomoyo broke the tension with a sigh. "You're so perfect, Saku – so selfless, so … so … "

"My ego's growing," Sakura giggled. "It's going to burst any moment. And when it does, I hope the contents drown Syaoran and he dies," she added.

"… right."

Rika nudged Tomoyo, nodding at something in front of her. "Look who's there, Moyo – lover boy."

"You mean Mr. What's-Your-Bra-Size-Let-Me-Guess-C?" Tomoyo growled as Eriol spotted them and head towards their table. "When that ego of yours explodes," she told Sakura, who just looked at her weirdly, "I hope a Viking comes out of it and stabs him to death." And with that, she grabbed her bag and left, brushing a stuttering Eriol aside.

"Anyway," Sakura shook her head and turned to the remaining two, who had the same bewildered expressions on their faces, "where can I get one of these bra-shaped wedding cakes?"

A/N: Short chapter, heh. Sorry. And boring. I'll make it up next time!

Expect longer updates from now on. I've got a hectic offline life right now, ehh. But, good news: I'm almost finished with Misunderstood chapter three! Maybe I'll upload it later on today, if I finish it. (:

rosedreamer101: I'd love to reply to your lovely review, but I see you haven't mastered the art of punctuation marks, so I can't really understand what you're talking about, and … yeah. But from what I could understand, maybe you should read the DISCLAIMER I put on top of every chapter. And if you're going to blame me for copying or whatever it is you're talking about, maybe you should talk to the producers of that Vietnamese movie instead. It seems like they're the ones doing the 'copying' of a Korean 'movie'.

God.

Anyway.

Review! And FYI, if you're going to review, and a long one, at least make it understandable. Then I wouldn't waste my time re-reading it fifty times before I actually somewhat understand what it means.

And thanks (but no thanks to a certain someone) to all the reviewers! COOKIES FER YEW! 8DDDDDDDDDD And sorry for making those people who are now prejudiced against seafood. XD It hasn't stopped me from eating it though.

Yummy yummy whale sperm.

Wowthatsoundswrong.