Chapter Four: School Dance (Part One)
A week's passed and the preparations for the upcoming – and most last minute planned – post-exam dance has begun. Most of the students were divided into their sub-groups; some with the decorations, some with the recreations – if there were to be any – while some with the administration, dress code, and theme. Sakura and Tomoyo, unfortunately, were stuck with the boring logistics.
"Why are we always stuck with carrying stuff, and cleaning up stuff? Why can't we be with the deco-team or the recreation-team?"
Tomoyo smiled at her. "It's fun sometimes, right?"
"Define fun, Tomoyo, really," Sakura grumbled, "I haven't had much fun in years…"
Tomoyo chuckled lightly and patted her head.
And since that week Sakura felt nothing but sad, depressed and stressed out. Not only was she due to hand in her Ethics project by Friday, she was given the job of a lifetime: chair-person. She had to arrange the thousand and two-hundred chairs by this Friday night – since the dance falls on Saturday.
She dropped her head to the table in angst. "I hate my life,"
"No, you don't," Tomoyo quipped.
She, however, was only assigned with the table setting and the kind of fabric they told her to choose.
"Shut up, you got the easiest job ever, Tomoyo," Sakura grumbled, "I knew those girls never liked me in the first place. You could see it in their eyes – all furious and bitchy and stuff."
Tomoyo chuckled lightly again. "Oh, please, you're just being a sourpuss. Stop it already!" She grabbed a book full of fabric samples, "Besides, it's not like you're not invited to come or anything. Everybody's invited, even the plus-ones!"
Sakura glared at her. "If you must know, I'm not going because one, I don't have the time. Two, I don't have the time. And three, I don't have the time!" She huffed angrily and crossed her arms.
Tomoyo turned to look at her. "Come that by me, again? Have I misheard what you just said? Sakura, you must be going to this dance!"
Sakura just looked away.
"Why not?!"
"Because…! I just don't want to,"
Tomoyo eyed her. "What's wrong with you? Ever since the day you went out with Li-kun your mood's been very horrible," she leaned towards the table, her raven hair falling in curls and grazing the table in between them. "Did something happen?"
Sakura kept her gaze away from her best friend, knowing that she can read her like an open book. She didn't want to discuss anything that had ever happened that afternoon, what with the crying and the running in the rain and the entering of his beach house…
His beach house was like none other; it was full of white surfaces and not a single speck of dirt can be seen no matter where you traced your finger on. Compared to the outside, inside seemed so much better. He had hung several black-and-white pictures of other beaches with other people in the background, some antique vases of sort yet fitted with the contemporary feel and look he gave to this living room – and it's only the living room.
"Wow… it's beautiful outside, but it's magnificent on the inside!" She breathed out.
She knew she had been a terrible wreck to him today but she couldn't help but be so curious and anxious at the sight of his beach house. If she apologised, would he forgive her?
Slowly, she turned to face him. Syaoran had just closed the door and took a few steps, but when he caught Sakura's gaze upon him, that sorrowful look, he blinked and halted in the middle of the living room.
"What?"
Sakura fumbled with her fingers. "H-Have I apologised, t-to the way I acted with you before?"
Syaoran stared at her.
"I-I just… wanted to say I'm sorry for how I've been to you and that you don't deserve any part of it. You were being a friend to me and I should appreciate it, not disregard it or make it any more harder for you," she paused for a breather, "and I don't blame you if you won't forgive me because all my life I've never known someone who'd say 'I forgive you' even if I begged for it…" She finally dropped her hands and hardened her gaze on his shocked, amused-like face. "So… Will you?"
It took him at least a whole minute to understand what she had blabbered to him. And when he finally grasped the whole situation, he burst out laughing.
"Hey!"
He held his stomach. "I can't believe you just said all that rubbish just to ask forgiveness from me!" He gasped for breath. "I can't understand you girls! You take things too seriously!"
Sakura flushed with embarrassment and crossed her arms. "Of course we take it seriously because we don't want people to hate each other! Even if the problem was a teeny one, it matters to say sorry!" She huffed and turned around. "And since you're not taking me seriously, I won't say another sorry to you, ever."
"Oh come on, now, you can't be taking this seriously, too!" He came up to her, still panting with laughter. "I mean, it's just too cute seeing you standing there and looking all embarrassed and stuff and blabbering things just so you can tell me you're sorry!" He patted her shoulder, still shaking and controlling himself.
Sakura blinked. What did he just say?
"Besides, you are forgiven!" He came round her and looked her in the eye, his hands behind his back, a smile slapped on his face. "I've been through that phase before so I can't blame you for being that way,"
Sakura stared at him. "S-S-So…?"
"So, I forgive you," his smiled widened. "Now, come on," he turned to walk into his kitchen just across the living room. "What do you savvy having?" He started opening cupboards and then the fridge, "I've got beer, vodka, champagne-"
"Pardon me, Sir! If you haven't noticed, I don't drink-"
"I know," he peered over the fridge door, looked into her eyes again and smiled. "I was only pulling your leg,"
Sakura furrowed her brows. What in the world is the matter with him? Not only has he become too friendly with her, he's offering her all sorts of stuff from his fridge right after simply – and smiling – that he forgives her?! Jeez, this boy's confusing… She sighed heavily, walked into the kitchen and looked into his fridge he had left open.
"Wow, you're stocked up," she blinked, surprised it was even full. Compared to the apartment she shared with Tomoyo, it was full even to the top; the freezer was filled with packed fish, meat, chicken nuggets and ice cubes. The middle section packed with sauces – light, dark, tomato, chilli – and some other bottled things she couldn't tell. The bottom section was brimming with green vegetables wrapped in plastic, red chillies, green chillies, cucumbers, tomatoes…
"Is there a woman living here?" She suddenly asked.
Syaoran glanced at her. He was washing two mugs and was about to pour hot water. "What?"
Sakura closed the door and came up to the kitchen top. "Is there a woman in your life, living here, stocking up your fridge and screaming at me to leave?"
Syaoran snorted out laughing and continued with making coffee. "I can't understand you girls, at all. Just because my fridge is packed with stuff doesn't mean I have a girl living with me," he turned to her, holding a tea spoon and jerking it to make his point. "I've never had a girl live with me before. Not even when I was schooling,"
"Never?"
"Never," he clink his spoon to his green mug, stirred, placed the spoon on a blue mat to dry it, grabbed the mugs up and gave one to her. "Here you go,"
"Thank you," She grabbed it. "So then, if this is your beach house, why is it stocked? Do you always come here?"
"I live here, actually," he smiled at her, sipping his hot coffee after a brief blow to cool it down. "I don't have an apartment of my own,"
"Why not?" She sipped hers too. Hmm… Not bad.
"I never liked living in the city. Too busy," he shook his head.
Sakura nodded.
After drinking their coffee, nibbling onto some plain biscuits while chatting and watching TV, Sakura finally whisked her watch to check the time, grabbed her bag from the floor and made a move towards the door.
"It's getting late. I better head home before Tomoyo screams at me," she shook her head. "She's one hell of a screamer…"
Syaoran fumbled to stand. "H-Hey, wait!"
Sakura turned to him. "Hmm?"
"Uh…" He paused, ran his hand through his thick chocolate hair. "W-Would you like to meet up again some time? I-I can help you with the rest of your project, if you'd like…"
She smiled at him. "No, there's no need. I don't want to trouble you anymore," she paused to jerk her head at something behind him.
He turned around, stared wide-eyed at his desk filled with papers and turned back to look at her. She still kept her smile.
"N-No! Those… those papers don't matter to me. What matters is-" he immediately stopped himself and he looked away.
Sakura tilted her head. "What?"
He lowered his eyes. "N-Nothing…"
She blinked. "Well then, I'd best be off," she opened the door, turned back and waved at him. "Thanks for inviting me and showing me your house. I appreciate your gesture,"
She closed the door, walked down the wooden steps and was about to drop her feet to the sand when she heard the door slammed open behind her.
"Sakura!"
She swung her head about.
Syaoran, suddenly looking like he just ran two marathons, came down the steps, grazed his fingers over her arm and turned her around. Sakura stared at his hand and up to his face. She was about to protest when he lowered his face and lightly touched his lips to her cheek.
She held her breath. "…..!!!"
Timidly, he pulled away. "G-Good night,"
Her eyes burned into his face, her embarrassment boiling to a point where she felt dizzy and thought she'd want to die. And because of this, instead of replying to him, she made a run for it, into the night, and away from this weird man…
She lightly touched her cheek where he had left his kiss. That was completely unnecessary but he insists on giving it to her. How can he treat her like this?! They've only met and he's giving her teasing glances, touching her arms, inviting her to his beach house, and not to mention, giving her a kiss on the cheek!
She slammed her head to the table again. "Why…"
Tomoyo ignored her, humming tunes while leafing through the pages for fabrics.
"She's avoiding me, Eriol,"
Eriol fumbled with his glasses, wiped dust from its lenses and put them back on, lenses gleaming. "What makes you think so?"
Syaoran shrugged.
"Really, Syaoran, I didn't know you cared for the little girl," Eriol grinned.
"I do not!"
Eriol calmly eyed him. "Really?"
Syaoran stared at him. For a moment there he would say anything to prove to his friend that there were no fluttery flowers around him, or that there were no mushy feelings filling his heart. He would've said it in a split second! But… After kissing her (IT WAS ONLY ON THE CHEEK!!) that night in front of his beach house, he couldn't stop thinking about her.
He remembered how it happened then, how she had changed moods faster than he could blink in surprise, how she ran out and argued with him in the heavy rain, and how beautiful she looked when she saw his beach house. She had that serene look then, a look he wished he could have, and a feeling he could feel. And to hear her past abuse by her family, that was a whirlwind of emotions. He didn't understand why her own family would hurt her just because of her mother's passing. It doesn't make any sense to him at all.
"… Was it wrong for me to feel pity for her, Eriol?"
Eriol smiled at a bunch of ladies strolling outside the café. "Why would you want to feel pity for her?"
"Well, she did say she was terribly abused by her family before she came here and… You know how I feel about all this, right?" Syaoran spoke while Eriol continued nodding. "I don't know, Eriol. It's only been a week since I last saw her and I'm already feeling worried and… all sorts of other things," eventually, he grumbled.
Eriol eyed him. "You do like her, don't you?"
Syaoran sighed, not knowing if he could just lie to him or let it pass.
"But you did say she had been abused before, I don't blame her if she were a sensitive or a high-maintenance kind of girl," his eyes roamed over a waitress and he grinned. Syaoran coughed for attention. "Oh, sorry. What I'm trying to say is maybe you should just stay away from this girl and give her some space! Maybe she's not ready for a relationship, especially with someone who's well-known in this city,"
Syaoran stared at him. "A-About that…" he ran a hand through his hair, "I doubt she knows a thing about me…"
Eriol furrowed his brows. "Care to explain why?"
"W-W-Well… She hadn't mentioned anything about my line of work and she hasn't realised my family name was a famous name-"
"WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULDN'T KNOW ABOUT YOU?!"
Syaoran stared at him. "How the hell should I know? Besides, I don't bother about my mother or the position of whatsit company," he huffed. "It don't matter to me anymore,"
"You're joking, right? You've got to be joking!" Eriol grabbed Syaoran by the shoulders. "You cannot throw this opportunity to order people around, Syaoran! Can't you see the power you'll have once you become the next leader of the company? Can you not see the number of dollars on your pay-cheque once you become one?!" He shook his friend like a rag doll, hoping to make his point.
Syaoran suddenly felt dizzy and he pushed his friend away. "Get off me!" He growled. "Look, I don't want to have anything to do with the city so I refuse to take the position! Eriol, I'd rather have the freedom and peace surrounding me, than have the powers of ordering my minions as you so like to call it. I want to calm down, ignore the busy people and politics. I want to rest, enjoy the rest of my life while I still have it…" He sighed with content. "I want to share my life with someone I love-"
"Cheesy, cheesy, cheesy!" Eriol spat. "I can't believe you've changed in only two weeks! Ever since you met the girl you've become a whole different person! And if your mother hears about this-"
"She'll never know! And beside, if she does know about what I choose to do and what I don't choose to do, she will have to suck it up or else," Syaoran nodded in stern satisfaction and crossed his arms. "I am a grown man and I don't need anybody to tell me what I should do no matter how diplomatic or how grave my decisions will be,"
"Are you serious?
"Yeah, I can't believe it either!"
Sakura looked up from her clipboard, over Tomoyo's bent head, towards two girls who were just about to walk past their table. She couldn't help but listen to their conversation, so why not?
"Aren't there any other acts out there for the dance?"
"I don't think so. I heard Chiyuki's having a lot of problems finding a band-"
Tomoyo's head immediately shot up, her ears perked, a smile slapped on her porcelain face. Sakura's eyes widened and she quickly shook her head, mouthing a firm 'no' to her ecstatic best friend.
"You don't have a band?"
The girls blinked at her, looked at each other and nodded glumly.
Tomoyo tossed her head to Sakura and grinned wider. "Why not?"
"No! I told you I'm not going to the dance!" Sakura furrowed her brows and dropped her head to stare at her blank clipboard.
"Oh, please, Sakura?" Tomoyo begged. "Wouldn't it be fun to sing some of our songs for the school dance? Please, please?"
"You two can sing?" One of the girls asked.
Tomoyo looked back to them and nodded furiously. "We sang a couple times in a club uptown. I think we should be fine, don't you think so, Sakura?" She looked back. "Please? Just for this dance, no more-"
"No, Tomoyo, please! I don't want to get involved in any acts whatsoever! Besides, I can't sing-"
"Liar, you can sing well!" She grinned at the girls. "She can sing well-"
"No I cannot sing well, stop it!" Sakura growled at her then looked to the confused girls. "Look, I'm sorry Chiyuki couldn't find a band to play but I hope she does, alright? Alright, goodbye,"
"Jeez, Sakura, what's up with you?" Tomoyo grunted and shook her head. "I-I'm sorry,"
The girls just smiled and walked away. Tomoyo shifted in her seat, her lavender eyes on Sakura's head and her fingers that were furiously scribbling something on her clipboard. She reached out for her hand, grasped on it and sighed as loudly as she could. Sakura grumbled.
"What?"
"What did Li-kun do to you?" Tomoyo eyed her. "Ever since you met him last week, you've changed-"
"I said drop it! I don't want to talk about him, OK?" Sakura pulled her hand away. "We have chairs and tables to arrange; you with your fabrics and me with the arrangements. Why don't we pay attention to that for a change, huh?"
Tomoyo gaped at her. "What happened to my bouncy little friend who likes to smile and laugh, huh? Where has she gone to?"
Sakura just ignored her.
And she kept on ignoring her even up to the night before the dance, taking one last look at the big community hall just across the school filled with neatly arranged chairs and tables with lovely tablecloths and other decorative stuffs on them, courtesy of Tomoyo. She sighed heavily. She didn't mean to ignore her, she just wanted to get this done and over with so that she could finish her pending projects and rest for the weekend.
She pulled the big doors closed, locked the doors, threw the keys into the air and was about to grab it when a girl suddenly popped up in front of her.
"Hoe!"
The girl eyed her, as if she was a lunatic who just saw another lunatic. "What're you screaming for?"
Sakura held her chest. "I-I'm sorry. You scared me,"
"Oh boo-hoo," her eyes roamed past her to the community hall. "What were you doing?"
Sakura blinked. "Nothing,"
The girl looked back to her.
"I-It's just a school dance. I was in-charge of the chairs-"
She roared with laughter, her raven hair bouncing on her shoulders, her hand to her wide-open mouth, her eyes shut.
Sakura flushed. "It seemed to sound amusing to you,"
"Of course it is, for someone like you I found it so much more amusing," she scanned Sakura from head to toe, her bright ruby eyes gleaming in the mild darkness. "Actually, I'm quite surprised. Because of your shabby look I thought you were the cleaner," she roared with laughter again, slapping her hand to her right thigh.
Sakura flared and she looked away. "Well that settles it then," she walked past her, glared at an old man who was standing by a black car and crossed the road.
The girl turned around, walked up to the man and grinned.
"What is it, Lady Meiling?"
Her eyes twinkled. "Nothing, Wei," she glanced at him. "Nothing,"
"How do I look?"
Sakura glumly looked up from her textbook, nodded and turned back to flip a page. Tomoyo pouted, swung around and stared at her image on the full-length mirror.
"You know, I think I should've done my hair in this way," she raised a lock of raven hair on top of her head.
She had adorned a cherry-blossom on the side of her head and had curled every lock of her hair so that she could complete her exquisite look, combined with her A-cut lavender dress that ended just above her ankles. She had long white gloves on and locked an amethyst jewel necklace around her slender neck; the locket grazing just above her sleeveless-half of the dress.
"Mm…" Sakura mumbled.
"Or maybe put on some nice silver earrings. My ears look boring,"
"Mm…"
Tomoyo glanced at Sakura's image from the mirror. "Maybe I shouldn't go-"
"No!" Sakura swung her head to look at her. "You should go. You really wanted to go, don't you? Please, just because of me doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your fun,"
Tomoyo eyed her, dropped her lock of hair, walked towards the long couch and sat beside Sakura. She draped her hand over her shoulders, leaned her head and sighed just beside her ear.
"Please tell me what happened between you and Li-kun. I'm worried about you,"
Sakura tensed and quickly cleared her throat. "N-Nothing. Nothing happened-"
"Please, Sakura, tell me," she pulled away. "If you don't tell me, then I won't go to the dance," she crossed her arms.
Sakura gaped at her. "You wouldn't!"
"Oh yes, I just did,"
Eventually Sakura sighed and surrendered, telling her from when she left school that day to the part where Syaoran kissed her on the cheek. When she was finished, Sakura looked over to Tomoyo and found her mouth dropped wide-open in total shock. She rolled her eyes and continued to stare at her textbook—
"AHH!"
"Hoe!" Sakura tumbled to the floor.
"Sakura!" Tomoyo shrieked.
"What, what?!" Sakura shrieked back, peeking from the side of the table.
"This is perfect!" Tomoyo slapped both hands to her cheeks and closed her eyes as if she was in total bliss. "Just perfect!"
"What? What's so perfect?" Sakura adjusted her shirt.
"You, and Li-kun, at the dance, in pretty clothes and looking into each other's eyes and-"
"Hey, hey, wait a minute! Wait a minute!" Sakura stopped her. "What did you just say?"
Tomoyo opened her eyes and stared at her, as if she was too slow to understand what she was saying. "You, Li-kun, dance, together. Pretty clothes, eyes, kiss-"
"Oh my God, please tell me you didn't invite Syao-" Sakura stopped quickly and cleared her throat. "-Li to the school dance,"
Tomoyo grinned at her, her eyes twinkling like stars.
"Tomoyo!!"
"What? I only invited Eriol-kun but he insists on bringing Li-kun along so I said why not," she simply shrugged and stood up. "Now that I know he likes you and you like him, why would it be a problem to you?" She stood up and adjusted her hair again.
"Why would it be a problem to me?" She repeated, standing up after her and approaching her. "Tomoyo, I do not want to go to the dance either way! Didn't you hear me?"
Tomoyo grunted again and looked at her. "Look, I booked us a slot between nine o'clock and ten to sing some songs for the dance and I thought maybe I could invite Eriol so I did and he said he wanted to invite Li-kun and I said OK," she paused. "Then he asked if you would come and I said I'll convince you and now that I have, you are to come,"
Sakura stared at her. "Tomoyo!"
"Just go, please? You've been cooped up in the house with your projects and I think you deserve to go to this dance more than I," she grabbed Sakura's wrist, pulled her into her bedroom and opened her wardrobe. "See, I even picked out a dress for you. And don't worry, they wouldn't mind us wearing our dresses while we sing-"
"Tomoyo!"
She smiled into her wide, angry green eyes and patted her shoulder. "You'll thank me later,"
End of Chapter Four
Author's Note: I know, I know. I haven't been updating regularly as I promised I would but as usual, I had a terrible writer's block, exams and some holidays to spend on so I couldn't properly think of story. But I did and I really hoped you liked it. To those who couldn't understand what was going on, well I beg for forgiveness because I really tried making it a simple plot. LOL. Well, do review. Thanks lots!