Summary: Preppy Sakura and rocker Syaoran had been together since the seventh grade. But now, in senior year, Sakura has finally had enough, and ends their almost six year relationship. But Syaoran? No, he just won't give up that easily.
Disclaimer: I do not own CCS, Chanel or anything like it. I just own this plot line.
© April 14, 2007
Harder To Breathe
Chapter 7: Resolve
Written By: SweetBabyGurl
Dressed in a denim mini skirt and a bright pink, long sleeve, backless shirt, she grabbed her pink and black Chanel bag, shoving on her black flip flops. The doorbell had just rung, signalling it was Eriol to pick her up for the event that night. She had done some serious thinking since her talk with her good friend, but it seemed that she just couldn't decide on how to deal with the matter. Sometimes to pros outweighed the cons of hers and Syaoran's relationship and at others it was the cons that would outweigh the pros. Everything was just a jumbles mess, but tonight she would figure everything out when she would hear what he had to say, or rather sing.
"I'm going now. I'll give you a call when I'm on my way home!" She called out to her brother and father, not knowing where they were in the house, brushed her long auburn locks away from her face, slamming the front door without waiting for a response. Most because of Touya and his stupid questioning sessions he would have before she went out anywhere. "Hey, you're early."
"Yeah, I was thinking if I should call you and tell you I'd be here a little bit earlier than when I told you before. I just wanted us to get some really good seats; Tomoyo can hold some for us until about 7:00. But you're ready so everything's worked out," Eriol told her, walking down the porch steps with a smile. "Dressed up much?"
"Maybe a little. But looks who's talking," she countered, pulling slightly at his sapphire blue dress shirt.
"Well, Tomoyo's going to be all dressed up tonight since she'll be center stage all night. So have to do my best to match and impress the girl," he smiled, causing her to laugh and hop in his car.
The car ride was spent in absence of conversation, both just enjoying the other's company and the music playing from the radio. By the time they arrived, it was 7:00. The event wasn't going to start for another half hour, but the place was already packed; it just went to show how huge this was at their school. Showing their tickets to one of the teachers at the door, they went in and made their way to the front row where Tomoyo had managed to save them seats until that time. Sitting down, they observed the usually bland gymnasium.
The walls were glittering black, causing any and all light to reflect its shimmering glow. The soundman was set up in the sound both in a room upstairs, ensuring everything went smoothly with the bass, speakers and microphones. The place looked gorgeous and everyone was bubbling with excitement, wondering who would win this year's battle.
"Seijou High! Welcome to this year's Battle of Bands!" Tomoyo exclaimed from the stage. She looked beautiful; her hair flowed down her back in ringlets. She was dressed in a seductive mini black dress that glittered with every move she made and hugged her curves in all the right places. She wore black stilettos and with a single ring and diamond studded bracelet on either hand. She wore shimmering black eye shadow with clear lip-gloss. The crowd went wild for both her and her announcement.
"Now remember, here are the rules. We have a Cheer-O-Meter to your left, and when we ask what you thought of the band, cheer as loud as you can so you can get the band of your choice to win. If you didn't like them all too much, don't boo because one, it's mean, and two, it will also affect the meter. The winner of the show will get a twn thousand yen cash as well as free burgers for a year at Mika's! To kick it off, we'll be starting off with the slow medleys of Audrey Takiera!"
The night progressed on, and there were some pretty good bands out there. They had passed the love ballads part of the night and had proceeded onto the rock songs. There were only two big groups that the whole school had come for. Sure, the others were great, but the main event was coming down to this.
"Now, here is one of the two bands you guys have been waiting all night for. Give it up for Ryoko Rai, Chris Lee, Frank Cheung and Sangotsi Takamura; members of Steel!"
"Sakura, I'll be right back, I've gotta go with Syaoran and get ready; we're up next," Eriol spoke into Sakura's ear. Seeing her no the affirmative, he dashed away from the front rows to the back stage.
"A special thanks goes out to Li Syaoran for writing the lyrics to this song; best of luck man," Ryoko spoke into the microphone, smiling widely, piquing everyone's interest.
"Hey, you ready?" Eriol asked while tuning his bass.
"Took my shot and went pee; I'm good to go," Syaoran told his friend cheekily.
"You helped Ryoko write a song, Syaoran?" Takashi asked, playing with his sticks.
"Yeah, when I was pissed at Sakura once…" Syaoran trailed off, eyes widening in realization. "Oh shit, I'm screwed."
"What, why?" Ryu, the final member, the guitarist, of the band asked,
"Sakura's gonna know this about her and then I'm definitely screwed. Just listen to the lyrics."
Can you see me
Floating above your head
As you lay in bed
Thinking about everything
That you did not do
Cause saying I love you
Has nothing to do with meaning it
Sakura's eyebrows folded together in confusion. Syaoran had told her once that he took all of his lyrics from real life experiences. And the only "real" relationship he had was with her. And as far as she knew, she was the only one who had ever told him she loved him.
And I don't trust you
Cause every time you're here
Your intentions are unclear
I spend every hour waiting for a phone call
That I know will never come
I used to think you were the one
Now I'm sick of thinking anything at all
Now was that right? He waited on phone calls now did he?Unless this was about one of his stupid little whores he kept on the side when they were dating, this was definitely about it her.
You ain't ever coming back to me
That's not how things were supposed to be
You take my hand just to give it back
No other lover has ever done that
Sakura's lips were set into a thin line. Well, if that was how he felt about their situation then, damn, what they felt was the exact same and this break up should have happened a long time ago!
Do you remember
The way we used to melt
Do you remember how it felt
When I touched you
Oh cause I remember very well
And how long has it been
Since someone you let in
Has given what I gave to you
And at night when you sleep
Do you dream I would be there
Just for a minute or two do you?
She heard them. The crowd was talking about the lyrics. God, the whole school knew this song was about her now. Ryoko was putting a whole hell of emotion into it too, so it was coming across pretty damn strong. She felt the tears in her eyes build up at the humiliation.
You ain't ever coming back to me
That's not how things were supposed to be
You take my hand just to give it back
No other lover has ever done that
Heartache heartache I just have so much
A simple love with a complex touch
There is nothing you can say or do
I called to let you know I'm through with you
You ain't ever coming back to me
That's not how things were supposed to be
You take my hand just to give it back
No other lover has ever done that
Heartache heartache I just have so much
A simple love with a complex touch
There is nothing you can say or do
I called to let you know I'm through
I called to let you know I'm through
I called to let you know I'm through with you
I ain't ever coming back to you
She had half the mind to run out of there and bawl her eyes out before going and kicking Syaoran's ass. But she had to wait for him to perform. She knew something like this was going to happen, but she had promised herself she would wait until his performance no matter how bad things got. It was a well known thing that Syaoran often wrote lyrics for others; it helped built his reputation.
"Everybody, give it up for Ryoko's crew, Steel!" Tomoyo cried from the stage. The crowd went wild. They really loved the song that they performed. It was going to be hard to beat. If Sakura weren't ready to break down from anger, humiliation and angst at the moment, she would have been cheering for Syaoran, Takashi, Ryu and Eriol on right now.
"Now let's hear it for our final band consisting of Hiiragizawa Eriol, Yamazaki Takashi, Tekenshi Ryu and our famous heartbreaker Li Syaoran!"
"This is for you; you know who you are," were Syaoran's only words before he opened his mouth to sing.
Broken this fragile thing now
And I can't, I can't pick up the pieces
And I've thrown my words all around
But I can't, I can't give you a reason
Sakura stiffened. She recognized the tune. It was one that she caught Syaoran coming up with in bits and pieces since she had dumped him, none too lightly to say the least. Shrugging her shoulders, she didn't let the guilt settle in; he deserved it.
I feel so broken up (so broken up)
And I give up (I give up)
I just want to tell you so you know
Here I go, scream my lungs out and try to get to you
You are my only one
I let go, there's just no one that gets me like you do
You are my only, my only one
Sakura snorted. Only one my ass. That's what he must have said to all the other girls when he needed a, 'quick fix', as he so eloquently put it in a drunken stupor once. Of course, he received an impromptu slap afterwards. She smiled sardonically at the memory.
Made my mistakes, let you down
And I can't, I can't hold on for too long
Ran my whole life in the ground
And I can't, I can't get up when you're gone
And something's breaking up (breaking up)
I feel like giving up (like giving up)
I won't walk out until you know
Sakura's breath got caught in her throat. He was staring right at her, the emotion clear in his eyes for the first time in many years.
Here I go, scream my lungs out and try to get to you
You are my only one
I let go, there's just no one who gets me like you do
You are my only, my only one
Here I go so dishonestly
Leave a note for you my only one
And I know you can see right through me
So let me go and you will find someone
She felt the tears coming to her eyes and the bile rising in her throat, but for a completely different reason this time. God, how could she be so stupid? The answer had been in front of her all along. It may not have been what she had wanted all along, but it was very clear that what you want and what you need are at many times two completely different things.
Here I go, scream my lungs out and try to get to you
You are my only one
I let go, there's just no one, no one like you
You are my only, my only one
My only one
My only one
My only one
You are my only, my only one
Her resolve hadn't broken like she though it did all those years ago when she began to give into his every whim and excuse; Eriol was right, she was just being blind to what she had to do all along. Some people wouldn't be happy with it; hell, a lot of people wouldn't. But this was for her. This is entire mess was finally going to be over; she would live a sane life again. Now all she had to do was go to him and explain it all.
TBC
Notes: Hooray! Another chapter finished. If you go to my profile page, you'll see that I've finished the story already. And quite surprisingly the next chapter is the very last chapter. It's reallly awkward, since I had planned on at least 15 chapters; not 9. But I hope you all enjoyed the read, so please drop a review when you're done. Thanks and ja ne!
Songs Used:
Maroon 5 – Through With You
Yellowcard – Only One