DISCLAIMER: I do not own CCS…CLAMP does. Well that's a bit obvious…hehe…please don't sue me! I also don't own She's all That, A Walk to Remember and The Notebook.
NOTE: Words in Italics means the character's thoughts. Please read and review!
SUMMARY:
He was a typical teen…conformed and popular…she didn't belong and was misunderstood…their paths are thrown together and their lives are changed forever. It all comes down to who's by your side. Based on the movies She's all That, A walk to remember and The Notebook.
Chapter 6: A Memorable Meeting
Syaoran felt torn as he saw the ambulance drive out of sight with Eriol and an unconscious Sakura in the back. What have I done? Oh shit, I hope she's alright. I should have stayed with her! Now she's sick…I'll go to the hospital. Please be alright Sakura…please be alright…Syaoran desperately wanted to go to the hospital so he could make sure that Sakura was alright. But something held him back. It was not something that could be touched, but an invisible line of knowledge that he did not dare cross. He feared the other side of the invisible line. Not only because he would be unable to live if he knew that he had hurt her, but for some reason he found his two feet planted firmly on the ground. Deep down, a part of him knew that stepping over the line was the right thing to do. He did care for Sakura and desperately wanted to see if she was alright. He owed it to her, but not as a friend. He owed it to her because it was the righteous thing to do. But he couldn't. Why? Why would I go when I don't really have to? I can imagine what the others would say if I went. He would lose too much; lose more than he would gain. Syaoran could not show that he cared for Sakura without damaging his image. At least he couldn't show any care for Sakura. Not a girl like her. She was too different, too much of an outsider. His reputation would go down the drain and he couldn't have that. Because that is all that I have, my reputation. Syaoran's feet were firmly staying behind the invisible line. I'll visit her tomorrow…that is, if she's still there. Syaoran got into his car, started up the engine and started on his way home.
Eriol looked at the clock. 11:15pm. Sakura's been in there for 45 minutes. I wonder what's happened. I hope she'll make it okay. Poor Tomoyo. She looks so shaken up. Tomoyo was sitting in a chair and was rocking back and forth silently. A doctor came out and walked over to them.
"Are you the friends of Kinomoto, Sakura?" asked the doctor.
"Yes." said Eriol.
"How is she? What happened?" Tomoyo asked.
"She's alright now, and you can visit her in a second, but she's very tired. It seems like she was poisoned with cyanide from the blood test we took. We've treated her with some sodium nitrite so she'll be okay. It's lucky you found her when you did…a couple of minutes later and she could have died," replied the doctor. Eriol and Tomoyo's faces turned a pasty white.
"Thank goodness. Can we visit her now?" asked Tomoyo.
"Sure. Just don't be too loud. You can talk to her softly because she probably has a major headache."
Eriol and Tomoyo nodded and walked to Sakura's room. She had a white hospital robe on and she looked ashen. Her auburn hair was wet from sweat in some places and stuck to her face. Her body looked frail and thin underneath the large hospital robe and she looked like she had just gone through hell. When she saw Eriol and Tomoyo she weakly lifted her hand and gave a small wave in greeting.
"Hey guys. Who should I thank for saving me?" asked Sakura.
"Tomoyo rang me to ask if I would check up on you so I went looking for you. Then I found you unconscious and rang an ambulance, and then Tomoyo. So you should be thanking Tomoyo," said Eriol.
"No, no…I want to thank both of you. Thanks so much for everything guys."
"How did you get cyanide poisoning in the first place Sakura?" asked Tomoyo.
"I think it was from the punch. But I don't get why I got poisoned! There were heaps of other people who had punch as well…and they were fine."
"Maybe someone slipped it into your drink while you weren't looking." suggested Eriol.
"Yeah…that might have happened. I honestly don't remember." said Sakura.
A nurse poked her head in and said,
"Two minutes left...we usually close visiting hours at five but the doctor made an exception for you two, so two minutes left okay?"
"Yep..." replied Eriol.
"Well anyway, Sakura we'll see you tomorrow. When do you get out?"
"I get out tomorrow. You guys can just come over to my house at night. I should be home by then."
"Okay, we will." said Eriol and Tomoyo.
Tomoyo walked outside.
"Sakura…don't think Syaoran's a bad person okay? He just…just makes the wrong decision sometimes…but he does care…" said Eriol.
"Care my ass! He's a machine…no emotions…I hate him Eriol and you can't say anything to change my mind!"
Sakura's emerald eyes flashed anger and sadness in the dim hospital light.
"Okay…I'll see you tomorrow." Eriol walked out of the room leaving Sakura with her own thoughts.
I officially hate Syaoran. If he had been with me last night he could have easily drove me to the hospital. What would have happened if Tomoyo hadn't asked Eriol to find me? I would be dead by now…so much for getting to know me better! He better not count on my vote! The moron…why, oh why, does he have to be so good-looking though?!
3:00pm. I'll visit Sakura now. Thank goodness she's alright. When Eriol told me, he looked at me with daggers in his eyes. If looks could kill, I'd definitely be dead by now. It's not like I made her drink punch in the first place…but then again I should have been with her last night. How can I win this bet now? She's probably so angry with me she won't go out with me or to the formal…I have to win this bet! I'll apologize of course and be really really sorry…I hope she's the type to forgive easily.
Syaoran got into his car, turned on the ignition and sped to the hospital.
After ½ an hour Syaoran reached the hospital and slowly walked to room 112. Eriol had given him the room number at school that day. As he approached the door he began to feel worried that Sakura would throw a vase at his head for what he had done. When he took a peek inside, he saw that Sakura was not alone, but with her older brother Touya.
Oh great, the big brother. He'll kill me. But then again if I don't talk to her today she'll never forgive me…
Syaoran waited what seemed like hours outside Sakura's room. He was sitting with his head bowed down until he realised there was a hand on each of the armrests of his chair. Syaoran slowly looked up to meet the angry eyes of Touya. Oh no. I am going to just DIE.
'Syaoran Li. Syaoran Li. You hurt my sister. Right now I should be punching the lights out of you but I won't. Why? Because it's a freaking hospital.' Touya was talking softly, so Sakura could not hear him, but to Syaoran, his voice was as deadly as ever.
'What. Are. You. Doing. Here?'
'I…I…wanted to apologise…' stuttered Syaoran.
'Well…look here…if you were with her last night you wouldn't have to apologise. But thanks to you she almost died!'
Syaoran flinched at the thought of Sakura dead.
'Look Li, if you want to apologise to my little sister than fine…but you better not hurt her again or I will be there to smash you…and I will make sure no one will be there to pick up the pieces. You got it?' Touya's eyes burnt holes into Syaoran face. 'Ye…Yes…Okay…I won't hurt her again!'
'Good…now go make her happy,' and with that Touya walked away.
Here I go… Syaoran walked in and saw a pale Sakura on a bed reading a magazine. She looked frail underneath the hospital robe.
"Hey Sakura." said Syaoran. He seated himself on a chair next to her. Sakura looked at him quickly and went back to her magazine.
"Hello Syaoran. Nice to see you. Didn't get to see you much last night." Sakura said absentmindedly, leaving Syaoran cringing at Sakura's cold tone. There were icicles dripping and the room temperature seemed to drop several degrees.
"Okay I'm really really sorry for leaving you alone yesterday night."
"You're only sorry because I got hurt. You wouldn't be sorry if I was fine." said Sakura. Syaoran realized Sakura was right. He started to feel unbelievably guilty.
"No, no I am really sorry that I left you last night. It's just my friends were calling me…"
"Look Syaoran…you put on this popular act for people who don't really care about you…they just hang out with you to be popular by association…and you know what? The person you are to them is not who you are at all. I'm sure." Syaoran looked at Sakura gob smacked at how she put his personality and attitude into a couple of words.
"But…this is who I am…" argued Syaoran. He did not want Sakura to figure himself out so quickly. It made him feel like a newborn; vulnerable and defenceless.
"No it's not! You put on this 'cool' act that's like a mask for who you really are. You know you're holding onto the mask tightly but one day it's going to come off and who will you be? Your act only works on an audience Syaoran…keep that in mind."
Syaoran's first intention of getting on Sakura's good side to win the bet had completely vanished from his mind. Her words hit him hard and he could not ignore them. Sakura's beautiful bottle green eyes bored into his amber eyes and her face was so close that her nose was almost touching his. She's so beautiful…and so perceptive…her lips look so soft…I wonder what kissing her would be like…Where the hell did that thought come from?! Syaoran pulled away, his face pink and flushed. Sakura did not flinch at his sudden pull away but regarded him silently.
"Well…to make it up to you and also to get to know you better…do you want to come to the beach with me and some friends this Saturday?" asked Syaoran. Where did that come from? I'm going crazy. She hates me and I'm asking her out.
Sakura looked surprised at Syaoran asking her out again.
"I've got work this Saturday…and you'd probably ditch me again anyway. Not to mention your so called friends would try to kill me again. Better not risk it." said Sakura. Her last words stung him greatly.
"Well we aren't meeting in the afternoon anyway…we're meeting at like 5:00 a.m.in the morning. We always go then."
"Why?" asked Sakura.
"Because we usually swim, play beach volleyball and surf. We like it when the beach is more secluded."
"Do you surf?" asked Sakura.
"Yes, sometimes." replied Syaoran.
"Fine, I'll come. But don't ditch me again…otherwise you're definitely not getting my vote for Prom King."
Prom King…right…the bet…Syaoran had completely forgot about the bet…he really did want to get to know Sakura better…although he had no idea why. She was infatuating to him.
"Alright cool. Again I'm sorry. I hope you feel better…I'll see you on Saturday." said Syaoran.
"Bye."
Syaoran walked out of the hospital room and felt his heart hammering wildly. What the hell just happened in there?
Sakura sat on the hard bed and felt weird about what had just occurred. She promised to herself that she would be mean to him…but instead agreed to go out with him. What the hell is wrong with me? I said I would be ruthless and then I tell him about how he puts on a popular act for people…I must have sounded like such an idiot…but it's true…I had to set him straight…I hate fake people! Great…now I have to freaking go with him to the beach. That moment that happened was so weird though…I was just talking to him…and then I looked into his eyes…and just got lost…in somber pools of amber.
Eriol got out his phone and punched in Tomoyo's number. I better do it now before I lose my nerve. Come on Eriol…be smooth…Ring…Ring Ring…Ring…
"Hello…hello?" Tomoyo's sweet voice asked.
Eriol got tongue-tied. All thoughts and questions vanished from his mind.
"Hello? Is anyone there?!" asked Tomoyo again, this time more impatiently.
"Hi." said Eriol. Hi?! Hi?! After all that practicing all I can say is Hi?!
"Eriol?" asked Tomoyo.
"Yeah it's me. I was just wondering if youwantedtogotothebeachwithmeandsomefriendsonSaturday."
"Sorry what was that? You were talking too fast." said Tomoyo. Eriol inhaled and exhaled.
"I asked if you wanted to go to the beach with me and some friends on Saturday…just as a friend?" Eriol exhaled. Smooth Hiiragizawa. No mistakes. Now you wait for her answer…please say yes…please say yes…
"Ummm…" Oh man she's hesitating. She's hesitating…that's not good!
"Yeah sure…I'll go…is Sakura going?" queried Tomoyo.
"Yes, I think so."
"What time do I meet you there?"
"5:00 a.m.…"
"Why so early?!"
"We like to go early because there are fewer people at the beach in the morning…and we can swim and play beach volleyball without interruptions."
"Okay…yeah I'll meet you there." said Tomoyo.
"Cool…I'll see you then!" said Eriol.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" Eriol punched the air with his fist.
"I'm going out with Tomoyo! Woohoo…she said yes…ha!" Eriol did a small dance to himself at the joy of Tomoyo saying yes to the date. He heard sound from the phone and placed it on his ear.
"Hahahahahaha." Eriol felt his whole body heat up and go red. Crap! I forgot to hang up. I thought Tomoyo would hang up. She heard everything! Crap! Oh man…this is so embarrassing!
"Tomoyo…did you hear that?!" asked Eriol panicked.
"Yes…you're so cute! See ya!" Tomoyo hung up and Eriol sat down staring at the phone. I can not believe she heard me say that. Not so smooth now are you Hiiragizawa?! At least she said yes… Wait a minute... She thinks I'm cute! Tomoyo thinks I'm cute!
Sakura woke up at the beep of her alarm clock. She looked at the time. 4:30 a.m. Sakura groaned as she put herself back under her warm covers. I can't believe I agreed to meet Syaoran at 5:00am. It's ridiculous! But a promise is a promise. Time to get up. Sakura got up and looked at her wardrobe for a swimsuit. She had a boring grey one piece and two nice bikinis that Tomoyo had made her in the last few months. Time for a change I think. Popular group won't miss or notice me anyway when I'm gone anyways. Sakura grabbed her olive green triangle bikini out of her wardrobe and put it on. It brought out the green in her eyes and hugged her slim figure. Sakura then put on a pair of denim shorts and an Elmo top…she was set to go. Oh wait…I'll bring my surfboard…I haven't surfed for so long and I miss it…I hope the waves are good today. It should be good. With that last thought Sakura headed out of the house and headed to the beach.
Syaoran was sitting on the flesh coloured sand and was running his fingers through the tiny grains. He was already at the beach with Yamazaki, Chiharu, Rika, Terada, Naoko, Eriol, Tomoyo, MingMei, Haruka and Izumi. The others were playing beach volleyball and were screeching in laughter. When Syaoran asked Eriol if he had invited Tomoyo, Eriol had gone a nice shade of red that had made Syaoran's day. Syaoran had not told the group (except for Eriol and Tomoyo) that he had invited Sakura. He was too chicken to. He would just explain when she came. I hope the others don't give her too hard of a time…otherwise I'll have to defend her…I can't ditch her after what happened at Chiharu's party…that would be way too slack…especially after what she said at the hospital…there's no way out of this…DAMN! Syaoran felt a presence coming towards him and looked up. Sakura was walking to him and she was wearing denim shorts, an Elmo top and had brought a surfboard. Her auburn hair was flying out from behind her face and she looked a lot healthier than what she had looked like in the hospital.
"Hey Syaoran."
"Hey…umm…ummm…" Syaoran's brain was going haywire. He couldn't remember her name. What was it? Sakura!
"Hey Sakura!" greeted Syaoran.
"What are you doing here you slut? Get away from my Syaoran! Back off bitch!" MingMei screamed as she ran over from the beach volleyball game.
Sakura's emerald eyes started to get teary and she could feel an overwhelming sense of sadness and anger directed at MingMei. This is what I get for hanging out with popular people…Great. Syaoranfelt outraged at MingMei's outburst and his amber eyes had flames in them.
"MingMei…Sakura is here with me as a friend…got it? If you don't like her than you can go home…and that goes for anyone else who feels the same way!" said Syaoran. MingMei looked like she had just been slapped. Eriol and Tomoyo were smiling. The others just nodded and continued playing their game. MingMei walked the walk of shame back to the volleyball game, feeling angry and humiliated. Syaoran looked to Sakura too see a look of approval on her face. He glowed with delight. Sakura took off her clothes to reveal a beautiful green bikini. Syaoran felt his body go warm and the circulation to his brain stop. Wow she's definitely not flat! She looks so hot! I can't believe how beautiful she looks now...The Baywatch theme song played in his head and he could only think of kissing her…what the hell?! That thought again! Okay Syaoran get it together!
"I'm going to go for a surf. There's good waves…catch ya later!" Sakura told Syaoran as she ran towards the sparkling blue water with her surfboard. Syaoran's clear amber eyes could only focus on her slender and toned body. He felt a funny sensation in the pit of his stomach and could feel his heart pumping wildly. What is this feeling? Syaoran's eyes followed Sakura as she paddled out on her surfboard. A wave was coming and she quickly got on her board and started to surf the wave. To Syaoran, Sakura looked unbelievably cool. She was ripping it up and her technique was fantastic. Tomoyo came over and stood next to Syaoran.
"You didn't think Sakura was good at surfing, did you?" asked Tomoyo.
"No I didn't. She always looks so spaced out." Tomoyo laughed at Syaoran's answer.
"Yeah she's a space cadet but she's actually really athletic. She's good at most sports and if you show her a new one she'll get the hang of it really quickly!" explained Tomoyo.
"I didn't know she was so talented!" exclaimed Syaoran.
"No, she's great…a very special person…I'm glad you're getting to know her better…" Syaoran felt really guilty at Tomoyo's praise of him getting to know Sakura better. He thought about the bet once again. He still wanted to win it!
"…although I still haven't fully forgiven you for ditching her the other night!" said Tomoyo as she walked away. Syaoran knew Tomoyo had every reason to be angry at him. Syaoran looked out to the water to look for Sakura again. Where is she? I can't see her anywhere…! Where is Sakura? Oh man where is she…? Syaoran continued to scan the water but couldn't see her. Where is Sakura?!
"Hey guys…can you see Sakura anywhere? I can't see her!"
All of Syaoran's friends stopped playing immediately.
"I don't see her!"
"Yeah, I can't see Sakura either…where is she?"
Syaoran's heart was hammering fast and everything seemed to stop in time.
Syaoran finally saw the glimpse of some auburn hair and ran towards the water. He jumped in and started quickly swimming towards her. Syaoran couldn't surf but he definitely could swim! The water was ice cold and the waves were choppy. He cursed to the sea at how cold it was. He felt numb and couldn't even feel his legs! Syaoran continued to swim towards Sakura but she just seemed to be drifting further and further away. He began to feel his body again but it seemed to be dragging him down. After what felt like forever Syaoran reached Sakura. She was lying face down in the water. Syaoran felt scared but quickly put Sakura's thin arm over his and started making his way back too shore. Sakura was not heavy but to Syaoran she felt like an elephant as he pulled them back to shore. The waves did not seem to like Syaoran at all. They kept crashing over him and he got more and more tired. He wanted to give up but knew he couldn't.
Both of their lives were in danger now. Syaoran felt his heart rejoice as his feet touched the sand. He dragged Sakura to the dry sand and laid her down. Everyone had come by then and was asking if she was alright. Eriol and Tomoyo looked even more worried. Syaoran took in the sight of Sakura unconscious. Her skin which was usually rosy was a deathly white and seemed transparent. Her bikini stuck to her thin body which was battered and bruised from the waves that had crashed on them. Her auburn hair was like wilted flowers…it looked as if the life had been drained out of them. Sakura Kinomoto looked lifeless and Syaoran Li already felt defeated. His lungs seemed to collapse when he needed them most. The world seemed to crash down on him at the impact of the thought of losing Sakura. He felt something for her. He didn't know what it was but Syaoran felt something. And it was a feeling he wanted to keep. Syaoran shook Sakura in desperation. Please say something Sakura…don't leave us…
"Sakura! Sakura! Can you hear me?" Syaoran yelled at the limp body he held.
There was no answer.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I hoped that you guys enjoyed this chapter. I tried to make Syaoran seem a bit more human by showing his softer side. The big question is: is Sakura Kinomoto going to live? And what would Syaoran do if she died?
When I started getting reviews for my 1st chapter I'd do a little victory dance (lame I know) because I was so happy…then I'd continue to write! So please send reviews because they are my favourite things ever and I will continue to write for your pleasure! (hey I rhymed! Lame I know).
I'd like to thank my editors (yes I have editors because I'm too lazy to edit myself and my editors are absolutely fantastic!) Sarah and Jennifer a.k.a.UnknownKunoichi and of course to everyone who has reviewed, added me to their story alerts list, their favourite authors list, their favourite stories list or to those who have just read my story! For this chapter my editor Sarah did all the editing because my other editor Jennifer is on a well deserved holiday! So thanks a lot to Sarah!
P.S. I'm so sorry I haven't updated in such a long time so I made this chapter a bit longer than the others! You guys will probably have to reread the story from the beginning to remember what's going on. But lately I've just been so busy with schoolwork and some other stuff! I'll try to write more often and thanks for continuing to read my story. I'll update as soon as I get a good numbers of reviews! So review please! I really like any comments or feedback (as long as they're not too mean!)
Cheers
Cheeekabee17
