T minus 170 days

"Hey." Chiharu spoke softly as she plopped herself down on a seat in front to Tomoyo, her books making a thud as it landed unceremoniously on the library table. Many students from neighboring tables jumped and looked up at the noise, some even sending glares. Chiharu paid them no heed. She focused her attention on the stressed out look on Sakura's face a few paces away as she talked quietly on her phone in between bookshelves. "What's up with her?"

Tomoyo barely looked up from her sketchbook, "boyfriend," she replied emotionlessly.

Immediately, Chiharu understood. She watched Sakura for another moment, then turned back to Tomoyo, opening a book in front of her as she spoke, "I heard she got the hardest grad project."

"Yeah," Tomoyo replied absentmindedly, "but she'll be fine, it's Sakura."

Chiharu agreed silently. But when she glanced back at Sakura, she bit her lip at the dark frown on Sakura's face. She caught Sakura's eye, who waved at her with a fake smile on her face. Chiharu smiled uncertainly back. Deciding to stop sneaking glances at her friend, Chiharu focused on the sullen girl in front of her, "So I never got to ask, who is your partner?"

This time, Tomoyo set her pen down with a sigh, looking up at Chiharu with an annoyed frown. "Eriol." She gritted out.

Chiharu couldn't help but laugh.

Tomoyo scowled at her, "Apparently everyone else was paired but us and we had no choice. Of course Professor Terada was great and tried to help us but -" Tomoyo sighed, then shook her head. She picked up her pencil again, going back to her drawing.

Chiharu suppressed a frustrated sigh. Tomoyo and Eriol have been going on and off with their relationship. It's like neither of them can decide if they love or hate each other. Her eyes shifted down to Tomoyo's sketchbook. She commented lightly, "I never understood why you didn't go into Fashion Design, most of your portfolio to get into this major were clothes you made, the other half were illustrations."

"I still make clothes, occasionally." Tomoyo lifted a shoulder, "It's more like a hobby. And anyway, architecture's interesting."

Chiharu nodded, though not quite convinced. She understood that Tomoyo had her own reasons and she'll respect that.

There was another sigh, causing Chiharu to look up and to her left. Sakura plopped down next to her, phone in her hand. When Chiharu turned to her, Sakura smiled amiably at her, speaking up first, "Hey Chiharu!"

She may seem cheerful, but Chiharu didn't fail to notice the defeated slouch in her posture. Chiharu grinned back. "Hey Sakura." She paused, a slow, mischievous smile meandering onto her face, "How are you and Syaoran, by the way?"

Tomoyo looked up, interested in the conversation.

Sakura cocked her head to the side, surprised by the question. "Um, we're just getting started and stuff - you know brainstorming for our project."

"That's not what I asked." Chiharu replied, half-sternly, half-softly.

Sakura let out a small smile when she understood Chiharu's meaningful gaze. "Syaoran's awesome. He's really nice and I feel like we understand each other really well."

"Good." Chiharu grinned. "So you don't intend to stop gushing about him."

The brunette flushed, scowling at her friend, "I don't gush-"

"You don't?" Tomoyo interjected teasingly. She raised the pitch of her voice, mimicking her, "'Syaoran has the best ideas!' 'Oh my gosh Syaoran's a genius!' 'aww, I wish I was his partner for that project'"

Sakura protested profusely, her face tomato red in embarrassment. Chiharu dissolved in laughter.

"I don't -I just - he's -I" Sakura scowled, though it looked more like a pout.

After the teasing so-called friends of Sakura's stopped giggling, Chiharu couldn't resist mimicking her, "you don't- you - I - I - stut-stut-stutter?"

"I mean, he's cool." Sakura finally spoke a coherent sentence. "Syaoran's really smart and cool, okay, and I get to be his partner and it's cool-"

"Welp, there she goes again." Tomoyo stage whispers to Chiharu.

"Hey!" Sakura protested, "fine, nevermind." She huffed, crossing her arms cutely.

Chiharu and Tomoyo only giggled with each other at her expense.

Sakura clicked the unlock button on her phone, checking the time. Apparently, it was not as she had thought, for she quickly gathered her things around the table, muttering hastily, "speaking of Syaoran, I'm supposed to meet him at the Student Center right now!" She had said in explanation, but continued in her mutters, "Oh no, I'm gonna be late! It takes half an hour to get there from here." She scurried off.

Her two friends bid their farewell calmly, used to her always rushing off because she just doesn't keep track of time.

After a moment of studious silence, Tomoyo spoke up, casually, "Too bad Syaoran's not her boyfriend."

"He should be." Chiharu agreed. "I hate that Josh character."

Tomoyo let out a breath of laughter at her friend's use of words. "I don't know why she stays with him. I can't tell if she feels bad for him, she's too nice to break up, or she thinks that she won't get anyone else so she might as well."

Chiharu rolled her eyes, "She's definitely too good for him. She deserves so much better. Half the students population here knows it."

"I knew she wanted date when she got to college," Tomoyo revealed, having been best friends with Sakura for almost her entire lifetime, "but of all people, Josh? The conceited, selfish, dumb ass douche bag." Tomoyo let out passionately in one breath.

Though Chiharu remained calm on the outside, she couldn't agree more. She defended, "it's not her fault. He just got to her before anybody else."

Meanwhile, Syaoran waited patiently on a bench outside the Student Center. Their campus was vast and highly populated by nature, so he didn't mind being outside. He was reading a book for his history in civil and engineering class- Professor Terada was still right, he wasn't majoring in engineering, he was minoring in it. When he heard hurried footsteps, he looked up to see Sakura running up to him comically with a few books under her arm, some tilting dangerously, as if unsure to succumb to gravity or stay with the cheerful brunette. Once she neared him, he stood up, tucking his book under his arm and stuffing his hands in his pockets. Syaoran smiled at her, forgivingly, because she had already started chanting her 'sorry's.

"It's okay," Syaoran nodded at the book under his arm, "I was getting some studying done." He knew she was always late, but he didn't anticipate having to wait for an hour.

Sakura glanced at the book, then smiled in relief, but still profusely, "I feel so bad, Syaoran, really. Whenever we agree on a time, just show up late, I probably still won't be there."

Syaoran smiled only in response, looking at her questionably then at the doors of the Student Center. Sakura moved to walk with him, then let out an 'oh!', changing her course.

Syaoran only had the chance to send her a confused look before seeing that she stepped aside to reveal another girl right behind her. Huh, he hadn't noticed her sidle up.

She was petite like Sakura, with long, curly tresses of smooth ebony, passionate dark eyes that look almost red in the light. She seemed amiable, down to earth, and dressed comfortably - but cutely - in a knit pullover and sweatpants.

Smiling sheepishly, Sakura turned to the girl, "um, that's Syaoran, my grad project partner. We're gonna-"

She waved her palm at the air as if to dismiss Sakura's thoughts, "no need to explain, Sakura," she spoke laughingly, "you told me what you guys were doing here."

"Oh, right," Sakura laughed. She turned to Syaoran this time, "Syaoran, this is-"

"Meiling, I know." Syaoran interrupted, reaching out to shake the girl's hand, mostly for show.

Sakura looked between the two. "Do you two-"

"Know each other? You could say so." Meiling shared a secretive smile with Syaoran.

"I think you two will have lots to talk about," Sakura spoke up poutingly, "like how to interrupt my sentences."

"We let you finish this time." Syaoran pointed out cheekily, causing Meiling to laugh at her expense.

Sakura scowled at them sulkily. She strode on ahead, leading her friends into the Student Center where other architecture students were already scouting out their areas of display.

"So I'm guessing she doesn't know." Meiling commented lightly as she strode beside Syaoran.

Syaoran sent her a sharp look, "nobody knows."

"Except for me, obviously." Meiling ignored his alarm. "What are you going to do when the time comes? Leave in the middle of the night?"

Syaoran frowned. "if I have to."

"It won't hurt to let people know you sometimes." Though Meiling looked as if talking about the weather, there was an underlying serious tone in her voice. "That Eriol's sharp. He's gonna notice when we both leave at the same time. He's gonna wonder."

"Let him wonder." Syaoran was stubborn.

Meiling didn't get to argue, for Sakura wandered back to them cheerfully taking their conversation on a happier course.

The three spent nearly three hours in the White Space, though it was mostly Sakura and Syaoran talking, but Meiling had added in some contributions. Sakura and Syaoran were both nice people, Meiling observed, they tried to include her in their conversations. But since she was a linguistics major, she couldn't be of much help. She wasn't bored, however, she had homework to work on, and it was nice in their company and in a new environment.

"Professor Terada has such high expectations for us!" Sakura was stressing out, pulling lightly at her hair, "I just don't know if we'll meet it. All I can think of right now is, I don't know, a - a big trailer for 500 people to live in and-ahh I don't know!"

"We can modify our design as we go along," Syaoran replied calmly, reassuringly, "whatever we come up with, I'm sure Professor Terada'll still be, quote, 'launched into outer space'"

Sakura's lips lifted only slightly at his placating tone, then as if a thought occurred to her just then, her smile widened and her entire face lit up.

Syaoran blinked at her change in expression. It was much like seeing a light bulb turn on. And it was absolutely endearing.

Holding out her right index finger, Sakura grinned at a bemused looking Syaoran, almost bouncing in her seat, she stated, "I've got an idea."

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Note: I've decided I'm going to update every thursday, because it's almost the end of the school week! :)

I thought you all hated me, but turns out all my FFN emails are going straight to spam! So you guys should check if that's happening to you too. (And by "all my FFN emails" I meant one, so I still think you guys all hate me)

On another note: I'm considering deleting Perchance, for any of you who read my previous CCS stories. Should I delete it? Or just let it be un-completed and all? :( Also, would anyone like to consider finishing the story?