Oddities in Oak Trees

-Twelve-

"I knew about it all along." Meiling began nonchalantly, her hair up in their usual pigtailed buns and her hands in their habitual position on her hips. She had stayed up all night to wait for her cousin to come home, knowing fully well where he was. Her cheongsam dress shone under the fluorescent lights of Syaoran's room, its color akin to the blue of an ocean under the sun in the tropics. "Are you going to do something about it?" She also knew that Syaoran had probably found out the exact truth.

It would be the first time Meiling twisted the truth enough that it was already a full-fledged lie. Syaoran should have despised her, but he knew where she stood. He knew what it was like to love now, and to comprehend that a broken heart can shatter one's self. It was enough for anyone to manipulate others into thinking what they want to believe was true. Meiling was self-seeking to have done so, but selfishness could be forgiven. He loved her as a brother would a sister, and so he understood her. "I'm going to sleep."

Meiling stared at him, searching his face for some sort of sign that he was at least a smidgeon angry or upset or horrendously baffled… any negative emotion towards her would do. "You're going to sleep?" She studied him more, the tip of her nose almost touching his as she did so. Her heeled feet made muffled clicking sounds on the carpeted floor as she walked past him after a while. "You're no fun at all." She tried to disguise her guilt with indifference as she continued to sit on his bed. "I still think Sakura's no good for you, and so does auntie Yelan."

"The kid isn't hers."

The pigtailed girl nodded at the statement, her guilt still masked by unresponsiveness. "I know. But I don't want to explain myself to you. I don't have to. You were the one who was idiotic enough to believe me anyway. Doesn't that prove that you yourself don't love that girl enough to trust her?"

"Well, I trusted you more." He said casually as he sat on the chair near his study desk.

Meiling narrowed her eyes at him as a response. She didn't know what to say back to him, and that infuriated her. "You're so… so stupid!" And then she ran out the door, her heels continuing to make the silenced clicks on the carpet. She hated that she lied to someone she loved dearly; hated that her love could never be returned. She stomped her way to her room located at the far corner of the house. She opened the door with a bang.

And then, she sat on the floor.

The back of her eyes stung as tears started to fall from her eyes. Most of all, she hated herself.

Seijou High's road leading to the front gate was full of students who were eager to go home. Club activities just finished, and many were glad that they were.

"Syaoran!" Sakura jogged up to the boy she had confessed to the week before, her eyes seemingly twinkling from glee. "Sorry, did you wait long?" Ever since they embraced that night, the Chinese lad made it a point to fetch her from her school to take her home. "Hi, Takashi."

"Yo!" Takashi waved back before throwing salt over his shoulder. He had been doing so all the way to Seijou, saying that visits to unfamiliar territory could attract bad luck and salt could ward them off. He liked to make up his own superstitions now because he felt that he knew enough to create some of his own.

"Sakura! Wait up!" Tomoyo and Chiharu lagged behind the fastest of the three, the former calling out her name. They panted as they made it to the two boys and their friend.

"You are always in such a rush, we never can keep up." Chiharu was the one who spoke. Her hair would usually be up in two braids, but lately she liked to wear it down. She also started to wear lip gloss, hoping that she could get a boyfriend before she graduated. It was a silly wish that would prove to last only until the next week. In the meantime, she glammed herself up to prove she can attract men too.

Takashi straightened his posture upon seeing Chiharu, a grin that was supposed to be friendly so strained it looked like he was smiling a sleazy one. "Hello, young lady." The way he said it was so tense, it seemed as if he had bad intentions. "Would ya like some salt?"

Chiharu replied with a flat-out "No" as she gave him a strange look. She wouldn't be able to decipher that with that one statement, she had shattered Takashi's heart into a million tiny pieces.

Mentioned boy staggered as he clutched his chest in agony. "That's so unbearably painful!" he said in return, making Chiharu frown at him. Her greatest flaws were that she was too deadpan and apathetic to other people's feelings. "Nevertheless, I'll walk you dudettes home! What a privilege!"Tomoyo and Chiharu's houses were on the way to Takashi's uncle's ramen shop so he had been accompanying them home to 'get to know Sakura's friends'. It was excruciatingly obvious that he only escorted them to find a girl, though, just like his best buddy had suggested.

"Fine, fine." Tomoyo bobbed her head up and down as she waved her hand mid-air. "Bye, Sakura! See you tomorrow!"

"See you!"

Sakura and Syaoran watched as their three companions walked away, Takashi visibly trying to get closer to Chiharu as they did so. Syaoran beamed at Sakura as they left. "I'll walk you home." Sakura nodded in return as she held his hand lightly. He still blushed at the gesture. He was just another wide-eyed boy who was desperately in love with a girl.

"Your turn to babysit. I've got a late afternoon shift at the construction site." Touya had a part time job there so as to earn money for who knows what. He never could tell Sakura what exactly he was saving for.

"Again?" Sakura didn't mind taking care of her nephew but she had been doing so for the past two weeks on her own that she was starting to neglect school work.

"Sorry, it's important." Touya didn't look apologetic at all as he rushed out the door. He made it a point to glare at Syaoran first, though.

"Geez! What does he need the money for anyway?" Sakura muttered before turning to face the Chinese lad. "Sorry, looks like I have babysitting duties again today."

The boy frowned at this before widening his eyes at a thought that just popped into his mind. "I'll take care of Hiro with you!"

She pondered on this for a while before asking, "Is it okay?"

"Of course! Leave it to me!" He had no experience taking care of toddlers, but it shouldn't be too difficult, right? He had pets before, it shouldn't be very different.

He was wrong.

The afternoon proved to be really difficult and really different.

Hiro continued to bawl throughout the day as he threw his food across the table. "I don't like!"

Sakura seemed to be unfazed by this as she calmly tried to feed him again. Syaoran, on the other hand, was frantically looking like he was dancing an awkward cha-cha. He took a few steps to the left and then to the right before throwing his head back and forth since he didn't know if he should focus his eyes on Hiro, the food thrown, or Sakura. "Ack!" He froze in his position as the child accidentally threw his meal at him.

"Hiro, you shouldn't do that to your food! Sorry, are you okay?" Sakura approached Syaoran with paper towels in hand.

"I-it's okay…" he reached out for the paper towels and proceeded to wipe his face. "I guess it happens."

She gave him a small smile before picking Hiro up from his seat. "That should be enough for you, then."

An hour passed, and then two before the kid finally went to sleep after watching half of Mary Poppins on television in the room provided for Hiro. Feeding the youngster wasn't the same as feeding his pet fish, Syaoran had concluded. But the child was easier to handle afterwards since he seemed to tire himself from wailing earlier. If Li Syaoran was ever going to have children, he prayed that they would eat in silence. Sakura carried the toddler to his bed and tucked him goodnight before facing Syaoran.

"Sorry about earlier," she said sheepishly as she sat beside him on the mattress, next to the sleeping form of Hiro.

"It's okay, I don't mind." Syaoran glanced at Sakura before focusing on the movie that was still playing.

Sakura stared at the screen as the actors bopped to the music they sang before whispering, afraid that Hiro might be disturbed from sleep. "I've never danced with any guy aside from my brother before."

He thought about this for a while before blurting out "Then, we should! Um… we should dance, I mean."

She gaped at him, confused with the sudden suggestion. "Uh…I'm not very good at it."

"Doesn't matter," he stood up from the bed as he courteously bowed before her. "Please dance with me," he whispered quite loudly, causing Sakura to cover his mouth with her left hand.

"Here?"

He straightened up as he nodded; puzzled that she would ask such a question. "We'll be quiet, anyway."

She thought about this for a moment before giggling at the idea that they would start waltzing around for no particular reason. The fact that Syaoran was acting as if it would be such a normal thing to do was a funny thing, but she shrugged it off. She was used to him being that way, and she liked him immensely for being who he is. There never was a dull moment with him.

"Okay…" Sakura took a few steps forward hesitantly towards him after she turned off the television. She intertwined her fingers into his, her forehead resting on his chest. They remained that way for a while, the dim of the night light like the glow of a hundred fireflies as they would dance to the moment that the two shared. They swayed as the stars that peered through the windows seemed to let them bask in their luminosity.

The stars were the twinkling eyes of the night sky, he would think to himself as he closed his and let the simplicity of that instant echo in his mind. He would never forget, he thought to himself. He let go of her right hand as he gingerly let his own feel the small of her back delicately. She didn't seem to mind as she let her free hand place itself on his shoulder.

"What are we dancing to?" she asked, playfulness in her eyes as she decided to look up to his searchingly.

"Do you want me to hum?" he mumbled as he smiled shyly. It wouldn't be the first time he would dance with a girl, but he thought of it as his first. "Hiro might wake up."

Sakura glanced at the direction of the child's bed, the youngest of the three sleeping peacefully. "Let's not risk it then."

He pouted at her rather cutely. "Are we… stopping?"

She tried to suppress a laugh. "I'm afraid so."

"That was quick to last."

"It wouldn't be the last." The reply made him beam at her. He understood that it wouldn't be, and for her to affirm it made it feel like there were fireworks bursting through his chest.

"That's a promise, okay?"

"It's a promise."

He went home that night happier than he felt he could ever be, her vow to him enough for him to be glad to see another day with her tomorrow. She made all things feel new and appreciated.

Then again, while there are new things that come in someone's life that can be cherished, there are also old ones that should not be forgotten.

Meiling Li flipped the page of the book she was reading, aware that her cousin had just gone home. She didn't call him the whole day, hoping he would realize she was still upset with him. Syaoran wasn't the type—as you may recall—to notice the very important things someone would perceive and so she would just be let down.

She peeked at him as he skipped towards the staircase leading to the floor of his room. "Hey!" she yelled at him, peeved that he didn't even look at her in the receiving room. She was positioned in such a way that she would be the first one to be seen once someone passes by the stairs in the receiving area. "Where the hell do you think you're going?!"

Syaoran seemed to snap out of his reverie as he gawked at Meiling. "Oh… you're here."

"Yes, I'm here, idiot!" she stuck out a tongue at him, blatantly showing her current disdain for him. "Were you out with Sakura again?"

"Yeah. Why?"

She furrowed her eyebrows together as a scowl found its way to her face. "I still think Sakura isn't the right girl for you."

Syaoran stared at Meiling before nodding. "I know."

"I'll still be the one who loves you most." She bit her lip as she said so, afraid that her words would make him hate her more.

He just continued to look at Meiling as she sought an answer in his expression. It was true she would be the one who would love him. She was a girl who kept her promises, no matter how distorted they may be to other people. It was a quality that was her greatest, yet also her worst. "I know," he bowed his head slightly for a second to show that he did indeed understand.

She seethed at his answer. "In the end, it's still Sakura, huh." The grip on her book tightened as she tried to control her tears. "I understand we can never be together, but why did you have to fall in love so soon?" her bottom lip quivered, her disposition quickly changing from that of anger to sadness. "You could've given me some time before falling for anyone else." She then looked up before throwing her book at him. "You're so stupid!"

Syaoran looked rather 'stupid'-ly, in Meiling's words, as his cousin rushed to the living room, the happiness he had had earlier replaced by guilt. He was not able to control his emotions for Sakura, but in the process he became insensitive towards the feelings of those that surrounded him. He then bolted to his room after quite some time, grabbed a pillow and placed it over his head, tying the ends together to secure it in place under his chin before rushing back to the living room area.

"Alright, let's talk," Syaoran marched towards Meiling, who was sulking in one of the sofas.

Meiling, in turn, raised an eyebrow at him. He was still as funny as ever, and she meant funny in an odd way. "What else is there to talk about?"

He thought about this for a moment before slowly saying "Everything," cautiously nearing Meiling and stopping as soon as he was directly before her.

She glared at him, disgusted with the idea that he was so sympathetic towards her. She knew she wasn't the nicest person, and it bothered her that he wouldn't treat her with anything but kindness. She wanted to hate him, and the fact that she couldn't added to her frustration. "Why do you even like her?" the girl with fire in her eyes demanded. "Aren't you just mistaking infatuation for love?"

He appeared to ponder on this for a while as he fixed the pillow on his head. "I like her just because."

"That's an idiot's answer."

"Yes, well, if I had to enumerate the things I loved about her, then it wouldn't make any more sense than just loving her just because."

"How can you say that? Are you some monkey that would choose anyone as his mate?" she spat out, her arms crossing against her chest while she leaned back against the couch. Her cousin was a simple man who delighted in the simplest things. She never understood that about him. She never would. "You didn't ever care about what others thought of you before, and now you're all over her like some lovesick puppy that can't get enough of its owner's attention. It's like I don't even know you anymore!"

"It's true that I didn't care for what other people think," he lowered his gaze as he tried to find the right words to say to her. He was bad at explaining himself, but he wanted her to understand him. "But when there's a person you care for, of course you want to comprehend what he or she thinks of you."

"Why would you say that? Why are you so weird?" she asked him angrily, the hostility in her voice enough to make him flinch. She wanted to strike a chord in him and make him mad at her. She didn't like that she felt like scum at the moment.

"I think… everyone's strange in their own way." He paused for a while before continuing, "I don't know why everyone's so afraid of being labeled that way, but I believe everyone's strange. We aren't robots. We feel. We get hurt for being unaccepted by being different from others. I realize this, but what I don't grasp is the idea of having to act like a standard."

"Well, how would people know what to do if they don't act like what they are expected to do?"

"For one, they can just act like themselves. Everyone has a heart that beats for another, and people are just waiting to be accepted."

She stood up from her seat as she prepared herself to walk away from him. "If that's the case, how come yours never beat for me when I have always accepted you?"

"Meiling…"

"What now?!"

"You are very special to me. Not even loving Sakura can change that fact."

She stopped in her tracks as she wanted to say something despicable back, but she couldn't. People had always expected her to be the disliked, unwelcome type. But with Syaoran…she was never the unwanted one. He had always been there for her, and she knew that he being in love with someone else couldn't change that.

Still, she felt it was unfair of him to fall for anyone else when she hasn't moved on from him, especially after the (forced) promise to each other that they made. She opens her mouth but closes it again, saying nothing in the process. She then left the place, ready to find solitude in her own room.

Meiling slammed the door shut as she was ready to think of ways to hate Sakura even more. She froze as she neared her bed, a familiar object placed on the mattress.

It was the book she threw at him earlier.

She paused for a while as she contemplated on whether to open it or not. She might be able to distract herself if she read, she thought to herself before shrugging and opening it. A piece of paper fell out, signs of age such as the slightly wrinkled edges and its yellowing state evident. Clumsily written on it in violet was 'Syaoran's Promise to Meiling' and below it, in red crayon, "Let's be together forever and always! That's a promise, okay?!"

Meiling frowned at the sight of it. Was he ready to erase her from his life? Was that why he would give something so dear to her that she had given him years ago back? As she was about to corner him and cuss at him in Chinese, she looked at the back of the paper.

Written neatly, in his handwriting, the black ink was inscribed on the surface of the paper undoubtedly: 'Forever and Always'.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked away before glancing at what was jotted down again. It was really his handwriting. It was a promise he would keep, after all. She had always loved him for so long. She sat on the bed, her hands trembling as she read his scribbled words over and over again: dissecting them; understanding them. And then she made a new vow to love again.

Perhaps other people's hearts can beat for her too.

The next morning proved to be just as peculiar as Li Syaoran. Meiling acted like her usual self and pretended like nothing happened at all the night before. Yelan didn't suspect a thing until Meiling began to speak in an uncharacteristically calm way during dinner.

"My business in Japan is finished after all." She smiled at her two relatives before continuing, "I'll go back to Hong Kong in two days." She then got up from her seat and placed herself beside Syaoran, looking intently into his eyes. The fire was still in them, as it would always be. "You better keep your promise!" And afterwards, she walked to her room, ready to pack her bags for the new days to come.

A/N: I'd like to place an after-note just to thank everyone who reviewed and followed or favorited this story again. Writing this has been a pleasure for me, and I hope you enjoyed reading the recent chapters too. There are about seven chapters left for this story, although it's a very simple, easy read. Hopefully, I'll see you readers in the coming chapters as well. Thanks again!