Deeper

uploader's note: i just post this to put this story in my phone ^_^v
Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. and i dont own this story...
Chapter 1
Letting go doesn't mean it's not meant to be.
Two years ago.
"Five more minutes..." a lovely girl pleaded as she snuggled more to the warmth
beside her.
"But I need to go," a handsome young man stated reluctantly. He gently removed t
he auburn strands that fell on the girl's face. "Sakura..."
As a response, Sakura held onto him tightly. "It's a Saturday, Syaoran."
"Okay, five more minutes, but after that, I have to go to the agency." He hugged
his girlfriend back.
The two of them had a late night celebration of their first year anniversary and
had stayed at Syaoran's apartment after that. Though Syaoran, at the age of 18,
was a perfectly healthy young man, he never forced Sakura to do anything that s
he wasn't comfortable with. It wasn't because she was just barely 17, but becaus
e he loved her too much that he wanted everything to be perfect for her. Sure, h
e had his share of fun with his previous relationships, but that didn't really m
atter to him now.
Syaoran was about to fall back asleep when his phone rang. Groaning, he picked i
t up. "Li Syaoran speaking," he paused. "No, I haven't... Okay... Yes, I'll be t
here... Bye."
"Who was that?" Sakura sat up and rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes.
He gave her a good morning kiss before answering, "Kiya, my agent. She told me s
he had someone send over some newspaper or something." Syaoran stood up and went
towards his door. He saw a tabloid inserted under it.
"So... what is it?" She questioned when Syaoran picked it up.
He shrugged and flopped down beside her. "I don't know. Kiya told me to check it
out..." He turned the pages, not really sure what he was looking for.
"Look!" Sakura gasped, pointing to a picture of them. One was in the park where
they were holding each other's hands. Sakura's face couldn't be seen since she w
as leaned over him, as if whispering something. Another picture was in the littl
e café near his apartment. Again, her face couldn't be seen since her back was fac
ing the camera.
Sakura scanned the paper and saw that the article was entitled 'Li Syaoran and h
is secret fling?' She read the text out loud. "Li Syaoran, one of the fastest ri
sing stars in today's modeling industry and the newest endorser of Moira Wear, w
as repeatedly spotted with an unknown girl. Sources couldn't verify the identity
of the said girl hanging out with him." She glanced at him concernedly. "Hopes
for this young star, Li, seems to be very bright, but hearts would definitely br
eak if he's officially taken." Upon seeing him frown, she apologized immediately
, "I'm so sorry! I should have "
"You have nothing to be sorry about," Syaoran cut in. He grabbed the tabloid, un
sure whether to crumple or tear it apart.
"I'm really sorry. We both know that this will affect your reputation..."
"It's not about that," Syaoran explained. "It's just... I just don't want them c
alling you my fling or the unknown girl or whatever. I wish we don't have to hid
e it. I love you too much for that."
"And I love you too," Sakura replied tenderly. "But we couldn't help it..." She
trailed off, not really wanting to argue with him. "You have to get ready. The a
gency is waiting, right?" She gave him one sound kiss before pushing him off the
bed. "Go now, you're going to be late!"
"Okay, okay. I'll meet you later." Syaoran smiled lovingly. "Go back to sleep."
"Nah... I have to go home. I have to be there before Dad returns this morning,"
she reasoned. After fixing herself, she bade farewell to Syaoran. The exact mome
nt she stepped out of his apartment building, her phone rang. "Hello?"
The person on the other line spoke clearly, "Sakura, this is Kiya. Meet me in Mo
che restaurant for lunch."
"Sure " She wasn't able to finish her reply because the line went dead. Kiya hang
ed up. "Oh well."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Hello Ms. Kiya," Sakura bowed politely. When she arrived at the restaurant, Sya
oran's manager was already there.
Kiya motioned for her to seat. "I assume you've seen the tabloids today?"
Sakura nodded.
"I won't beat around the bush." Kiya looked at her seriously. "I want you to sta
y away from Syaoran."
Sakura froze. "What do "
"I don't mean to be harsh," Kiya cut in. "But I know what's best for him."
"I I don't understand..."
"You know very well that I've handled today's biggest celebrity. I know a star w
hen I see one, and right now, I see Syaoran," Kiya started. "He's not that estab
lished yet, and he couldn't afford any scandals like that. He needs his single i
mage because his career will take off from there. He needs to adjust to fit."
Sakura stayed quiet. Somehow, she knew where this conversation was going.
Kiya continued, "I plan to take Syaoran out of the agency and handle him myself,
but I couldn't do that with you around. I couldn't make him reach his full pote
ntial because you're holding him back."
"I'm "
Once again, Kiya interrupted. "I allowed you to continue your relationship, but
we talked about this before, remember? You have to keep it a secret. This is the
 third time this month, Sakura," Kiya pointed out. "Velvet Scent backed out from
the deal because they wanted a single man to endorse their product."
"... I didn't know that..."
"I'm not surprised Syaoran didn't tell you. He doesn't listen to me, but I hope
you do." Kiya sighed. "We both know that he's alone. He doesn't have a family. A
nd this job... this is the only thing supporting him right now," she emphasized.
"Without this, where would that leave him? Would you live happy knowing that Sy
aoran let an opportunity as big as this pass? Tell me, Sakura."
Sakura's hands were starting to shake. This was all too much and too sudden for
her. She wasn't expecting this kind of situation. She didn't know how to handle
it. All those things the older woman was saying simply struck something inside o
f her... and she wasn't feeling so good about it. 'Am I...' She clenched her fis
t. 'Am I really an obstacle?' She refused to believe it. She wasn't impeding Sya
oran's career.
But then again... how could she be so sure? She was just a sixteen year old high
school student. This lady in front of her, however, had several years of experi
ence. Sakura didn't know how things run in that line of work. She didn't know an
ything. Absolutely nothing.
"Miss Kiya... I..." Sakura's voice was weak. It reflected entirely what she was
feeling inside.
"I know Syaoran is smart," Kiya started talking again. "Maybe he could find a pa
rt-time job. But what if that doesn't work out?" For a moment, Kiya looked sorry
. "I apologize, Sakura. I know I'm asking for too much, but I'm speaking as Syao
ran's agent. I'm talking to you with his best interest in mind." She pushed furt
her. "I know there are a lot of good things in store for him in this industry. I
hope you think about it." With that, Kiya left.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Later
"Syaoran..."
"Hm?"
Sakura forced herself to look straight ahead. The sun was slowly setting, leavin
g the park in a soft orange glow. "What's your plan for college? I mean, you are
a senior."
"I told you I received scholarship, right?"
"Yeah, but what about everyday expenses..." Sakura left her sentence hanging, no
t knowing how to continue.
"Well, let's see... Maybe I could stop to work for awhile. You know, to save." H
e unconsciously massaged her palm as he thought about it. "Yeah, that's right. T
hen we can start college together." He winked at Sakura playfully. When she rema
ined silent, Syaoran became worried, "Is something wrong?"
"I was just thinking..."
"About?"
"What if " Sakura swallowed. Her throat felt dry. "I..." She couldn't bring herse
lf to say it... but she had to. She opened her mouth and tried again. "In the fu
ture... what if we broke up? What if we were never meant to be? Then all your sa
crifices would be for nothing." She blinked back her tears.
Syaoran looked at her. Worry was all over his feature. "What are you saying, Sak
ura?"
"I am a hindrance to your career," she stated. "You could have a better life wit
hout me."
"Sakura." He brought the hand he was holding to his lips and kissed it. "My life
is nothing without you."
"Don't say that. We're still young, you know?" Sakura forced out a laugh. "I mea
n, what do we know in the real world, right?"
Syaoran just looked at her confusedly.
"What I'm saying is... we need a break."
"Sakura, I "
"No, Syaoran. Listen to me." She cut in. If she didn't do this now, she would lo
se all her courage and would never be able to do it again. "We need to start thi
nking of ourselves... of what's good for us." Sakura took her hand away from Sya
oran's hold. "There's more out there for us."
He remained quiet before asking painfully, "Don't you love me anymore?"
Sakura couldn't fight back the tears at this point. The look on Syaoran's face w
as enough to break her heart over and over again. She wanted to scream and shout
that she loved him with all her heart... but what was the point? It would just
hurt them more.
'This is for you.'
She thought about what Kiya said, and she realized that the older woman was righ
t. She knew that Syaoran worked hard for everything he had now, and he truly des
erved every bit of it. Who was she to take it all away?
"I'm... I'm sorry." Sakura stood up and left. She didn't dare look back because
she knew that if she did, she would run back and beg for forgiveness.
But if she did, she would see Syaoran, with his face buried in his hands, and hi
s shoulders shaking.
Present Time
"Like, oh my God!"
A girl with waist-length, auburn hair stopped fixing her things to look at what
the commotion was all about. She glanced at the back of the classroom and saw th
e popular girls go crazy over some magazine. 'Probably some new shoes or somethi
ng,' she thought.
"Sakura!"
The said girl turned towards the door and saw her dark haired, amethyst-eyed bes
t friend waiting for her. "Wait up, Tomoyo. I'm almost done," Sakura declared as
she placed the remaining things in her bag. "Let's go!"
Tomoyo and Sakura walked together towards the Tomoeda High gymnasium. They went
straight to the girls' locker room, and as usual, their friends were already the
re. Today, however, they were gushing over something.
"Hey guys!" Tomoyo greeted their other friends, Rika and Chiharu. "What's that?"
"The Star Magazine special edition!" Rika answered excitedly.
"Oh, I saw Tara Chen holding something like that," Sakura stated, referring to t
he group of girls in her previous class. "So... what's that, new fashion?"
"No silly! It's the Star Magazine special edition!" Chiharu repeated what Rika s
aid earlier. Her face showed the same amount of excitement as she shoved the mag
azine in Sakura's face "Look!"
"100 sexiest men in Asia," Sakura read the cover out loud. She glanced back at t
hem with a raised eyebrow. "So?"
"What so?"
"Okaaay..." Sakura backed away from her hyper friends. Was that a wrong thing to
ask? Geez. Sighing, she decided to fire another question, "Uh... Who's number o
ne?"
"Kenji Suh," Rika answered. "But I "
Just then, the popular girls entered, still talking animatedly. "I still think h
e shouldn't be just number two. Li Syaoran deserves the number one spot!" Tara C
hen, the leader of the group, stated. She accidentally bumped into Sakura. "Move
over, will you? God, you're irritating Kinomoto!" Tara rolled her dark blue eye
s before continuing on her way.
Sakura was brushing her hair when she heard Tara. She immediately froze when she
heard the name. With a start, she looked around and noticed for the first time
that everybody was talking about the same magazine.
"For once, I agree with her," Rika muttered under her breath. She took the magaz
ine from Chiharu and opened it to a page where an image of Li Syaoran was. "I me
an, come on!"
Two whole pages were dedicated solely to him while the others shared a single sh
eet. One of the pages contained Syaoran without a shirt on. His usually messy ha
ir was messier, but he looked oh-so-sexy. Only he could pull off that look. His
amber eyes held a daring look and his lips curved into a smirk. His well-toned b
ody can make any girl drool. His arms, his chest and his abs were just to die fo
r. The picture was cut a few inches below his navel, leaving the rest to one's i
magination.
In short, he looked dangerously hot.
The other page contained his name, 'Li Syaoran', in big, bold letters. Three sma
ller pictures of him were also included. One was of him looking shyly at the cam
era. He was wearing a tuxedo and holding out a single red rose. Another one was
him wearing a soccer uniform, with the ball tucked under his arms. The last pict
ure was him in casual clothes while sporting a boyish grin.
Sakura couldn't help but stare. He was more handsome, if that was possible. It h
ad been so long since that... incident. After their break-up, he tried to get he
r back, but she stood firm on her decision. Three months after, Kiya brought him
 abroad.
Rika read out loud, "This twenty year old heartthrob from Hong Kong continues to
sweep the ladies off their feet. With his incredibly good looks, hot body and c
harming personality, he can captivate anyone without doing anything. He can make
women swoon with just one smile."
Chiharu read the next paragraph, "This model/actor had just recently graduated f
rom Hong Kong University, with plans to study abroad. Definitely the total packa
ge! He has the brains to match the looks. All good things wrapped in one delicio
us bod." She finished with a dreamy sigh.
"I heard he was dating Lena, the supermodel?" Tomoyo asked.
"They broke up. He's with Dy Aisa now, the Chinese actress," Rika shared, rememb
ering what she saw on a gossip column before. "Lucky girl."
"You bet. But really, they look good together," Chiharu added. "They said hey, S
akura, are you okay?" The three of them turned to Sakura, who was staring blankl
y at the wall.
Sakura was brought back to reality when a hand was placed on her shoulder. "Huh?
"
"You okay?" Tomoyo asked gently. "You spaced out."
"Yeah, I'm, um... I just " Sakura was cut off by the bell. "Oh look! We have to g
o now. We'll be late for gym class!"
Sakura quickly went out of the room while her friends looked at her weirdly befo
re following out. They didn't know that Sakura went out with Syaoran. No one kne
w only her, him and his agent. Since they tried to keep it a secret and Syaoran
went to a different school, her friends had really no way of figuring it out.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Hong Kong
A forest green metallic 911 model Porsche stopped in front of a thirty-story bui
lding. Screaming was immediately heard when a man with messy chestnut hair stepp
ed out.
"Xiao Laaang!"
The man turned around and saw a group of squealing fans waving enthusiastically
at him. When he smiled back, they screamed more.
"Can I have an autograph?"
"Marry me, Xiao Lang!"
"Can I take a picture?"
"Can I have a strand of your hair?"
Joe and Ryu, Syaoran's bodyguard and driver respectively, and the building's sec
urity guards were trying to hold off Syaoran's crazy fans.
Syaoran greeted them charmingly and was able to sign a few autographs. "Thank yo
u for being here, but I really have to go now." He said and flashed them one mor
e smile before entering the building. Inside, employees sighed just at the sight
of him, but he was unaware of it all. He reached the elevator but turned to Joe
before stepping in. "Wait here." The other man just nodded.
He went to the twenty-second floor and entered the last door. A dark-haired man
was seated behind the desk. He was busy reading something.
Syaoran coughed. "Eriol."
The man looked up and smiled. "Ah yes, Xiao Lang." He gestured for him to take a
seat. He placed his copy of the Star Magazine on his desk. "That was good. Your
first time to be included in the list, and immediately, you're number two. What
do you think?"
He answered his manager's question with one of his own, "Who wrote that?"
"Kiya, of course. She takes care of your publicity."
"I should have known. She always makes me sound like I'm a piece of meat," Syaor
an commented dryly. Originally, he was managed by Tan Kiya, but shortly after th
ey arrived at Hong Kong, they decided that he will be co-managed by Hiiragizawa
Eriol.
"One scrumptious piece of meat," Eriol corrected. "The piece everyone will fight
over just to get a taste of."
"Uh..." Syaoran stared at his freaky agent. Well... this was awkward. He pretend
ed to cough and decided that changing the topic would be better. "So... what am
I supposed to do today?"
"Ah yes, about that." Eriol clicked on his laptop to check the appointments for
the current day. "We have a lunch meeting at the Crystal Plaza with Dy Aisa and
her agent."
Syaoran's eyebrow rose. "What is it for?"
Eriol handed him a folder. "That's a proposal. Kiya and I have approved it, so i
t's now up to you." He explained while Syaoran was scanning the content. "We wan
t you to get back together with Aisa."
"I thought it was just a promotional thing since we came out with a new movie tw
o weeks ago."
"And it's a big hit," Eriol continued proudly. "As of today, Aisa is the most in
-demand female lead. Why not use her? It'll boost you both more. Besides," he co
ntinued, "Both fans and media couldn't get enough of you two. They just love you
."
Syaoran leaned back in her seat. "Well, she's nice and sweet. I wouldn't mind wo
rking with her."
"No side-flings this time," Eriol warned.
"But "
"You know that this is a very competitive industry. You've been in the top for a
lmost two years, and you know how hard it is to maintain you there. If you don't
act properly, they are going to match Aisa with Kenji Suh." Eriol pointed on th
e cover of the magazine. "He's now number one. If they're paired up together..."
He left his sentence hanging.
"Okay, okay." Syaoran sighed. "But try telling that to Lena."
"Lena? The model?" Eriol asked making Syaoran nod. "Wasn't she your last sort of
girlfriend?" Again, Syaoran nodded. "I thought you broke up?"
Syaoran shrugged. "I thought so too."
"Whatever. Just remember, when you go out, make it discreet," Eriol emphasized t
he last word. "Your last rendezvous with her was hard to cover up."
"What can I say, she's pretty wild." Syaoran smirked.
Eriol just ignored him. "I have to go. I'll just meet with you later at the Crys
tal Plaza. Right now, deal with Lena. I'll deal with the media regarding Kenji."
Eriol smiled deviously.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Japan, 1 week later
"Like, oh my God!"
Sakura turned to the source of the voice again. Like always, it was Tara. Sakura
wondered what it was this time. It had been a week exactly since the magazine c
raze.
"You won't believe this!" Tara exclaimed.
Sakura was about to walk off, but she was stopped short at Tara's next words.
"Li Syaoran is coming to Japan!"
Shrieking was immediately heard while Tara babbled on, "They're going to shoot h
is next movie here! With Aisa! I heard it from my brother's girlfriend who works
at the network and..."
Sakura was unable to comprehend the rest of Tara's words. All she could think of
was Syaoran was coming here... with his new girl.
Chapter 2
Chance encounter is unexpected fated meeting.
"And for our fast celebrity facts," the TV host started saying. "Did you know th
at Li Syaoran was an orphan?"
"Really?" Rika's eyes widened as she gaped at the TV. They were currently at her
house.
Sakura thought that they would just chill. Not talk about one single topic. Redu
ndant? Good, because it fitted her situation perfectly. Even the TV was against
her.
Ever since news came out, everyone was talking excitedly about it. From what she
was able to understand, amidst the squealing, the 'hottest couple' would arrive
next week.
"How could you not know?" Chiharu asked incredulously.
"I didn't, okay?" Rika glared back. "Shut up, and let me watch."
" though Chinese, he grew up in an orphanage in Tokyo. Rhett Agency discovered hi
m when he was 9, and after the negotiations and legal matters, he was finally ta
ken in when he was 11."
Rika was glued to the TV as it showed clips of Syaoran's commercials when he was
younger.
"His career sky-rocketed after the well known handler, Kiya Tan, took him out fr
om the agency."
Sakura already knew about his life in the orphanage. Syaoran told her himself. H
e never experienced having a parent, only guardians back at the orphanage. But e
ven when he was younger, he was already strong, and Sakura admired him greatly f
or that.
"Oh, look!" Chiharu pointed. "Isn't he just gorgeous?"
Sakura sighed. She could look calmly at his posters, his billboards or his occas
ional TV commercials, but now... knowing that there was a possibility of meeting
him again, she felt nervous. She felt scared.
But she kept telling herself that what she did was right. After all, the moment
she was out of the way, his career took off. He started doing more advertisement
s, and he was launched instantly as an actor. Since her friends, obviously, were
avid fans, she was regularly fed with news about him... about his new product e
ndorsement, his recent TV appearances, his scheduled movies... and his latest gi
rlfriends.
She lived fine without him. She had a few crushes, and she was even dating Maki
the soccer team captain. Oh yeah, that was also the reason why Tara hated her so
.
" and I hear that aside from the movie," Rika was saying, "He's going to shoot a
commercial here!"
"I heard that too!" Chiharu nodded earnestly. "Anyway, so we're going?"
"Yeah! Tomoyo's coming too. I asked her before she went to choir practice."
"You are coming too, right, Sakura?" Rika suddenly asked.
Sakura looked up at the grinning faces of her friends. "Huh? Where?"
"At the Sun Hotel, next Wednesday after class," Rika supplied. "They're going to
hold the press con there!"
Sakura looked at them uncertainly. She had become so lost on her own thoughts th
at she had no idea what they were talking about. "Press con...?"
"About my favorite couple!"
Ouch, that struck a nerve on Sakura. Forcing a smile, she lied, "Uh, I just reme
mbered... I had to, um... run errands for Dad on Wednesday. I can't "
Chiharu dismissed her lame excuse. "We'll talk to your dad. I'm sure he won't mi
nd if you do it later in the day. Besides, we promise to help you with that erra
nd, okay?"
"But..." Sakura knew that there was no use arguing. They would just call her dad
and find out that she made that up. Having no other choice, she reluctantly agr
eed, "Fine."
"Okay, I'll see you when you get here." Syaoran flipped his phone close. He was
currently inside a room in Sun Hotel, getting ready for the conference. He stood
up and let the stylist's assistant straighten his clothes. It didn't even cross
his mind that the assistant was just finding an excuse to touch him.
He never thought that he will be back in Japan so soon. Though so much had been
happening in his life, he hadn't counted on being back here. Maybe he could go v
isit the orphanage. He could also drop by his old school or visit his high schoo
l pals. After all, he owed them that since his departure was pretty abrupt. He t
ook the final examination in advanced, and he didn't attend their graduation cer
emony. When Kiya suggested going to Hong Kong, he didn't say anything. He just w
ent with her, and it actually did him good.
"It's time," Kiya announced the moment she came into the room. Eriol was still i
n Hong Kong, saying that he needed to fix some things first.
Syaoran followed his lady manager out. He smiled when he saw Aisa already at the
hallway. Her brown hair was perfectly in place. "Ready?"
"Yeah." Aisa nodded. She gladly took his hand when he offered.
Kiya looked at them approvingly before opening the door that led to another room
. It would be where the conference would take place. When they came out, cheers
were instantly heard and cameras clicked like there was no tomorrow.
Smiles were plastered on Syaoran and Aisa's face. Though the flashes were blindi
ng, they were used to it.
The couple took their seats behind the long table, and their managers took the s
eats beside them. "Good afternoon. Thank you for coming here today," Aisa's agen
t started. "I would not want to delay this, so without further ado..."
Right away, hands rose.
"You, the man in red." Kiya pointed.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"There they are!" Rika exclaimed "Oh, Li Syaoran is so damn fine!"
"Yeah..." Even Tomoyo couldn't help but agree.
Sakura's friends, along with the other people there, started screaming. She defi
nitely didn't expect this. She thought Rika had passes to the conference or some
thing. Not.
They were just standing outside the hotel for almost an hour, staring at the hug
e screen. She thought her friends were crazy to drive for two hour without any g
uarantee that they would see their idol. Then again, as she looked at the other
fans who came from all over the country squished against her, her friends may no
t be the only crazy ones.
Pathetic, really. And no, she was not bitter. At least that what she was telling
herself.
"She's so pretty!"
"I'd kill to have her lips! Look at those legs!"
"They're so cute together!"
"I'd give anything just to touch his hair!"
"They're such a perfect couple!"
See, pathetic? And no, still not bitter.
"Shh! It's starting!" Some random girl called, and the crowd quieted.
A man in red appeared on the screen. "Mr Li, Ms. Dy," the man started. "We've be
en informed that the movie has no permanent title as of yet, but care to tell us
what the movie will be about?"
Aisa smiled apologetically before replying in perfect Japanese, "We're not allow
ed to give any details of the plot yet. Filming will start tomorrow, so you have
to watch out for it."
"But we guarantee you that this movie will be loved even more," Syaoran added co
nfidently. "And we're going to shoot it using both Chinese and Japanese language
."
"Does that mean you're staying here longer?"
"Yes."
At that one-word answer, the crowd roared.
Another person was chosen, this time a woman. "To the both of you, why did you a
ccept the role?"
"The character I'm going to play will display a lot of emotion. The role will gi
ve me an opportunity to do something I don't usually do," Aisa shared. "It's a r
eally nice change for me."
When the focus was on Syaoran, he answered, "When I was offered the job, the scr
ipt was given to me at once, and I found the role very interesting. It's really
challenging so I took it."
Kiya chose another person who would ask.
"Ms Dy," the woman looked at Aisa. "Is it true that you personally requested for
Mr. Li to be your leading man?"
Aisa blushed. "Yes."
The fans 'aww'-ed.
Another woman was chosen. "Mr. Li, is true that you're still dating Ms. Lena Dow
ell?"
"I dated Lena," Syaoran clarified. "But that was before I met this beautiful lad
y seating next to me."
The camera focused on their intertwined hands, and again, the fans 'aww'-ed.
"So will this on-screen romance translate to off-screen as well?" The woman aske
d.
Syaoran and Aisa looked at each other and shared a secret smile. He answered, "I
t might, but then again, it might have already."
"Did you hear that?"
"Oh my God!"
The crowd was uncontrollable now.
Sakura stood there, taking in whatever was being said, but after awhile, it beca
me too much for her. The questions were getting personal. She didn't even know w
hy she was affected. 'I'm just confused,' Sakura decided. 'But I really have to
go.' Voicing out her thoughts, she grabbed the arms of her friends. "I have to g
o."
"What? I can't hear you!"
No wonder. People were still screaming so she said louder, "I have to go!"
"But it's almost over!" Rika turned her attention to the screen, then to her fri
end. "Okay, let's go."
"No, no. I'll go ahead, you guys go finish this."
"But "
"No," Sakura stated firmly. She didn't want to ruin her friends' fun.
"I'll come with you," Tomoyo offered, well, ordered, more likely. Together, they
fought their way out of the mob. "It was fun, but I'm not generally fond of the
se things," Tomoyo commented as they made their way to her car. "What do you thi
nk?"
"... I'm crazy," was all Sakura could say.
"Hey babe."
Sakura closed her locker and turned around. Another school day had ended.
"I'm sorry I wasn't able to spend more time with you lately," A man with black h
air and dark brown eyes apologized. "Coach is driving us nuts. He's really paran
oid about the soccer finals."
"It's okay Maki." Sakura smiled. "You always make it up to me."
He grinned as he hugged Sakura. "You know me too well. Guess what it is this tim
e."
"I don't know. You tell me."
"You know the Italian restaurant you've been dying to go to?"
Sakura's smile became wider. "No way!"
"Yeah, I was only joking. I tried hard, but I couldn't get any reservations."
She playfully glared at him. "That wasn't funny."
"You know I was only kidding again, right?" Maki chuckled as he held Sakura tigh
ter. "So, Sakura, would you care to accompany me to a dinner date this weekend?"
"I'd love to." Sakura grinned back. This was exactly what she needed. This was w
hat will get her back on track.
Maki was about to kiss her when his teammates came. "Maki! Let's go!"
Both of them sighed. "I'll pick you up."
"Sure." With that, Maki left with his soccer teammates. Soon after, her friends,
Rika and Chiharu, came. Both the girls were giggling.
"Look, look!" Chiharu shoved the Star Magazine special edition to Sakura's face.
"I already saw that, Chiharu," Sakura stated dryly. "And you shoved it into me,
too."
"Look closer!"
"Well, I don't really see anything different..." Sakura trailed off. Then she re
alized something was added on the page. A signature. "Oh..."
"Isn't it cool? We literally had to fight our way just to get one autograph!" Ri
ka said, pointing to her and Chiharu's matching bruise on the arm. "You have to
see him in person! God, if you think he's hot on TV, just wait until you meet hi
m in the flesh!"
Chiharu continued telling her the story. Sakura counted about six 'Oh-my-God' in
just a span of 15 seconds. "And when I saw him, oh my God, I was ready to colla
pse, right there and then!"
Somehow, Sakura knew Chiharu wasn't joking. At that same time, Tara and her poss
e passed by them. "What a bunch of losers. Dream and talk about him. After all,
that's the closest you can get." Tara smirked.
"Why you "
Sakura held Rika back.
"Want to prove me wrong?" Tara asked with her perfectly shaped eyebrow raised. "
What do you have, an autograph?" Tara and her friends laughed arrogantly.
"Oh yeah? And who are you to talk?" Chiharu challenged.
"Unlike you losers, I had special passes." Tara took out her cell phone from her
bag and showed them the wallpaper. It was a picture of her and Syaoran. "I was
there at the press con... inside." She emphasized the last word, enjoying the su
rprised look of Rika and Chiharu. "There's plenty more where that came from. Lat
er, losers." Of course, that was a lie. It was only one picture, and Tara practi
cally begged them to allow her to take a picture with him.
When Tara and her friends left, Rika and Chiharu slumped in defeat. "Now I feel
bad for parading that signed magazine."
Sakura patted her friends' back and tried to comfort them, "At least you get to
see him up close."
At that, Rika and Chiharu brightened.
'I wonder how Tara will react if she knew the truth between Syaoran and I,' that
traitorous thought came to Sakura's mind. 'Nah...'
It was Friday and Sakura was strolling at the mall alone. It wasn't that nobody
could come with her. It was just that she wanted to be by herself. That meant, n
o friends constantly talking about 'it'.
She was just sitting in the food court, finishing her smoothie, when a blonde-ha
ired girl approached her. "Excuse me," she started politely. "Can I share your t
able?"
Sakura glanced around and noticed that the food court was crowded. Being the nic
e girl she was, she nodded. "Sure."
"Thank you!" The girl gave out a relieved sigh. "I didn't know malls could be th
is crowded!"
Sakura looked at the girl strangely. "Well... it's because of the weekend sale,"
she explained slowly.
The girl laughed nervously. "I I don't usually go to the malls. So it's sort of
new for me."
"Oh, okay..." Sakura didn't know how else to reply. Her attention was shifted wh
en she heard people gushing over something. She followed their stares and saw a
big poster being put up.
Guess who? Really, even the mall was against her.
"What do you think about them?"
Sakura's gaze snapped back to the girl sharing her table. "Um..." She wasn't sur
e if this girl was a huge Li-Dy fan so to avoid any arguments, she went for the
safest answer she could think of. "Lots of people love them."
"But how about you? Do you love them too?"
Sakura raked her brain for another safe answer. "Err... I'm not into showbiz and
stuff like that."
"I see." The girl nodded. "Hey, I know I'm going to sound strange, but do you wa
nt to shop with me?"
"I'm not really "
"Please, I just want to shop normal for once."
"But I have "
The girl shot her a perfect puppy dog eyes. "I know you want to get out of here
because of that poster. Just go with me, pleasssse."
"I don't "
"We're just going to be here at the mall. I can't do anything to you."
"Well, I "
"Good!" The girl exclaimed, smiling widely. She stood up and took Sakura's arm.
"But I didn't "
"Thank you!"
Sakura sighed. The girl made up her mind. "Fine. I'm Sakura, by the way."
And so, Sakura let herself be dragged from one store to another. Her new friend
was actually nice. She seemed like a little girl on her first shopping trip. Sak
ura enjoyed it too since she wasn't able to do this lately, and more importantly
, it took her mind off something that was bugging her for the past few days.
The two girls went to the clothes, shoes, bags, make-ups, jewelries, accessories
and all the other shops that picked up their interests. Sakura's new friend see
med rich since she bought something on every store they went to... and they went
to a lot.
After four hours, they finally got tired. They were carrying seven paper bags ea
ch. Actually, her companion had so much more, but she just gave the shops her ad
dress so that it would be delivered to her.
"I think it's time to go," Sakura suggested making the other girl nod. They walk
ed towards the parking lot together. "Here's my car."
"Okay, here." The girl extended the paper bags she was holding to Sakura. "These
are for you."
Sakura was surprised. "Oh, no, no, it's okay."
"I bought them for you." Seeing that Sakura wasn't going to accept them, the gir
l opened the door to the backseat and shoved the paper bags inside.
"Oh, no. You don't have to." Sakura tried to reach over to get the bags, but the
girl blocked her. "That's not necessary "
"I insist. You were really nice to me, and you accompanied me even though you ju
st met me. Just accept my little token of gratitude, Sakura."
"You don't have to give me something in return. Besides, I had fun " Sakura's eye
s suddenly widened. "Oh my! I can not believe myself! Where are my manners, I ha
ven't even asked for your name! How could I forget?"
The girl just laughed and cut Sakura's apology. "It's okay. It's no big deal."
"It is! I'm really sorry! I mean, we spent the afternoon together "
"My disguise worked then!" The girl smiled proudly.
"... What?"
The girl removed the blonde wig to reveal brown hair. Sakura knew she had seen t
his girl before, but she couldn't remember where. The girl introduced herself, "
I'm Aisa. Aisa Dy."
Sakura gasped. True that she wasn't really into showbiz, but she just spent four
hours with a famous celebrity! 'We even linked arms... and I even told her that
orange didn't suit her!' She was starting to panic as she recalled her honest c
omments when they were trying out clothes.
"I didn't mean to deceive you. It's just that I can't go out looking like me." T
he actress smiled apologetically. "Anyway, I just want you to know that I had fu
n, too. You are so great to be with! You are the first one to tell me that my ch
oice for make up was too much." Aisa laughed good-naturedly when Sakura cringed.
"So, do you think we can do this again?"
At that mesmerizing hopeful look, Sakura just found herself nodding.
And when the initial shock finally died down, that was when Sakura realized that
... really, of all the celebrities she had to be with, it had to be Aisa Dy.
Was the One above against her too?
Chapter 3
Silence... Unspoken words, undisclosed feelings.
The soccer finals ended half an hour ago. It was Tomoeda High vs. Vista All Boys
High. Sadly, Vista All Boys won. Again. For the sixth time. Straight.
Only a few people were left at the stadium, and that included Sakura and her fri
ends. A few minutes later, they were joined by Tomoeda's soccer players, who fin
ally came out of their locker room.
"Takashi!" Chiharu ran to her boyfriend. They talked for a little while before C
hiharu disappeared with him. The rest of the team was leaving in groups.
"Hey," Sakura greeted once she spotted Maki. He looked upset. "It was a great ga
me."
"... But we lost... again."
"But you tried your best," Sakura consoled, giving him a hug. "And you had fun,
right?"
Maki hugged back. "Still... it was my last game. I just..." He trailed off.
"It's okay."
Sakura was about to say more, but the remaining students from the other school s
uddenly cheered. Vista All Boys' soccer players were coming out.
"Dramatic entrance," Rika snorted. Not long after she said that, the captain of
the rival team walked towards them.
"Nice game," the Vista's captain stated, holding out his hand.
Maki shook it. Despite his disappointment, he was still a sport. "Yeah."
"Yeah anyway, I have to go. Don't want to be late for our victory party."
"Brag about it, why don't you?" Tomoyo muttered under her breath.
The rival captain had only taken a few steps when he was met by the rival coach.
They were congratulating each other.
"As if they hadn't done that for the past 15 minutes," Rika voiced out everybody
's thought making them laugh. "Like they had nothing " She abruptly stopped. Her
eyes bulged out, and her breath hitched. "... Is... is that who I think it is?"
Sakura, Tomoyo and Maki looked at the direction Rika was gaping at. Vista's capt
ain and coach were being approached by someone. Someone who had brown hair stick
ing out from underneath the cap. Someone who had amber eyes.
Rika gasped. "Oh. My. God."
"Hey coach." Syaoran smiled politely. Since they were just a few steps away, Sak
ura and her friends were able to hear the conversation.
The coach turned to the newcomer. "Syaoran my boy, is that you? How nice of you
to visit your little old coach."
Syaoran went to another school, right? Yep. That was Vista All Boys High, and ye
ah, he was a soccer player. He became the captain even. And during his four year
s of stay there, they had won every championship.
"Sorry I couldn't approach you earlier..."
Of course he couldn't. If he did, people would forget that it was a soccer match
. So he had to wait until it was over... and until almost everyone had left.
"What'd you think about the game?"
Syaoran smirked. "Real good. I didn't even doubt that our team will win."
"Li, come to our party!" The captain invited.
"I'm sorry. I can't."
"My boy doesn't go to small parties anymore, eh?" The coach teased.
"It's not that coach. I have an interview later today," Syaoran explained.
"I see. In any case, feel free to drop by."
Syaoran was about to reply, but a commotion caught his eye. A red-haired girl wa
s tugging excitedly at a raven-haired girl, who, in return, was trying to calm h
er down. He was about to return his attention to his previous coach, but he noti
ced the third and fourth member of the little group. A male and another female.
They were standing side by side and looking at him.
Sakura felt her heart stop when he looked at her.
He saw her.
She didn't know how to act. What was she supposed to do? Turn away? Smile and wa
ve? Pretend that she didn't know him?
However, before Sakura could decide her course of action, the other students, wh
o had just recognized him, went nuts.
"Li Syaoran! Li Syaoran!" Girls from the bleachers immediately ran to him while
shrieking. "Li Syaoran!"
Syaoran was forced to break eye contact with Sakura. He smiled politely when the
said girls came in front of him. "Hello."
They didn't know the concept of dignity at that moment as they continued their c
hant. "Li Syaoran!"
"Can I have an autograph?"
"Can you sign my underwear?"
"Can I kiss you?"
"Can I take you home?"
"Can I "
"Alright stop," Maki cut their requests before it gets any more... personal. The
se were his schoolmates after all. If he didn't stop them, no one will. Turning
to Syaoran, he apologized, "Sorry about that, they just... well, I can't explain
their behavior." He continued to shoo away the obsessed girls.
Syaoran chuckled. "It's fine."
"Well... Nice meeting you." Maki turned to the three girls behind him. "Come on!
"
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Sakura waited patiently outside the soccer stadium. She told Maki and her friend
s that she had to go somewhere. She knew Maki needed her, but she also needed th
is for herself.
She would talk to him.
And she didn't have to wait long since she saw Syaoran exiting with another man.
Amazingly enough, nobody else seemed to notice that he was there.
'This is it.' Sakura forced herself to walk. However, when she was almost near,
she was abruptly stopped by the man Syaoran was with.
"It's okay, Joe." She heard Syaoran say. "Leave us for a moment."
The bodyguard did as instructed, leaving Sakura and Syaoran alone. Sakura looked
at him, and he just stared back. She cleared her throat. "Hey..." she started l
amely. "So... um, how are you?"
The stretched silence between them was excruciating. Sakura was starting to regr
et her decision of staying when he didn't answer. Was that it? Should she just s
ave herself the trouble and leave now? Sakura swallowed slowly. Was that really
it? She was seriously considering walking away, but Syaoran finally replied. "Fi
ne. You?"
"Good..." Sakura gradually felt stupid. She didn't have anything else to say.
"So..." He started making Sakura look up at him expectantly. "Anything else?"
She felt her heart sank as she shook her head no.
"Okay. I have to go." With that, he left.
Sakura stood there, unmoving. What the hell was she thinking when she decided to
stay? Oh right, she wanted to know her place.
Now she knew.
She had none.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Syaoran's work for the day was over, and he was back at his rented house. For th
e first time after two years, he was able to talk to her again.
When he exited the stadium, he wasn't expecting her to still be there. Before, h
e had so many questions, but when the moment came, when they were finally face-t
o-face, his mind was blank.
Was it because he was surprised? No, he saw her earlier.
Was it because he wasn't ready? No, he was always ready for anything.
Was it because he was still mad at her? No, he couldn't stay mad at her.
Was it because he simply didn't care anymore?
Was it?
Syaoran stared at the ceiling tiredly. He didn't need this right now. He was her
e because of his job. That was right. Everything would be business. That was all
there was to it. Because in spite of everything that happened, his job was the
only thing that remained. It had never let him down. It had never left him.
Sakura smiled back at her blonde friend, a.k.a. Aisa. Last night, Aisa called as
king Sakura if she could come with her. Sakura figured that she needed the break
. She needed this to remove her mind from the conversation, if you could conside
r it one, which she had with Syaoran.
They were walking around the mall again, and it was about after two hours when A
isa whined, "I'm starved."
"Again?" Sakura joked.
"Very funny, Kinomoto." Aisa mock-glared at her.
Sakura laughed. "Let's go eat something then. I know a good restaurant nearby, b
ut it's outside."
"It's fine by me. Let's go." And together, they went outside. "This is really fu
n. I wish I could do this more often." Aisa smiled wistfully.
"You could go under a disguise again," Sakura suggested. "It seems to work since
nobody recognized you yet."
"Yeah, but my manager will go ballistic if she finds out." Aisa paused and took
out her cell phone. "Don't get me wrong though. I love this work. Even if it's s
o hectic, and I have to watch my every move in public, I still love it. I love p
erforming," she stated passionately.
"Well... I can't say I understand," Sakura admitted making her companion laugh.
"Besides, with this, I get to meet the most attractive men out there." Aisa grin
ned while using her phone to text. "And I must say, with my seven years in this
industry, I swear Syaoran is the hottest and nicest of them all."
"Oh..."
"I know it's all just 'doing the job' to him, and he's so professional about it.
He knows what to do, and he says all the right things, like in the press con or
interviews."
Sakura was surprised. "It's... scripted?"
"Sort of." Aisa shrugged. "The press people always ask the same thing so we know
how to answer, but when Syaoran speaks, it's so natural that if I don't know an
y better, I'll believe him." She continued, "But even if there's just the two of
us, he's still nice to me. I wonder if he will like me, you know, as a person a
nd not just his co-star."
"You're a great person. It's hard not to like you..." Sakura stated softly. She
was somewhat saddened at how true her words were.
"I hope you're right. I really like him." Aisa smiled sincerely as they entered
the restaurant. "But he likes someone else."
To say that Sakura wasn't curious would be a lie.
"You know Lena? The supermodel linked to him before? They're still actually dati
ng, but honestly, I don't know what he sees in her," Aisa said. This was far fro
m a showbiz type of spreading story. She was just confiding her feelings. Even i
f she was a celebrity, she was still a person who needed a friend to talk to.
They took a seat as Sakura pondered. She had heard about Lena in the news. She s
eemed to be, well... a wild person. Always hanging out and drinking in the hippe
st and trendiest bars, always with a fight with someone, and always buying her w
ay out of trouble.
"Don't tell him I like him, okay?" Aisa added quickly, looking at Sakura implori
ngly.
Sakura blinked at her. Surely Aisa didn't know that she knew Syaoran so how coul
d she ask that? But just to reassure her, she answered nonetheless, "You have no
thing to worry about. I won't even have the chance to talk to him "
"Sorry I'm late." A deep voice came from behind Sakura. "Got held back at the st
udio."
Since Aisa's shopping bags were occupying the seat next to her, the only availab
le was the one next to Sakura. She stiffened when the person sat next to her.
"It's okay, I understand." Aisa smiled at the black-haired newcomer. "Oh, by the
way, this is my friend, Sakura. I met her at the mall, long story. Sakura, you
probably know him, this is Li Syaoran..." She smiled amusedly. "In a wig."
He was about to counter her teasing, but surprise flooded in when he realized wh
o was sitting beside him. However, being the good actor that he was, he was able
to hide it. And to just continue the acting, he did what one would have done wh
en being introduced to someone. He smiled politely and said, "Hey."
Sakura was shocked. She wasn't ready to face him yet! She couldn't even say hi a
nd pretend that nothing was wrong. Thank goodness she was saved from saying anyt
hing when the waiter arrived and took their orders.
"Hey, I'll go to the ladies' room," Aisa informed and gave Sakura the look, remi
nding her not to tell him. Oh... so that was why she pleaded with Sakura a few m
oments ago. She saw him coming over.
"I didn't know you knew her," Syaoran started when his co-star left.
Sakura looked at him. He sounded so casual. It was as if their situation that wa
s plaguing her wasn't bothering him the least bit. "I I just met her recently...
I didn't know you were coming too."
"Aisa invited me last night. Then she sent me a message earlier saying that she
left the mall."
"Oh." Sakura wanted to say something anything but she still couldn't find the wo
rds. He, on the other hand, remained impassive. The agonizing silence was there
again, and it was leaving her incredibly distressed. She couldn't take it anymor
e. "... Are you mad at me?"
Syaoran looked at her intently, and she tried not to squirm under his gaze. "No.
"
"So... what are we?"
"Don't bother yourself with it. We're not going to see each other again after th
is."
Sakura could have cried at the coldness of his voice. Didn't he just say that he
wasn't mad? But why was he acting that way? Why was he saying those things to h
er? Why was he using that tone?
"Don't cry."
Sakura looked down. She wasn't aware that her eyes were getting watery. She didn
't need Syaoran to see her cry. He was okay with his life, so she should be too.
He was happy, and again she should be too... but why were her tears still threa
tening to fall?
Suddenly, a handkerchief was placed on her lap. She looked at him, but he was ju
st staring straight ahead. His action... was it care? Or was it pity?
"I'm not mad at you," he repeated. This time, the coldness was gone, but it wasn
't stated softly either.
Sakura gingerly took the handkerchief and wiped the sides of her eyes. At that m
oment, the waiter returned and placed the food on their table. Not a moment too
soon, Aisa came back too. "I have to go right after this. I just got a call, and
my agent is demanding where I am."
"We'll go then," Sakura agreed. She wasn't sure how long she would last if this
continued on.
Aisa looked at Sakura apologetically. "I know I promised you I'll drop you off,
but my agent "
"It's okay," Sakura assured. "I can get home by myself."
"But I promised..." Aisa paused then look at Syaoran. "Hey Syaoran..."
Already getting the message, he nodded. "I'll drop her off."
"No! I mean, it's okay, I can manage on my own."
But both stars paid no attention to her. So after the meal, she let herself be d
ragged to the exit. They bade their farewell, and Aisa went to her own car. Saku
ra followed Syaoran to his and hesitantly entered the passenger side. When they
were both buckled in, he asked, "Same place?"
She nodded. This was just like the old times when he used to drive her home. Wha
t was different, though, was that this ride was filled with uneasiness.
After almost twenty minutes, her house came into view. "You can stop here," Saku
ra said softly.
"It's not your house yet."
"I see someone outside," she explained. True enough, there were three girls hang
ing outside her house. "Thanks for the ride."
He just nodded, and Sakura went out and walked the couple of blocks remaining. T
omoyo, Rika and Chiharu were all waiting for her. Obviously, nobody was home so
they couldn't get in.
"Hey Sakura, can we hang out?"
"Sure."
"Where were you, by the way?"
"Uh... I just took a walk."
Only when they were inside the gate did a black Mercedes Benz passed by.
"Sakura?" Tomoyo called when Rika and Chiharu were out of earshot. "Did I just s
ee you coming out of that car?"
Sakura panicked. "Oh no, no! I took a walk, remember? Coming out of that car? Th
at's silly." She laughed nervously.
"If you say so..." Tomoyo was unconvinced. She was almost certain that she saw h
er friend coming out of that car. When she looked at the plate number, all that
was written was 'Li'.
Classes ended hours ago, but Tomoeda High was still packed with students. Why?
Well, Tomoeda was chosen as the location of the 'school' in the movie. Five days
were allocated to film these scenes. Two Saturdays and two Sundays were schedul
ed much to the students' displeasure. However, their annoyance was soon gone whe
n they found out that the last day would be today... a Thursday... a school day!
Sakura sighed while walking back to school. She was already at home when she rea
lized that she forgot to borrow her friends' note. She needed it for her home wo
rk. She tried calling, but Tomoyo was at school for choir practice. Rika and Chi
haru were still at school too. No surprise there.
From the short phone conversation, Rika just instructed her to come back since t
hey weren't going anytime soon. Pft.
When Sakura finally arrived, she noticed that some of the students were leaving.
'I guess it's over,' Sakura thought. Dragging herself further, she saw crew mem
bers fixing up. Cameras, lights and props were being taken away. Few students we
re still lingering around. They were probably hoping to get a closer look or eve
n talk to the celebrities.
"Sakura, over here!" Rika called when she spotted her friend. "Sorry you had to
come back." She handed her a notebook.
Sakura looked at them dryly before saying, "Thanks."
"Bitch alert," Chiharu suddenly muttered.
Tomoyo got there just in time to hear Chiharu. "I'm not a bitch." She glared pla
yfully. Her choir practice was over. She was about to go home, and she was alrea
dy near her car when she remembered that her friends were still at school. At th
e last minute, she decided to come back and see how they were doing. Interesting
ly enough, with her trip back and forth, she saw the same black car with the sam
e plate.
"I was talking about her," Chiharu continued.
Tara and her friends came, looking haughty as usual. "Well, well, what do we hav
e here? Losers dying to get another autograph?"
Sakura couldn't decide who among the newcomers had no life. Tara who kept bitchi
ng at them or her posse who laughed at everything their leader said. 'Both,' she
thought sarcastically. Sakura decided to ignore them and turned to Rika. "Thank
s again for this. I have to go home now." She turned to leave, but someone rough
ly grabbed her arm.
"I'm not done talking to you!" Tara glared.
"Did it ever cross your mind that I don't want to talk to you?" Sakura retorted.
Tara was taken aback. "How dare you speak to me like that?"
"You're not worth my time, Chen. Now please, don't touch me again." Usually, Sak
ura would just keep quiet. She was not one for trouble, but these past weeks wer
e really getting into her. She was still human. She needed to let loose once in
a while.
Tara growled when Sakura started walking away. "You'll pay for this." She smirke
d when she saw her opportunity a wire connected to a lighting equipment. When Sa
kura was right under the post holding it, Tara tugged at the wire, making it go
out of balance.
"Sakura!"
Her friends cried out when they saw the equipment fall towards her.
Sakura instantly turned but everything seemed like it was moving in slow motion.
All she saw was him running to her. All she could feel was him wrapping his arm
s around her as he pushed them to the ground and rolled them out of the way. She
felt her breath knocked out of her due to the impact of the fall... and his clo
seness to her.
"Sakura!"
Amidst the commotion, she heard one distinct voice. A voice she longed to hear c
all her once again.
"Sakura!" Her friends quickly rushed to her side. "Are you okay?"
She looked up to see her friends' worried faces. Syaoran had already stood up.
"Can you walk? Are you hurt?" Her friends asked again as they helped her up. Sta
ffs and students were starting to approach them. Tara, who was suddenly frighten
ed of what might happen, took a step back. She and her friends discreetly walked
out of the scene.
"Is she alright?" A middle-aged man asked. The students recognized him as the di
rector. "We'll bring you to the hospital."
Sakura was about to be ushered into one of the vans when she finally found her v
oice, "N-No, it's okay. I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes "
"You're bleeding," Syaoran spoke.
Sakura looked at her arm and saw that, indeed, she was bleeding. She incurred a
cut from the fall, but it was no big deal. "I-it's just a scratch. I can clean i
t up at home "
"Stop being stubborn," Syaoran cut her again. "If you don't want to go to the ho
spital, just have it checked with your school's clinic, Sakura." And with that,
he left.
"We'll bring her," Chiharu told the director as the three of them led their inju
red friend to the clinic.
"Are you really okay?
"Y-yeah..." Sakura wasn't even bothered that her arm was bleeding. She couldn't
understand him anymore. When he looked at her, his face held no emotions. When h
e talked to her, his voice lacked feelings. One minute he was civil, but the nex
t, it was the opposite. Why was he like that? What was running in his mind?
"... and Tara will get what she deserves. I'll make sure of it," Rika rambled an
grily.
They were close to the clinic when something clicked in her friends' mind. They
were too concern for Sakura that they almost forgot about it. Almost.
Her friends' eyes widened. "He knows you?"
Chapter 4
Mixed signals simply expose conflicting emotions.
For the last fifteen minutes, she was denying everything.
"But this is what he said..." Rika cleared her throat and tried to imitate in a
low voice, "'Just have it checked with your school's clinic, Sakura.' He said yo
ur name!"
"You guys called out my name, remember? He must have heard it," Sakura tried rea
soning out.
'We called your name the same time he did,' Tomoyo thought, but she wisely decid
ed not to say it. She was naturally observant, so that little name-calling incid
ent didn't escape her awareness.
"You are so lucky." Chiharu sighed dreamily. "How I wished I could hear my name
coming out from those lips... but are you sure? You haven't met him before?"
"No."
"No, you're not sure? Or no, you haven't met him before?"
"I haven't "
"Oh my god!" Rika squealed. "He practically hugged you, you know! I so envy you!
" Her eyes twinkled. "I'd walk to that equipment deliberately if I knew he would
be a knight-in-shining-armor! How does it feel to be wrapped in his strong arms
?"
Sakura closed her eyes. 'Enough of this.' She knew there was only one way to end
it. With her mind decided, she opened her eyes, scrunched up her face, opened h
er mouth and cried, "Ouch! My arm hurts!"
And that did the trick. Immediately, her friends forgot what they were talking a
bout.
Tomoyo was walking fast towards the airport's arrival section. Being the good da
ughter, she volunteered to pick her mom up from a month-long business trip. 'Alm
ost there!' She was such in a hurry that she bumped into someone.
"I'm sorry!" The person quickly apologized. The content of the cup of coffee he
was holding was now on her blouse.
She looked up and saw a man with dark blue hair and glasses. He seemed truly sor
ry. "It's fine." And without any second glance, Tomoyo walked straight to the la
dies' room. Once inside, she dabbed a wet tissue to the sleeve of her blouse. Ho
wever, the stain wouldn't go away. Having no enough time to clean it, she sighed
dejectedly and walked out.
"I'm really sorry."
Tomoyo was caught off-guard when she realized that the man waited for her. "It's
okay."
"No, I really feel bad about it." The man took something from his hand-carry lug
gage. Evidently, he just arrived to Japan from somewhere. "Here."
Tomoyo shot the man a strange look before glancing down at the tickets he was ho
lding out. "I don't "
"Boat tickets to Chondro Island," the man explained. "You know the movie 'Destin
ed', the one starring Dy Aisa and Li Syaoran? They're going to shoot scenes ther
e."
She understood his offer. "There's really no need to do that."
The man smiled. He was intrigued. Any other girl would jump at the opportunity.
"I insist. Please accept this."
Tomoyo looked at her watch. She was already running late, and this man was keepi
ng her up.
"You could bring your friends over."
Finally giving up, Tomoyo agreed and took the tickets.
"By the way, I'm Hiiragizawa Eriol."
"Daidouji Tomoyo."
"Well then, Miss Tomoyo, I'll just give your name to the port office so that the
y'll be informed of your visit."
"Thanks." She gave him one last hesitant smile before leaving.
Eriol looked at the retreating back of the girl. He found her interesting, and h
e was hoping to see her at the island. Shaking his head, he took out his phone a
nd dialed. He waited for the other line to pick-up. "Syaoran, I'm here... Yeah..
. Okay... Oh before I forget, watch channel two later."
"I love you Tomoyo!" Rika exclaimed hugging her friend.
"I love you more!" Chiharu squealed, joining the hug.
"I love you so much more!" Rika squeezed tighter.
"I love you "
"O...kay..." Tomoyo struggled to breathe. "Let... go..."
Her friends quickly let go upon noticing her pale face. Smiling sheepishly, they
apologized. "Sorry, we overreacted."
"Really? It wasn't obvious." Tomoyo looked at them dryly. They were currently at
the boat that would bring them to the island, and Tomoyo was really starting to
regret telling them about it.
"But still, I can't believe you got us tickets to Chondro Island! Trips to the i
sland are suspended because the movie started filming there yesterday. We have,
like, exclusive passes!"
"And you met Hiiragizawa Eriol! Damn, you and Sakura keep getting all the luck!"
Upon the mention of her name, Sakura looked up from her seat. She was actually f
orced to come with them. Understandably, Tomoyo didn't want to be left with the
hyper duo at the company of celebrities so she refused to go until Sakura went a
long too. If Tomoyo didn't go, Rika and Chiharu couldn't either because it was T
omoyo's name on the harbor office.
"We get to spend one whole day with Asia's hottest man!" The hyper duo continued
chattering.
"Isn't Kenji-something the hottest man?" Tomoyo asked. "Well, according to Star
Magazine, that is."
Rika looked at her incredulously. "Haven't you heard it? Kenji Suh is gay. It wa
s shown on channel two, and then the news was all over the other stations."
"There were pictures of him holding another man's hand and video clips hugging,
mind you not just a simple hug, another man..." Chiharu shuddered. "I don't even
want to think about it anymore."
"Yeah oh look! I see the island!" Rika pointed excitedly.
"I think I see Li Syaoran!"
Tomoyo and Sakura looked at each other and sighed. 'Oh boy.'
After a few minutes, they found themselves being ushered out of the boat. They w
ere welcomed by a girl, who was smiling kindly back at them. "You must be Mr. Hi
iragizawa guests. I'm his assistant, and I'll lead you to the place where you'll
be staying." They walked towards a van, and the girl continued explaining. "I'l
l be bringing you over to the main rest house."
During the ride, the assistant described to them the set while the girls marvele
d at the sight. After about five minutes, the van finally pulled into a stop.
"Miss Tomoyo," Eriol greeted upon seeing her. "I'm glad you can come."
"Oh, these are my friends, Sakura, Rika and Chiharu," Tomoyo introduced.
Sakura smiled politely. "Thanks for having us."
"Can we shake your hand?" The hyper pair was at it again.
Eriol coughed nervously. "Sure."
"Okay guys, stop it." Tomoyo interrupted before the pair could do anything drast
ic. "Sorry about that. So... um, where can we put these?" She asked, gesturing t
o their things.
"Oh right." Eriol called over some people and took the girls' bags. "Please brin
g their things to the second floor, left wing." After giving instructions, his p
hone rang. He looked at it to see who was calling. "Excuse me." He turned back t
o the girls. "I really have to take this call. Please feel free to look around."
"We'll be fine," Tomoyo assured.
"Let's go to the beach!" Chiharu suggested and quickly dragged the nearest to he
r, who happened to be Rika and Tomoyo.
Sakura shook her head helplessly when they disappeared from sight. She was about
to follow them out when Syaoran appeared.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, mildly surprised. He was just casually dres
sed in jeans and shirt, but he was wearing reading glasses.
"Ah well... you're agent, Eriol, invited my friend... um, you wear glasses now?"
"Oh this?" He took it off. "It's for the movie. Eriol insisted that I wear it so
I'll get used to it." And like an afterthought, he added, "Does it look bad?"
"No, you still look hot " Sakura clamped her mouth shut. She had just blurted out
her thoughts. 'Damn.'
If he was pleased, he didn't show it. He just went into the living room, and Sak
ura automatically followed. "So you're with your friends?"
"Yeah." Sakura nodded. "Tomoyo's here. I mentioned her to you before." She curse
d silently after saying that. They were finally having a decent conversation, an
d she had to ruin it by referring to the past. She decided to change the subject
, "So um... is Aisa here?"
"I think she's at the other rest house, but I'm not really sure."
"Other rest house?"
"It's located nearby. The crew stays there," he explained as he sat down.
"Oh... so that's why there's nobody here," Sakura said, noticing that, indeed, n
obody else was there.
"There you are!" Eriol appeared. "I see you're not scaring my guest away. And wh
ere are your glasses?"
"Fine, fine," Syaoran grumbled as he wore the glasses again. "By the way, before
I forget, about Kenji..."
Eriol was hesitant to answer in Sakura's presence.
Sensing this, Sakura made a move to excuse herself, but Syaoran spoke again, "It
's okay."
Eriol looked at them weirdly before saying, "It's not true. He isn't gay."
"The pictures?"
"Edited."
"The videos?"
"He was drunk."
"So that's why you stayed."
Eriol nodded. "Of course. I have to make sure nobody steals the spotlight while
you're gone." He smiled innocently. "So now, even if it isn't true, he'll have a
hard time proving otherwise."
"Why did Kiya went back, though?"
"To finish what I've started."
Sakura just listened quietly. So those were just rumors? In order to keep him at
the top, they had to destroy someone else. Harsh.
"So, Sakura," Eriol suddenly turned to her. "Where's your lovely friend?"
"Tomoyo? She's outside." Then she added, grinning, "With Rika and Chiharu."
"Oh... Syaoran, do you want to go outside?" Eriol flashed another smile, which f
ooled neither Sakura nor Syaoran.
"No, you go ahead. We're staying." Syaoran gave him his own version of an innoce
nt smile. If his hunch was correct, then 'Rika' and 'Chiharu' must have been Sak
ura's other friends who he saw at Tomoeda High. He noticed them even before Saku
ra arrived. They were quite... noticeable. He lost count on how many times they
were hushed.
"Come on, let's go outside." Eriol's tone was strained now.
"Nope."
"Sakura?"
"No, you go ahead," Sakura answered.
Turning back to Syaoran, the agent tried again. "Now, now, you don't want to be
rude to the guests, right? Come on, let's meet them."
"I'm not being rude. I'll meet them later since I want to rest first."
"Fine, I'm just bringing them inside." Eriol walked off.
"Good luck!" Syaoran shouted after him, laughing.
Sakura laughed along. "Yeah Eriol, you need it!" She turned to Syaoran. "But you
'll need it more."
That effectively stopped Syaoran's laugh. "Oh man," he grumbled. "Hey, no offens
e to your friends though."
"It's okay." She smiled. "What time are you going to shoot?"
"I think I have at least a couple of hours left to kill," he pondered. "How long
are you going to be here?"
"We're leaving later after dinner. We still have class tomorrow." She sighed at
the thought of school.
"Don't worry. It's your last year in high school. Then you'll go to university,
and it'll be a lot harder." He grinned playfully.
Sakura was somewhat touched that he remembered those little details about her.
He slouched back on the couch and closed his eyes, giving Sakura the time to stu
dy his features. Even with the glasses, he looked real good. It kind of gave him
the hot but smart look. He looked mature and sophisticated.
She lifted her feet up and hugged her knees. The familiarity of the situation st
ruck her. Before, when he was tired, he would just lie on the couch, and she wou
ld sit beside him and stare at him, like what she was doing right now. Then, she
would lie next to him, and they would fall asleep together. Of course, now, she
had no right to do that.
Her thoughts were broken by the laughter outside. "They're coming," Sakura state
d softly. "If you want to rest more, I suggest going to your room."
He opened one eye then another. "Nah, I have to face this sooner or later... tho
ugh I kind of wish later."
"Oh my God!" was all the hyper duo exclaimed before they jumped on him.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
The girls were outside, watching the crew set up. Rika and Chiharu were still gi
ggling excitedly. The past twenty minutes was like heaven for them, but the same
couldn't be said for Syaoran. Good thing for him, filming started earlier than
scheduled.
"You're so bad, Sakura," Chiharu pouted. "The moment we were gone, you hunted hi
m down."
"It isn't like that "
"Right." Chiharu glared at her playfully. "But we go in there and see you sittin
g next to him."
"But "
"There they are!" Rika cut them off.
They watched from the sidelines as the lead stars came out. After a few talks an
d directions here and there, they started. " and action!"
Sakura was awed at how good they were. It was like they weren't acting at all. T
heir actions and the way they delivered their lines it was so natural. But sudde
nly, the unexpected happen... they kissed.
It was about six seconds of lip lock before Syaoran pulled away, chuckling. "You
bit me."
"Cut!"
"No, I didn't," Aisa denied, obviously embarrassed that she was caught.
"If I were her," Rika started while smiling maniacally, "I'd do more than biting
."
"One more time!" The director called out. "No biting this time." And so, after t
he cue, they engaged in another kiss, only to be cut again. "No laughing. Your s
houlders are shaking Aisa," the director stated. "And again!"
After about seven more takes, Rika growled. "I swear she's doing that on purpose
!"
Chiharu was also fuming. "I can't blame her if she wants the kiss to take foreve
r, but that's going too far!"
After four more takes, they rather Aisa finally got it right. "And that's a wrap
!"
The two stars talked a bit before Syaoran left and walked towards Eriol.
"Isn't that something?" Eriol teased, but he was ignored. "My guests, which happ
ened to be your fans, were starting to get jealous. They left in the middle of y
our kissing scene. I think they should be at least twenty feet away from Aisa fr
om now on," Eriol said, recalling the nasty looks Rika and Chiharu were giving.
"Whatever." Syaoran took a seat and watched the crew pack up. He got bored and d
ecided to take a swim. Oblivious to the stares and mouths hanging open, he strip
ped there and then.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Calm down," Tomoyo tried to pacify her two friends, but really, why did she eve
n bother. They were at it for half an hour now.
"She was asking for it!"
Tomoyo opened a can of soda and handed it to Sakura while saying, "They were jus
t acting."
"Acting? She was taking advantage of him!"
Tomoyo gave up. "Let's just go, Sakura." And they left the livid pair.
"What do we do now?" Sakura asked before taking a long swig.
"I'm not really sure. Eriol said we're going to be formally introduced to the ca
st during dinner," Tomoyo shared what Eriol told her earlier.
At that moment, Syaoran entered... wet and clad in nothing but his boxers.
"You took a swim...um... in that?" Sakura couldn't help but ask. She was trying
her best not to stare at his well-built body... his tight abs... his chest... bu
t God, it was so difficult.
"I, uh... just got a little crazy and dove right in." Syaoran shrugged. He was a
bout to go to the kitchen, but he was stopped by Sakura.
"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," she warned, and then she just had to add
, "... looking like that."
High-pitched voices, as if they were angry, can be heard coming from the room. I
t made Syaoran cringe. He was really thirsty, and he was contemplating whether o
ne drink was worth risking his life for. Good thing for him, he saw Sakura holdi
ng a can of soda. "You still going to finish that?" He asked, and Sakura shook h
er head no. He smiled and nonchalantly took the open soda from her hand. "Thanks
." He drank from it before going upstairs with the soda.
Tomoyo coughed getting Sakura's attention. She wasn't even aware that she was st
aring at his back until she turned to Tomoyo's questioning look. "Well?"
"What?"
"I should be the one asking you that." Tomoyo gave her a penetrating look. "Is t
here something you're not telling me? Oh scratch that, there is something you ar
en't telling me."
Sakura looked down, not knowing how to answer. She couldn't say it. It would jus
t make things more complicated. "You see... I met Aisa at the mall a few weeks a
go. We became friends then she introduced me to Syaoran." It wasn't a lie, but i
t wasn't the whole truth either. "You were right back then. When you thought I c
ame out from the car, it was his car actually. I was just coming home from meeti
ng Aisa."
"If you say so." Tomoyo furrowed her eyebrows. "But anyway, I know that you don'
t open your own soda, but what about him? Is he really like that, drinking from
something someone else had drunk from before?"
"... I don't know? Maybe?"
Tomoyo was doubtful. Sakura and Syaoran seemed too close for someone who was jus
t recently introduced. It was as if they go a long way back, but she decided to
let it slide... again. She would wait until Sakura was ready.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"I can't believe our luck!" Dinner was long over, and Rika was jumping around in
excitement. There was a storm coming up that prevented them from traveling back
home.
"Someone up there wants us to stay here!" Chiharu jumped with her.
"Someone up there is punishing me is more likely," Sakura muttered under her bre
ath.
"Let's go out!"
And Sakura let herself be dragged to where the stars where. How did her friends
know? She had no idea.
"There he is! I told you I could smell him!" Rika stated proudly. Okay... things
were getting weirder and weirder. They needed to get out of this island first t
hing in the morning.
"Hello!"
Syaoran turned around, and Sakura could see that he was trying not to flinch. "H
ey."
The girls were about to hatch themselves to Syaoran when three men held them bac
k. Sakura recognized the other one as Joe from the soccer stadium. 'Bodyguards,'
Sakura thought amusedly. 'He's prepared this time.'
"But, but, we're his friends!" Chiharu pouted, but the bodyguards didn't let go.
"Hey, how come you're not restraining her?" Rika pointed to Sakura.
Joe stood next to Syaoran but didn't do anything. He also recognized Sakura and
thought of her as his master's friend.
"We should be getting inside now," Syaoran said instead. The three bodyguards gu
ided the two girls inside while Sakura and Syaoran were following a few steps be
hind. "What's wrong?" He asked when Sakura suddenly stopped.
"I'll come inside later. I don't think I can deal with them right now," Sakura a
dmitted. She knew that her friends would question her about it.
"You should really come inside. It's going to rain any moment now."
"I will, just not now hey, what are you doing?" She asked when Syaoran grabbed h
er. They entered through the back, and he led her to what looked like a cabinet,
but when he opened it, however, it turned out to be a door with stairs leading
down. "Wow, what's this?"
"I don't know. I just found it the other day." He opened the lights, and they we
nt down. It was like an entertainment room complete with a flat screen TV, surro
und sound system, and a comfy couch.
"This is really nice." Sakura was impressed as she looked around the room, notic
ing the billiards and foosball table on the corner.
"I haven't had the time to check this place out." Syaoran studied the CDs arrang
ed on the sides. "Do you want to watch a movie? Listen to music? Or play video g
ames?"
Sakura appeared beside him. "Oh look your first movie." She took it from the she
lf. "Let's watch this."
He made a sour face and took it away. "Let's not." Syaoran took out a horror fil
m. "How about this one?"
"Not going to happen." Sakura glared and was about to reach for a chick-flick, b
ut Syaoran slapped her hand away. "Hey!"
"Give me a break. You've watched that a dozen times."
"Just eleven." Sakura grinned cheekily. Both knew that they've watched it six ti
mes together, but neither said it out loud. "Let's just listen to music, then."
"Fine, my choice."
"As if. You're just going to turn me deaf with your choice."
"There's no way you're going to choose, either."
"Well, do you have a picture?"
Syaoran looked at her oddly before smirking. "Do you want an autograph with that
, too?"
She ignored him. "So I can stick it in that dartboard over there. I can already
imagine how fun it is throwing darts with your face as the bull's eye."
His was still smirking. "You can't aim for the life of you." They were still arg
uing when the electricity suddenly went out.
"Syaoran!" Sakura instinctively reached out.
"I'm here." He took her hand. "Let's go back." They started feeling their way ar
ound. After a few bumps here and there, they finally managed to climb up the sta
irs. "It's locked."
"What do you mean it's locked?"
He threw his weight against the door. "It wouldn't budge."
"Syaoran!" He took her hand again when he accidentally dropped it. "What should
we do?"
"We wait. They'll know we're missing." Syaoran sat down on the steps bringing Sa
kura down with him. He leaned against the door, and Sakura turned around slightl
y to rap against the door.
"Tomoyo!" Sakura tried calling out. "Rika! Chiharu! Eriol! Anyone! Help! We're s
tuck in here!" She pressed her ears against the door, but she couldn't hear anyt
hing from the other side. "What if they left? They couldn't leave us, right?"
"Relax." He unconsciously squeezed her hand. "They're not going anywhere."
"But "
"Shh."
"What if "
"Shh."
"Fine." She leaned against the door too. "Look at what you've done. We didn't ge
t to do anything." She complained cutely.
"Me? You're the one who wouldn't shut up." They were at it again.
"If you just went ahead with my choice, we wouldn't have argued."
"Between your choice and not doing anything, I'll choose the latter anytime."
Sakura used her other hand to slap his arm playfully.
After a few minutes, he asked, "Do you want to go back down and rest on the couc
h?" But the only answer he received was her head falling down on his shoulder. H
e thought about carrying her down, but since it was too dark, it was dangerous.
He settled on resting his head over hers. Closing his eyes, he whispered, "Good
night, Sakura."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Where could they be?" Tomoyo asked worriedly as they walk around the house. The
y were running on generator, but it took an hour to get it working since it hadn
't been used for so long. "We checked every room, and still no sign of them."
"Not every room," Eriol suddenly remembered something. "Syaoran was telling me t
he other day about a room he discovered. What they'll be doing there is beyond m
e, but it's worth a try."
"Let's go there then!" Tomoyo suggested. She followed Eriol to the back section
of the house and in front of a cabinet. "Here? But it's locked."
"Someone must have accidentally locked it. Wait here." He walked off and returne
d with a set of keys. After a few tries, he found the right one. He softly pulle
d on the handle, but it instantly flew open. He jumped away in time to avoid the
falling bodies of the people they were looking for. They were apparently sleepi
ng and leaning against the door. "What do we have here?" Eriol was surprised.
"Ugh..." Syaoran was shook awake from the impact, but he was unaware of their vi
ewers.
"Five more minutes, Syaoran." Sakura snuggled like old times.
"Sakura?" He was confused. Why was Sakura here with him?
"You have to go to the agency again?" Sakura mumbled sleepily. "Stay for awhile.
Kiya would work your ass off again."
"... Kay, but just five minutes." Syaoran closed his eyes and hugged Sakura clos
er, but something clicked in his mind, 'Agency? I'm not under the agency anymore
.' Upon realization, he sat up and shook Sakura.
"Wha what's happening?" Sakura sat up and rubbed her eyes. Syaoran's face was co
ld now. He didn't say anything and just stood up. That was when they finally saw
Eriol and Tomoyo staring at them, shock written all over their face.
Chapter 5
Reliving the past is like experiencing things for the first time.
"Okay, Sakura. I think I deserve to know what's going on." Tomoyo stared at the
said girl, hard. A week had passed since the island incident, and they were curr
ently in Sakura's room. "You two didn't say anything to each other after that."
Eriol followed when Syaoran walked out. The next day, Sakura and Syaoran didn't
say anything to each other at all. Not even a simple goodbye when they were leav
ing.
"What are you "
"Stop giving me that innocent look. It won't work." Tomoyo stood her ground. She
 was determined to find out what was troubling her friend. "I gave you time, but
it's clear that we're getting nowhere. You can't expect me to do nothing about
it."
"Really, Tomoyo. It's nothing," Sakura tried to persuade.
"Sure. That's why you've been quiet lately, especially when the topic of convers
ation steered towards a certain someone."
"..."
"Exactly." Tomoyo sat beside her on the bed. "What's wrong, Sakura?"
"... I don't want to talk about it."
"You have to," Tomoyo stated softly but firmly. "It's obviously bothering you. Y
ou have to let it out."
With a sigh, Sakura realized that Tomoyo was right. She had to let it out. She w
as also being unfair to Tomoyo. She kept her best friend in the dark, and now, s
he was worrying her. "On my closet, there's a box there..."
Tomoyo was confused, but she stood up and opened the closet. She couldn't see an
y box, but upon removing the piles of messily placed clothes, she saw a medium-s
ized blue box. Using her two hands, she brought it back to the bed. When Sakura
told her to open it, she lifted the lid. An old-looking but still in good-shape
teddy bear greeted her eyes.
"Meet Mr. Bear."
If the situation wasn't serious, Tomoyo would have teased her at the originality
of the name.
"I know you want to make fun of the name," Sakura stated, making Tomoyo smile sl
ightly. "That's what I did when... Syaoran named it."
"What?" The smile on Tomoyo's face was replaced by a confused look once again. S
he took the bear out from the box and noticed that it was wearing a chain with a
ring as a pendant.
"I didn't have the chance to return it to him. I didn't have the guts or the hea
rt to throw it away either."
"I don't understand..."
"Maki isn't my first boyfriend."
Realization was beginning to dawn on Tomoyo. She looked at the box again and too
k out the remaining items. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw pictures o
f Sakura and Syaoran together. 'They looked so happy,' Tomoyo couldn't help but
think. She wasn't able to hide her smile when she came across the pictures where
the couple was making wacky faces.
"It happened during our freshmen year," Sakura started the story. "I was at the
mall that time, and he suddenly grabbed me and hugged me. I was about to hit him
where it would hurt the most when a girl came to the scene. She was livid, and
she accused him of cheating on her with me." She gave a sad smile as she thought
back to that time. "I was about to protest, but he said that we had been seeing
each other for months. Then she slapped him."
Getting hugged by a stranger, and watching that same stranger be slapped by anot
her? Tomoyo found their first meeting very eventful.
Sakura smiled dryly. "Turned out, he used me as an excuse to break up with her.
He had been trying to, but the girl wouldn't leave him. I guess she finally got
it when she saw us together." She took the bear and played with the ring. "He wa
s such a flirt, you know. He could really charm anyone... and that was why I fel
l for him. We became official before our sophomore year, and that was when I fou
nd out that he was actually a model."
"... Was that why you were always missing when we hanged out?"
Sakura nodded. "I didn't mean to keep it a secret, but I had to... but we were r
eally happy. He was really sweet, and though girls were throwing themselves at h
im, he was very loyal. He was just... perfect."
"What happened?" Tomoyo inquired carefully.
Sakura's smile vanished. "I got in the way."
"What do you mean?"
"He was a rising star, but I was holding him back. You know, the showbiz stuffs,
the image, the publicity, and all that... so I broke up with him." Sakura wiped
the corner of her eye. The memories were too sad for her. "But look where he is
now. He's so popular. Everybody goes crazy just hearing his name."
"What do you plan now?"
"I... don't know..." Sakura buried her face in her hands. She looked so helpless
, and that was exactly what she was feeling. "I couldn't understand him! On our
first day at the island, it's as if we're good friends, but after that incident,
he never spoke to me again. How can I say a word to him when it's obvious that
he's ignoring me? It's as if I don't exist. It's as if... he doesn't care."
"Do you want him to care...?"
"... I yes," Sakura mumbled honestly. What was the point of lying? "But you know
, it doesn't matter anymore. Maybe we won't see each other again or get too clos
e like that again." She forced out a laugh. "Then I don't have to worry on how t
o act around him. And even if I'm around, maybe he won't notice. After all, he's
surrounded by beautiful ladies who want him." Her laugh turned bitter, and she
was unaware that she was rambling. "Do you know that Aisa Dy, the actress, is my
friend now? And she likes him! Aisa likes him! But you know what's more? He's d
ating Lena Dowell! That model who's also the heiress to the chain of restaurants
I so love to eat at. How can I compete with that, right? That's too much! I jus
t can't "
"Ssh, Sakura..." Tomoyo hugged her.
Though Sakura went into hysterics, she felt good somehow. She was able to confid
e her feelings to someone else. She had been carrying the burden alone and keepi
ng it for so long. It was slowly killing her inside. It felt nice to finally let
someone in.
On the other hand, now that Tomoyo knew, she couldn't be expected to just sit an
d watch. But who would help her? Eriol? Nah. She didn't know him all that well,
but then again, that didn't mean he couldn't help her without him knowing that h
e was helping, that is.
"I couldn't believe you!" Sakura was staring heatedly at Tomoyo's reflection on
the bathroom's mirror. She revealed the story, but what did the other girl do? S
he got them invited into a house party, and she 'forgot' to mention that it was
hosted by Eriol! Realization only dawned on Sakura when it was Eriol who opened
the door.
"I know what I'm doing," Tomoyo said as she reapplied her make up. Sakura had be
en complaining since they got there, and she was starting to feel a little guilt
y. A little tiny microscopic bit of guilt.
"I know what you're doing too." Sakura frowned. "We don't need any continuation
of what happened."
"Maybe not a continuation, but a closure," Tomoyo stated making Sakura shut up.
Sakura and Syaoran needed to talk, and she, on the other hand, needed to get to
know Eriol better. She needed to know if he was Syaoran's friend or just his age
nt. "Now, we need to get out of here before they notice that we've been gone for
too long."
Sakura followed Tomoyo grudgingly. She considered just staying at the bathroom a
ll night, but she figured that Tomoyo would just drag her out. That would simply
be mortifying.
"Hey guys!" Tomoyo greeted as they arrived to where Syaoran, Aisa and Eriol were
. She purposely sat beside Eriol on the two-seater couch. Sakura glared since th
e remaining space was on the three-seater on Syaoran's right side.
"Um, can you pass me a drink?" Sakura requested uncertainly after she sat down.
Aisa, seated on Syaoran's left, was closest to the drinks. She was about to ask
what kind, but Syaoran reached over. Aisa watched him as he took a cola, opened
it and handed it to Sakura nonchalantly. She found the action weird, but she dec
ided to ignore it. Instead, she directed a longing look at Syaoran. She tried to
hang around with him as much as she can. She even came to this party just to be
with him... but with each passing day, it seemed like he wouldn't treat her as
more than a co-star.
"Something wrong?" Syaoran asked, taking a swig from his beer. He felt Aisa look
ing at him.
"Nothing," Aisa replied over the loud music. "Want to dance?"
"Nah... I'm not really in the mood to party." Syaoran finished his beer and took
another.
"Why are you here, then?"
"Eriol " Syaoran gestured to the said man who was getting comfortable on the couc
h with Tomoyo. " forced me here."
"Hey Ai, want to dance?" One of the cast asked making Aisa nod reluctantly. She
didn't have any excuse for not wanting to dance, since she just invited Syaoran
earlier.
Tomoyo and Eriol stood up too and within seconds, someone who looked wasted plop
ped on the couch. That served as a warning for Sakura that if ever she wandered
around the house, there would be no seat she could come back to. Sighing, she lo
oked around and saw people dancing, drinking and having fun. That was when she a
lso became aware that she was the only one who had a non-alcoholic drink. Why di
d Syaoran even give her a cola? Oh yeah, she didn't drink. Well, she did now.
Sakura placed her unfinished soda down and grabbed a beer. Problem was she could
n't open it. It was such a stupid childish fear, really. When she was younger, T
ouya had his ways of shaking every can she opened so it always spewed foam on he
r. Regardless of where they were, Touya always managed to pull that trick, embar
rassing her countless times. Soon after, she gave up and let others open it for
her, and that habit kind of stuck to her. 'Stupid brother,' Sakura thought as us
ual. 'I guess it's time to face my fear... but in a few minutes... No, I need to
do this now! One... Two... Three okay, up to ten. Four...'
Her mental debate was broken when Syaoran took the can from her hand, opened it
and gave it back to her. "You drink now?"
'No.' "Yes," she lied. She took a sip and tried not to grimace at the taste. Awa
re of Syaoran's eyes on her, she took a mouthful but quickly regretted the actio
n.
"You can't handle it." Syaoran tried to take the beer away, but Sakura wouldn't
let go.
"Says who?" Sakura took another mouthful just to prove her point.
"Fine. Suit yourself." Syaoran had lost count of how many he had taken, but he w
as starting to feel a little buzzed. Sakura, on the other hand, was just finishi
ng her first but was also feeling the same.
"Fine, suit yourself," Sakura imitated childishly.
"What?" Syaoran heard her mumbling something, but he couldn't understand it due
to the loud music.
"Nothing." She blushed because Syaoran leaned over. He just shrugged and stood u
p. However, the alcohol was taking its effect so he had to sit back down. "You o
kay?"
"Yeah." He was able to stand up properly on his second try. Sakura saw him sway
a little so she stood up to support him, but he just brushed her off after a few
steps. "I'm okay."
Sakura was about to return to her seat, but someone was already occupying it. 'O
h come on!' She decided to follow Syaoran rather than standing there like an idi
ot. She was about to enter the door when he stopped her.
"If you want to get it on with me, let's go upstairs later." He winked at her pl
ayfully. "But now, I need to use the bathroom."
Her mouth dropped open at what he had suggested, but she wasn't able to retort b
ecause he had closed the bathroom's door on her face. 'The nerve of him!' She wa
lked off and tried to locate Tomoyo amidst the dancing crowd, but she couldn't f
ind her anywhere. Instead, she found herself in front of the bathroom again. Her
timing proved to be flawless since Syaoran was just coming out.
"Oh, you waited."
"I did not!" Sakura cried indignantly.
"Let me guess, you looked for your friend, but you couldn't find her, and you en
ded up here?"
"Exactly." She folded her arms.
"Uh-huh, sure."
"But that's what really happened!" Sakura glared. "Forget it." She stormed off a
nd grabbed a beer on her way. Due to her annoyance, she gulped as much as she ca
n. She reached outside and saw people taking a dip in the pool. She watched as t
hey laugh and push each other. Her eyes narrowed as she thought of a certain som
eone she wanted to push in right now.
"Sakura!" Tomoyo finally appeared. "So how was it?"
"How was what?" Sakura chugged down her drink. She was feeling a little lighthea
ded now.
"You didn't talk?" Tomoyo asked. At the look Sakura gave her, she knew the answe
r. She was about to say more, but Eriol called her from the inside. She was hesi
tant to leave, but if the two hadn't talked yet, then she needed to get them inv
ited again. "I'll be right back."
"Okay." Sakura nodded, and she was left all alone. She continued to walk aimless
ly, but she was unintentionally pushed to the pool. She shrieked, but it was cut
off when she submerged. Too bad her mouth was still open when she hit the water
. She panicked and struggled, but her mind was fuzzy. She knew she had to get ou
t, but she couldn't properly arrange her thoughts. Thankfully, she felt someone
wrap an arm around her waist and lift her up.
"You okay?"
Sakura could only cough. She tried to get back some air and breathed deep. "Y-ye
ah..." She looked up and saw Syaoran.
He helped her get out of the pool. "Where's your friend?"
The ground was swaying for her, and she would have fallen if Syaoran hadn't caug
ht her. "Uh... she she went inside."
Both of them were soaking wet. "We need to find you dry clothes," he stated when
Sakura shivered. He assisted her inside and tried to look for Tomoyo, but luck
wasn't on his side tonight.
Meanwhile, Sakura was already falling unconscious on her feet. She was already d
izzy to begin with and almost drowning didn't help her situation at all.
Having no other choice, Syaoran carried her up to his room. He pushed open the d
oor with his feet and laid Sakura on the bed. He shook her. "Wake up. You can't
sleep in those."
"Mm..."
Syaoran went through his closet and searched for something he could lend her. He
took out a large shirt and went back to the sleeping figure. "Hey, come on..."
Sakura got up with Syaoran's help. She was led to the bathroom, but she stopped
him from closing the door. "Underwear?" Hey, it was the alcohol talking.
Syaoran didn't know what to do. He would ask Tomoyo, but he couldn't find her, a
nd he doubted she brought extra clothes. He couldn't ask the guests, casts or cr
ews either. It would be weird if he was looking for undergarments. It would crea
te an issue, besides, it was unhygienic. He dug into his drawers. He knew he had
a pair of never-been-used boxers since it was too small. "Here." When Sakura sl
ammed the door shut, he went out to look for Tomoyo again.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Aisa was drunk, but she did that on purpose so she would have confidence. She we
nt upstairs, trying to look for a certain someone. Finally, she spotted Syaoran.
He was talking to someone on his cell phone.
"You gave Tomoyo a ride back?" She heard Syaoran ask. "But Eriol, why'd you leav
e "
He wasn't able to finish his sentence because Aisa grabbed his phone and snapped
it shut. "Syaorannn..." She slurred. She took a step forward, but he took a ste
p back.
"Aisa?"
She merely smiled when she saw Syaoran's bedroom door coming to view. Perfect.
"Aisa, you're drunk," Syaoran stated the obvious.
"Nooo..." She hatched her arms around his neck and aimed for a kiss, but Syaoran
turned his head to avoid it.
"Let's call your driver and have him take you home."
"But I don't want to go home!" Aisa pushed her body against him. "I want to be w
ith you..."
He tried to pry her arms off. "Aisa, stop it."
"What do you see in Lena, anyway?" Aisa demanded. "I can do what she can! I can
give you what you want!" She caught him off-guard with what she said so she was
able to kiss him, but he pulled away quickly. "Don't you like me?"
"We're friends." Syaoran held her away.
"But I don't want to be just friends! Look at me Syaoran, I'm a woman too."
"A drunken one. You don't know what you're doing."
"I do! I want this, I want you!" She pushed open the door, but she froze when sh
e saw someone sleeping on the bed. She squinted, but she couldn't recognize the
figure since it was dark. "Who "
Syaoran instantly shut the door. It would be bad if Aisa saw that it was Sakura.
"I'll drive you home."
"No!" Aisa forgot her plan of seducing him when she saw someone on the bed. She
was determined to know who it was. "Who is she?"
"Let's go." He tugged, but she wouldn't move.
"Tell me!"
"Aisa, look, you have to, whoa " He caught her when she suddenly fainted. Really,
girls kept fainting on him. He carried her and instructed her driver to take he
r back home. Now, he had to deal with Sakura. Going back in, he tried to wake he
r up. "Sakura... Sakura..."
Sakura just rolled over making Syaoran slump in defeat. He knew this was futile.
When Sakura didn't want to wake up, she wouldn't wake up. That was already test
ed-and-proven countless times. With a sigh, he just pulled the blanket over her
and left.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"You might want to talk to Aisa's manager," Syaoran said leaning at the doorway.
It was nine in the morning and he was talking to Eriol at the dining area.
"Why?" Eriol asked before taking a sip from his cup of coffee.
"She found... a girl... in my bed last night." He omitted the name.
Eriol placed his cup down calmly. "I thought we talked about side flings."
"It's not what you think." Syaoran took a seat across him. "She was drunk. She f
ell asleep."
"Let me talk to the girl first. She might get ideas." Eriol stood up. "Where is
she?"
Sakura suddenly appeared. She blushed as she hugged herself. "Um... where are my
clothes?"
Eriol's eyebrow rose.
"I had someone wash it," Syaoran answered.
"So it's her?" Eriol asked making Syaoran nod. "Then I don't need to worry about
some fan-girl who got her hopes up."
"By the way," Syaoran continued, getting Eriol's attention. "Please tell Aisa's
agent to tell her that work is work."
Eriol nodded before going. He knew exactly what Syaoran was talking about. After
all, it wouldn't be the first time that an actress fell for him. He understood
that, however, what he couldn't get was the real deal between Sakura and Syaoran
. Syaoran refused to tell him anything.
"Um..."
Syaoran turned to where Sakura was standing. "Yeah?"
"Can... can I borrow your phone and make a call? I'll just ask Tomoyo to pick me
up..."
He stood up and held out the phone. She reached over, but when she was about to
take it, he withdrew. "You want to go out?"
"W-what?"
He grabbed her. "Come on." He just wanted to escape from work for awhile, and th
is was his chance.
"W-wait!"
He looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
"Where are we going?"
Syaoran shrugged. "Out?"
"Well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm only wearing your shirt and boxers... oh
my god I'm wearing your boxers? Ew!"
"I haven't worn it before."
"It's about my size. You're not small oh god, that sounded so wrong!" Sakura cov
ered her blushing face.
"That's why I haven't worn it before," he said exasperatedly. "Come on, we'll dr
op by the mall."
"I can't go there looking like this!" Sakura refused to move. "And you can't go
out looking like you!"
Syaoran took his car keys, shades and a baseball cap. He raised a brow at her, q
uestioning her silently.
"Fine." Sakura didn't know what had gotten into her, but she agreed and followed
him. Maybe she just wanted to enjoy time with him while she still could. Ex-boy
friend or not, he was a really fun guy to be with.
"Let's go." And like what he promised, they stopped by at the mall, but it was o
nly Syaoran who went in. She waited for a few minutes for his return. When he di
d, he handed her a shopping bag. "Here. Change in the backseat." At the glare Sa
kura shot him, he added, "I won't peek. Sheesh!"
Sakura climbed into the backseat as Syaoran drove. She took out the contents and
saw that he had gotten her a sundress. Then she choked.
"What?"
"Y-you bought me u-underwear?"
"Well, unless you want to continue wearing that."
Sakura chose not to question on how he knew her size. After all, when they were
still together, she used to have change of clothes on his closet. "Fine... don't
peek!"
Syaoran kept his eyes on the road and tried to ignore the fact that a girl was p
ractically getting naked on the backseat of his car. Keyword: tried. He was no l
onger innocent when it came to these kinds of things, but come on, it was Sakura
there!
After a few minutes of rustling, Sakura announced, "Done!" She transferred to th
e passenger seat and buckled in. "Where are we going?"
Syaoran shook his head to get rid of the thoughts. He was just a regular driver.
You know, look at the road... the side mirror... the rearview mirror. So you co
uldn't really blame him if he took the occasional glance at the rearview mirror.
It was just a normal innocent glance, really. He hadn't intended to see her tak
ing the shirt off. "Uh... I know, Chill." He was referring to his favorite local
coffee shop.
"It's closed down."
"Wha-what? Why?" Like what was mentioned, it was his favorite.
"Someone bought the place a year ago and turned it into a bookshop," Sakura expl
ained. "If you really want it, there's another branch, but it's in another city.
"
"Where?"
"Nakama City."
"Two hours away, right?"
"Yup. So where are we going now?"
"Nakama City."
"What?" Sakura looked at him disbelievingly. "Just for coffee?" She didn't even
bother to argue when she saw his determined face. Definitely his favorite. "You'
re really crazy." Then she added innocently, "Can we have drive-thru for breakfa
st first?"
"Li Syaoran failed to show up in his interview scheduled for one-thirty this aft
ernoon," the TV host broadcasted. Chiharu, Rika and Tomoyo were watching the new
s regarding the disappearance of the said model/actor. "He was last spotted at h
is place the previous night. Sources say that he'd been missing since nine o'clo
ck this morning. His camp has yet to release an official statement regarding the
issue."
Tomoyo's phone rang. "Hello?"
"It's me, Eriol."
Tomoyo excused herself from the room. "Do you want something?" She asked when sh
e was out of hearing range.
"I just wanted to ask if Sakura's there already."
"Why?" Tomoyo asked, trying not to sound suspicious.
"You see... I left Sakura and Syaoran for a few minutes this morning, but when I
came back, they were gone..."
"Oh." Tomoyo was contemplating on whether to tell the truth or not.
"It's three o'clock now. He's been gone for six hours. He doesn't usually do thi
s. In fact, it's the first he pulled this stunt." He sighed on the other line. "
He has a photo shoot at five, but at this rate, he wouldn't make it."
"... Sakura isn't here yet..." Tomoyo finally admitted. Things might get worse i
f she lied. At least this way, should anything happen, Eriol would be prepared.
"So there's a possibility that they're together? Where could have they been?" He
asked to no one in particular. "Syaoran turned his phone off."
"I guess you should cancel the photo shoot," Tomoyo suggested. She had a feeling
that they wouldn't show up anytime soon.
"I probably should cancel his other interview later at eight. Anyway, thanks. An
d can you please call me if ever Sakura contacts you?"
"Sure."
"Okay. Thank you again. Bye."
Tomoyo hanged up. She wasn't expecting this, but she wasn't complaining either.
Chapter 6
Spending time can innocently lead to discovery
"Don't you have anything scheduled for today?"
"Nope," Syaoran replied easily as he turned the steering wheel to the left. They
had their coffee and lunch already, but they were still driving away from the c
ity.
She eyed him suspiciously. "Why do I find it hard to believe you?"
"Because I'm not telling the truth...? We're here." Syaoran turned the engine of
f and got out of the car.
Sakura followed suit and stared at the compound ahead of her. She asked slowly,
"Where is here?"
He started walking towards the buildings, leaving Sakura no choice but to follow
.
"Nozumi," Sakura read the sign out loud. It sounded awfully familiar to her. She
stopped walking and tried to find the connection. She stared at Syaoran then at
the two buildings. 'Nozumi... Nozumi...' She furrowed her eyebrows and stared a
t Syaoran's back again. 'Ah! Nozumi Orphanage! It's where Syaoran grew up!' "Wai
t!"
He turned to her.
"Why are we here?" Sakura asked when she had finally caught up to him.
"To visit."
"But isn't Nozumi in Tokyo?"
"I went there last week. They told me it was moved here."
"Oh."
They entered the building on the left, and they were instantly welcomed by a wom
an in her early forties. "Good afternoon." The woman gave them a pleasant smile.
"You're here to adopt? Hmm... such a lovely young couple."
Sakura flushed. "N-no, no, we're not together."
Her smile turned apologetic. "Oh, forgive me for assuming. How may I help you th
en?"
"Is Nana here?" Syaoran asked, referring to the head of the orphanage. All those
who grew up here just called her Nana.
"Yes, she's at the office. I'll lead you there," she volunteered. Sakura and Sya
oran followed her up the stairs and were immediately greeted by the sight of pla
ying children aged around three to five. "You look familiar. Are you a celebrity
?" The woman asked, giving Syaoran a once over look. He was no longer wearing hi
s sunglasses, but he still had his cap on. Before Syaoran could deny, she contin
ued, "Nah... You're taller than Leo Yang."
Sakura sweat-dropped. Leo Yang was a popular movie star... two decades ago. Obvi
ously, this lady wasn't up-to-date when it came to these things.
Finally, they reached the end of the hall. The lady knocked. A soft 'come in' wa
s heard, and the woman entered, followed by the two. "Nana, you have guests." Sh
e bowed then left.
An old lady turned to them, but her eyes lingered longer on Syaoran. She adjuste
d her glasses, and recognition started to dawn on her face.
"Nana," Syaoran was about to bow, but he was embraced instead.
"Oh, Syaoran!" Nana smiled happily. "I'm so happy to see you. It's been so long.
I haven't seen you since you left the orphanage."
"Sorry about that." He smiled sheepishly. "Actually, I've been living at Hong Ko
ng for the last couple of years."
"I see, I see. Now, let me take a look at you." Nana stepped back and smiled. "M
y, my, you've grown up to be a handsome young man." Then finally, she remembered
someone else was in the room. "And I see you brought your girlfriend too." She
nodded approvingly at Sakura.
"No Nana, we're not together anymore."
Sakura looked at him. It was the first time she heard him acknowledge the fact t
hat they had been together. It felt different hearing it from him, and for some
unknown reason, she felt her heart beat faster.
"That's a shame." Nana looked disappointed for a moment but smiled again as she
looked at Sakura. "What's your name, my child?"
"Sakura," she replied softly.
"Welcome to Nozumi, Sakura. Oh by the way, did you want to take a seat or stroll
around while we talk?" Nana asked them.
Sakura saw Syaoran looked at her as if asking her what she wanted. She just shru
gged in return. Anything will do. She didn't even know why Syaoran asked.
"Let's take a walk, Nana," Syaoran finally answered. "I want to see the new plac
e."
"Very well." The older lady led them outside. "This compound has two buildings,"
she started explaining. "This building has five floors, and this is where the r
ooms are located." They walked downstairs. "The dinning hall and the lobby are h
ere in the first floor." They walked outside. "The classrooms are located on the
other building. Special occasions are also held there."
"Can we go there?" Syaoran asked.
Nana glanced down at her watch. "I'm afraid not. The classrooms are occupied by
this time." She led them away from the second building. "And this is the playgro
und."
Sakura marveled at the place since it was her first time to be in an orphanage.
"Nana! Nana!" Kids swarmed around them.
"Nana, look what I found!" A little girl in pigtails held up a flower.
"That is lovely, dear." Nana said making the girl giggle. She walked away happil
y, showing other kids the flower.
"Why did you move?" Syaoran asked after the kids went back to playing.
"It's not my choice. A real estate developer bought the place and offered to mov
e us here." Nana sighed. "But it's a good deal because the money could help me r
un this place, and it's more peaceful around here since we're away from the city
."
"I see..."
"How about you, my child? I only hear bits and pieces of news about you from the
schoolgirls who volunteers to help here," Nana teased.
Syaoran seemed a little shy. "I, um, doing a movie here."
"So famous, so famous," she commented making Syaoran blush.
Sakura unintentionally blocked their conversation as she watched the kids. She s
miled at the sight. She had always liked children, and seeing them so innocent,
carefree and happy made her happy as well. Then she noticed a lone figure cuddle
d at the corner. Without thinking, she walked towards the child. "Hello." She sm
iled and sat on the grass beside him. "Why don't you join them?"
The little boy just looked at her, as if wondering why she was even talking to h
im.
Sakura, in return, just smiled back. "Well?" She urged softly.
"They don't want to play with me," he answered quietly.
"That's not true," Sakura replied, but the boy just looked down. She couldn't al
low this boy to continue being sad, so she asked, "Well... do you want to play w
ith me?"
"I don't know you..."
"I'm Sakura. How about you, what's your name?"
"... Shun."
Sakura stood up and held her hand out to him. She smiled cheerfully. "Come on Sh
un, let's play!"
He seemed hesitant, but after awhile, he took it and stood up too. "What are we
going to play?"
"Hmm..." Sakura thought of the things she loved to play when she was little. "I
know! How about hide-and-seek? You hide while I count to ten. Okay?"
Shun nodded shyly. They walked towards a tree and designated it as the home base
. Shun waited for Sakura to turn around before hiding.
"... Nine... and ten!" Sakura finished counting. "Ready or not, here I come!" Sh
e giggled to herself when she saw her playmate's foot sticking out from under th
e slide. She went towards it. "Shun? Where are you?" She walked around the slide
, and she heard soft chuckling. "Wow Shun, you're really good at this. I wonder
where you are..." And then, unexpectedly, she grabbed the foot that was sticking
out. "Gotcha!"
Shun laughed and scrambled to get up and run to home base. Sakura was contemplat
ing whether to let him win or not, but she guessed that he would like it better
if she didn't go easy on him. She laughed along with him as she ran too. Because
she was trying to dodge other children, she bumped into someone else. "Whoa!" S
he expected that someone would grab her to prevent the fall, but unlike the usua
l, the impact came, followed by another one on top of her.
"Oof." Syaoran landed on top of her.
"Ow..." Sakura groaned and looked up at him. Breathless, she said, "Y-you were s
upposed to catch me."
"You pulled me down." He motioned to her hands, which were fisted on his shirt.
"Oh." Her hands loosened but didn't let go. As if finally realizing how close th
ey were, Sakura blushed. This was the second time. "Um..."
"What are you guys doing?" Shun's innocent voice came.
"Eh?" Sakura and Syaoran looked down. He was pressed against her, and both her h
ands were on his chest. Their legs were tangled together, and what was more, she
was wearing a dress.
Syaoran quickly stood up and helped her. What a good role model to the children
they were turning out to be.
"So, um, I'm it again?" Sakura asked the little boy, changing the topic.
"Do you want to join?" Shun addressed Syaoran.
Syaoran was about to say no, but Sakura nudged him. "Fine, okay." He sighed in d
efeat.
The boy's eyes lightened up. "I'll be it this time!" He ran to the tree and star
ted counting.
"Where do you propose we hide?" Syaoran asked dryly. He gestured to the objects
in the area that were obviously smaller than their bodies.
"Four... Five..."
"You'll think of something." Sakura ran to a bush and skillfully hid herself.
"Seven... Eight..."
Syaoran couldn't find anything to hide himself into. He was the best at this whe
n he was a kid, but now... he sucked. He thought of climbing the tree, but it se
emed as if it wouldn't be able to support him.
"Nine..."
At the last second, he jumped at the bush where Sakura was hiding.
"What are you doing here?" She hissed and pushed him away. "It can't hide us bot
h! Go find another place!"
"Ssh!" He clamped his hand over her mouth and wrapped the other around her to pr
event her from moving. That proved to be effective because Sakura stiffened. Sya
oran, however, didn't seem to notice.
The little boy passed by the bush, not noticing Sakura and Syaoran there, but th
e little girl in pigtails from earlier came and pointed to them. "They're here!
They're here!" She announced proudly. Like the naïve little girl she was, she didn
't know she was ruining the game. When Shun came, she even asked, "Can I join yo
u?"
"But you don't want to play me."
"That's not true," the little girl said, unknowingly repeating what Sakura said.
"I've always wanted to play with you, but you're always sitting there." She poi
nted to where Sakura found the little boy earlier. "So can I?"
"Um, okay..."
The little girl brightened. "Yay! I'm going to introduce you to my other friends
!"
Shun managed to bid a little farewell to the older couple before the little girl
dragged her away.
"And there goes our playmate." Syaoran stretched.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
It was getting late. Sakura and Syaoran were back on the road, and this time, th
ey were going home, but they were still a good two hours away from the city. Bot
h of them felt exhausted since the kids forced them to play. Though it was tirin
g, it was fun. It was also hard saying goodbye so they promised to return when t
hey found the time.
"Do you want me to drive?" Sakura asked when she saw Syaoran yawn.
"No," he answered too quickly making Sakura glare at him. "What the "
"What's wrong?" Sakura asked when the car suddenly jerked to a stop.
Syaoran went out of the car and opened the hood. White smoke immediately came ou
t. "It overheated."
"What?" Sakura stepped out. "What are we going to do now?" She looked around hel
plessly. They were in the middle of nowhere.
Syaoran didn't want to make a call. It would only inform others about his locati
on. "I saw an inn before we turned. We could walk back." Syaoran suggested as he
closed the hood. He went to the backseat and grabbed a bag, which contained cha
nge of clothes. With his job, sudden overnights became a usual occurrence. So ev
en with his personal car, he had extra clothes with him.
Sakura agreed with his plan. She would agree to anything at this point. Silently
, they strolled back. About five minutes later, they found themselves at the lob
by of the inn.
"Welcome."
"Two single rooms please," Syaoran requested with his cap donned again. It was j
ust a small inn so reservations weren't needed. The receptionist glanced at him,
but he turned away just in time so the receptionist wasn't able to recognize hi
m. After Sakura provided the necessary information, Syaoran asked for assistance
regarding his car. After awhile, the receptionist gave them two sets of keys.
Sakura and Syaoran climbed the three flights of stairs. "Can I borrow your phone
?" Sakura asked when they were in front of a door labeled 304. "I need to call D
ad."
"Sure." He handed two phones to her and went inside room 305.
Sakura went inside the other room and turned the first phone on. She was instant
ly greeted by his message alert tone, indicating that he received text messages.
'One... two... five... eleven... twenty-six...' Her eyebrows rose amusedly as t
he phone received more. 'Thirty-one... wow, forty-one...' She was starting to ge
t annoyed so she placed the phone on the bed and stared at it. Finally, it stopp
ed. "Two hundred and fifty-nine messages received. Damn." She wondered if he wou
ld read it all. Curiosity got the best of her so she sat down and clicked on his
inbox.
From: Eriol
Wer r u? I've bin trying to call u. Call me back ASAP!
Sakura scrolled down. She saw Eriol's name a lot of times. Numerous names she re
cognized as people from the media, and only a few were unknown numbers. Her inte
rest was piqued more when she saw Aisa's name once in a while. She clicked on on
e.
From: Dy Aisa
Sori abt last nyt. I
Sakura exited his inbox quickly. Though her curiosity wasn't satisfied, she knew
that she had no right to read the rest of Aisa's text message. To remove her mi
nd from it, she clicked on his contacts instead. "Oh wow..." She mumbled to hers
elf when she saw names of popular celebrities. The thought of copying the number
s of her favorite actors crossed her mind. Too bad there was no pen.
Her exploration of his phone was interrupted when it started ringing. An unknown
number flashed, and in a moment of panic, she turned it off.
Sakura took the other phone and turned it on. Like the first one, his message al
ert tone was heard, but this time, she saw that he only had nine messages all fr
om Eriol. "Must be his private phone." She examined the sleek gadget on her hand
. She opened the contacts, and it contained three people only. "Eriol, Kiya, Len
a..." Oh.
Against her will, she felt her heart twist. She stared at the phone for a moment
before shaking her head and dialing her home number. She told her father that s
he wouldn't be coming home tonight and that she was staying over at a friend's h
ouse. After a few more questions from her father and a few manipulating of the t
ruth from her side, they hanged up.
A knock on the door came. "Sakura?"
She stood up, holding both phones in one hand while using the other to unlock an
d turn the knob. "Here, thanks."
Syaoran held out a shirt. "This is the smallest I can lend you."
She was surprised that he offered but took the cloth nonetheless. She really nee
ded it since all that playing made her dirty. She said another thank you before
closing the door.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
After taking a shower, Syaoran lied down on the bed. His hand came in contact wi
th his phone and noticed that his private phone was open. 'She must have used th
is one,' he deduced. He went to the dialed numbers and saved it as 'Sakura'. Wit
h the task done, he placed it on the nightstand and prepared to get some sleep.
After disappearing today, he will definitely need the energy for tomorrow.
"Where have you been?" was the first thing Eriol asked when Syaoran arrived at t
he house. "You've been gone for one whole day."
Syaoran looked at his watch. "Not really, just twenty three hours."
Eriol ignored what Syaoran said and asked again, "So where have you been?"
"Out." Syaoran sighed. He knew that Eriol wouldn't let him off. "The orphanage."
"But why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you call?"
"I... I just wanted to get away for awhile..."
Eriol looked at him. As much as he understood, he needed to make sure that it wo
uldn't happen again. At times like this, he hated his job. "With Sakura?"
"Yes."
"No, with Aisa."
Syaoran was confused. "What?"
"That's what we're going to tell the press," Eriol explained. "We didn't let her
go out yesterday. So what happened was that you secretly went to the orphanage
with Aisa."
Syaoran remained quiet. The orphanage was a special place for him and he felt ha
ppy being there. Lying about it felt totally wrong. "If you want to use Aisa, th
en I went out with her somewhere else," he stated firmly and emphasized his next
sentence. "Never the orphanage with her."
Eriol gave in, "Fine."
"I'm so glad that Syaoran and I are able to talk normal again. I felt awkward fo
r a week," Aisa said to the person on the other line. "But it's hard since I sti
ll like him a lot... wait, hold on." She looked at the woman, who entered her dr
essing room. "I didn't know you were coming today."
"Got here just an hour ago," Kiya stated. "I need to talk to you."
"Wait." Aisa returned to the phone. "I'll talk to you later, okay? Thanks for li
stening to me the other day and today... okay bye, Sakura." She hanged up.
"You know Sakura?" Kiya asked curiously making the other girl nod. "Oh, Syaoran
introduced you? I didn't know they were still keeping in touch." She said the la
st sentence more to herself.
Aisa gave Syaoran's manager a confused look before taking the hairbrush. "No, I
introduced her to Syaoran."
"Ah, we must have been talking about a different person." Kiya remained quiet as
if thinking of something. She wasn't the type to forget even the smallest of th
ings. "I think her name is Kinomoto Sakura."
Aisa looked at the older woman again. They were talking about the same Sakura. "
What about her?"
Kiya shrugged nonchalantly. "She was his ex-girlfriend. Anyway, I came here to d
iscuss something with you and your manager about the upcoming..."
Aisa couldn't process the rest of Kiya's words. The agent was oblivious to the i
mpact of her information as she continued to talk. Aisa gripped the brush she wa
s holding, 'They knew each other.'
Chapter 7
Rivalry. Competition. Dispute. Enmity. Jealousy.
Sakura was waiting patiently for Aisa. The latter called her asking for them to
meet in a private area. So here she was, in a hotel room that Aisa instructed he
r to go to. Something about Aisa's tone bothered her, but she shrugged it off. F
inally, the door opened. "Oh, hi "
"Sakura."
Sakura almost winced at the coldness that enlaced her name when Aisa said it. So
mething was definitely wrong. Worried about her friend, she asked, "Is everythin
g okay?"
"So you're still going to play that game of yours?" Aisa asked. Her anger was ba
rely contained.
"What game?" Sakura was utterly confused. "What are you talking about?"
"You're still playing innocent?" Aisa's eyes narrowed with disgust. "Guess what,
I'm done playing!"
"I don't get "
"How could you?"
Sakura was taken aback at the sudden outburst. "What's the matter "
"Cut the act!" Aisa was now really furious. "I trusted you, Sakura! I trusted yo
u!"
"What are I don't understand " Sakura was able to break in. Since their conversat
ion started, she wasn't able to understand a thing.
"I know it! I know your relationship with Syaoran!"
Sakura froze as realization hit her. She wasn't expecting this.
"You know what, you could be an actress! You really had me fooled!" Aisa pointed
a finger to Sakura. "You are the worst person I have ever met!"
Sakura was hurt. "Aisa "
"I bet you're so proud of yourself, aren't you? You made me believe that I could
trust you, and I was stupid enough to do that!"
"No, no..."
"I told you everything I felt about him! But you didn't even bother to tell me t
he truth! I bet you were laughing your ass of every time I confided in you!"
"That's not true..."
"Oh yeah? Why should I believe you?" Aisa demanded. She wasn't mad because of Sa
kura's relationship with Syaoran. She was mad because she felt betrayed. "I thou
ght you were my friend!"
"I am your friend "
"Bull! If you treated me as your friend, you would have told me! How could you l
ie to me? All this time, you were lying to me! All those feelings I have for him
, I told no one but you!"
"I-I'm sorry." Sakura felt weak and helpless in the situation. She might have no
t done something intentionally wrong, but she couldn't find the strength to defe
nd herself either.
"You betrayed my trust!"
"I-I didn't I didn't mean to... I'm sorry..."
"Why, Sakura? Why?" Aisa's tone became somewhat pleading, as if begging to under
stand why someone she considered as one of her closest friend lied to her.
When Sakura was able to look at the actress clearly, she saw anger... resentment
... betrayal... and most of all, pain. Aisa was right. She had been holding out
the truth while the other girl had been nothing but honest to her.
"How could you do this?"
The remorse Sakura was feeling was too much. "Syaoran... Syaoran and I didn't en
d good..." She started explaining with an equally pained voice. "I hadn't really
counted on meeting him again... much less you..."
Aisa listened, but she wasn't totally calmed down. It wasn't as if her feelings
could go away with a snap of a finger.
"But then..." Sakura closed her eyes for a moment. "Then the unexpected happen,
and we met each other. And... and when I saw him again that time you introduced
us, I wasn't prepared. And by that time, you have already told me you liked him.
"
"You could have told me after, but you didn't. You had lots of chance to tell me
... but you didn't!"
"I-I'm sorry... I didn't know what else to do." Sakura felt her energy being dra
ined out of her. "But what I know when I made the decision not to tell you was t
hat I didn't want to get in the way..." She said tiredly but sincerely. "Believe
it or not, I treated you as a friend, and I wanted you to be happy. You deserve
d to be happy."
Both of them remained quiet until Aisa broke the silence. "I wish I could believ
e you... but right now, I am doubting everything you have said and done."
Sakura sank to the chair as Aisa left the room. The coldness of Aisa's words hun
g in the air. She felt miserable because she had hurt someone she was close to.
Though it was unintended, the effect was the same.
She felt so depressed... so dejected... so ashamed of herself.
One week passed, and Sakura wasn't feeling any better than she did seven days ag
o. Though now, in fairness to her, was able to handle it. She explained her part
, and it was now up to the actress whether she would believe her or not. Sakura
dearly hoped for the former because she didn't want to lose a friend.
"There they are!" Chiharu suddenly exclaimed. She went to Takashi and Sakura to
Maki.
"Hey..." Sakura smiled. "Good luck on your game."
Though the soccer championship was over, a 'Season Special: All-Star' game would
take place today. This kind of game was held every three years between the two
teams who fought during the finals. Only chosen players, alumni included, were a
llowed to play. Maki was selected so that was why he was still pretty busy even
after the championship game.
"We're going to beat them this time," Maki announced confidently.
"Just have fun, okay?" Sakura said. "It's just a friendly game after all, not a
title match."
He just shrugged. "Well yeah, anyway, I've heard that model, Li, is going to pla
y today."
"Really?" Sakura asked. She was surprised, but now that she thought of it, she s
houldn't really be. With his skills, it was expected.
"Yeah, people are making a big deal about it." He snorted. "What can he do anywa
y, smile and act?"
Maki was good at soccer, no question about it. However, it was only at the start
of their junior year did he join the team, and by that time, Syaoran had alread
y graduated.
"He's really good." The words were out before Sakura could stop it. That made Ma
ki look at her suspiciously. "That's what I heard," she added quickly. She inwar
dly scowled at her pathetic cover up. Heard? She watched his every game.
He sighed, relieved. "I thought you're turning out to be one of his fan-girls."
"Maki!" One of the players appeared out of nowhere. "Coach wants to talk to us!"
Maki turned to Sakura. "Wait for me, I'll be back soon."
Sakura nodded and watched as Maki entered the room. She glanced around the hallw
ay and noticed that it was empty. Figures. The game was still a good two hours a
way, and spectators weren't allowed to go to where she was. She was only permitt
ed to be there because of Maki.
"Hey."
Sakura snapped out of her trance. "Oh... hi... " She was surprised to see Syaora
n. Frowning in confusion, she started, "Your team is on the other side."
"Oh..." He looked around. "So that explains the blue and red banners," he said,
referring to Tomoeda High's official color. "My previous engagement got cancelle
d so it was a last minute thing. I wasn't informed about little details."
Sakura smiled amusedly. It was a last minute things for him, yet everybody knew
he was playing today.
"So, who's side are you on?" He smiled good-naturedly. Back then, this line was
always their conversation starter whenever there was a Tomoeda-Vista game.
"Tomoeda, of course." She grinned.
He said the next line as he did many times before. "Must you always side with th
e losers?"
"Well then "
"Li." Maki came, frowning. He obviously heard Syaoran. "Your team is over there.
" He motioned at the other direction. He didn't care if he was dealing with a ce
lebrity as he continued to glare.
"I know." Syaoran didn't like the attitude of the guy.
Maki faced Sakura. "I have to get ready. I'll meet you after the game, okay?"
Sakura was about to nod affirmative but was unable to when Maki kissed her. Even
though they had their fair share of kisses before, Sakura tensed because she wa
s aware that Syaoran was still standing there. Maki pulled away, not noticing th
at Sakura didn't kiss him back. Before she could stop herself, her gaze immediat
ely darted to Syaoran, but she couldn't read his expression.
On the other hand, because of Syaoran's thorough workshop, he knew how to contro
l his facial muscles. But the display he just witnessed didn't completely stop h
is eyes from narrowing.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Tomoeda High students cheered loudly when Maki, the goalie, blocked the ball kic
ked by Syaoran. The senior student directed an arrogant smirk towards him.
Syaoran growled. He was a little rusty that much he was willing to admit. But th
ere was no way he was going to let that senior student beat him.
It was official. He didn't like the guy, and he was going to show just how much.
When Syaoran took possession of the ball again, everything happened so fast. He
hit the ball with such power and accuracy that the defenders and the goalie were
n't able to do anything. The crowd was stunned, but when it sank it, they turned
wild.
"Did you see that?"
"What an incredible shot!"
"Oh my god!"
Students from both schools were getting crazy. It was actually a funny sight bec
ause Tomoeda High's students were cheering for one of the players from their riv
al team.
It was Syaoran's turn to smirk this time, and it was effective in wiping out the
smug look on Maki's face. For the rest of the game, Syaoran performed incredibl
y well. He could be a remarkable goalie or midfielder or defender, but as a forw
ard or striker, he was unbelievably amazing. His aim was precise, and his every
kick carry so much force that at one time, Maki was thrown back when he caught t
he ball.
Once Syaoran had set his mind, he was unstoppable. And right now, for some unkno
wn reason, he was determined to make that Tomoeda goalie eat his dust.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"No! There's no way in hell I'll get Li's autograph for you!"
Sakura tried not to eavesdrop, but Maki was almost shouting at his younger siste
r over the phone. The game was over, and they were now at the after-party sponso
red by the association that organized the game.
And oh yeah, the results? Tomoeda lost. Yes, it was saddening, but Tomoeda playe
rs didn't hold a grudge about it. It was just a friendly game, and besides, it w
as a good one. The best, if Sakura could say so herself, but what she didn't und
erstand, though, was why Maki was royally pissed.
"I don't even understand why you idolize someone as arrogant and conceited as hi
m!" Maki continued saying.
Sakura raised a brow. Now, where did that came from?
"No!" With that one word, Maki hung up.
"Maki?"
He turned to Sakura. "Sorry about that." His face visibly relaxed. "She kept bug
ging me about getting his autograph for her."
"Why won't you? I mean, it's just an autograph. It's for your sister anyway," Sa
kura pointed out softly.
Maki snorted. "No way! I really don't get it. All he does is act, and people are
practically worshipping him."
"Yo Maki!" Takashi slapped the other man's back. "I hear Li is over there, come
on! Let's talk to him! I really want to ask how he did that kick "
"Talk to him yourself," Maki cut unkindly. "Are you one of his fans now, huh? Yo
u idolize him too, huh?"
"Whoa, whoa." Takashi raised his hand in mock-surrender. He looked at Maki stran
gely, but the latter just glared at him. "What's up with him?" He directed the q
uestion to Sakura, who just gave him an apologetic look. She didn't know either.
He continued, "Yeah, anyway, Chiharu told me to tell you to call her when you g
et back home."
"Okay, I will. Thanks."
"Later." Takashi went off to the direction he pointed to Maki earlier.
"What's wrong?" Sakura finally asked.
"Nothing."
"Nothing? Yet you told your sister and Takashi off?"
"It's nothing. I'm just getting tired of hearing Li this and Li that."
"Li is here? As in Li Syaoran?" Some random female appeared beside them, looking
very excited. Sakura recognized her as a girlfriend of one of the players. "I t
hought he was going somewhere else after the game. Where is he?"
"Get lost lady," Maki replied coldly.
Sakura could tell the girl was offended so she immediately cut in, "I heard he w
as over there."
The girl smiled again and rambled on, "Could you come with me? You know, just to
knock some sense into me when I'm finally face to face with him? I don't want t
o look dumb in front of him."
"Then you shouldn't be looking like yourself," Maki retorted again.
"Excuse us for a sec." Sakura grabbed Maki after flashing an apologetic smile to
the girl. "Why are you being so rude?" She hissed, but she got no answer. "If y
ou're going to be like that for the rest of the night "
"He's over there!" The same girl snatched Sakura. She didn't mean to interrupt.
It was just that Li Syaoran passed by. He passed by that reason alone would excu
se any action. Well, in fan-girl's logic anyway. Before Sakura could protest, th
e girl dragged her. "Li Syaoran!"
Syaoran turned his head when he heard his name. He saw an unfamiliar girl bounci
ng up and down. Though that girl was creating a scene, his focus was on Sakura w
ho kept looking back.
"Yes?"
As the girl melt, Sakura looked like she just realized that she was in the prese
nce of Syaoran.
"Um... I think your friend wanted to say something." Syaoran referred to the gir
l who was frozen on her spot.
Sakura sweat-dropped. Doing her supposed job, she shook the other girl out of he
r reverie. "Hey..."
After a few seconds, the girl recovered and instantly went back to her excited s
elf. "Can I take a picture with you, please, please?"
"Sure."
She handed Sakura her cam and went to Syaoran, smiling brightly.
"Okay, one... two... three... done."
"Thank you! Thank you!" The girl took her cam, and upon seeing Sakura's phone, s
he took it as well. She shoved Sakura to Syaoran announcing, "Your turn!"
Sakura was surprised at the sudden push, but she was caught by Syaoran.
"Okay, now smile!" The girl ordered. Sakura's mind still couldn't process what w
as happening, but she smiled anyways. Well, at least she thought she smiled. "He
re!" The girl handed the gadget back. "I'll show this off to my friends. I'll go
now! Thanks and bye!"
Sakura stared at the back of the girl. She sure had so much energy.
"I look bad in that," Syaoran's voice came.
Sakura looked at the phone in her hand. She blushed when she finally realized wh
at happened.
She took a picture with Syaoran!
She was leaning to him as a result of the sudden push. Her gaze went to their fa
ces. Her smile looked a bit strained and awkward, but as usual, he was hot. She
couldn't see the part where Syaoran, as he claimed, looked bad.
"Let's do that again," he urged. Sakura looked at him weirdly but obeyed. She st
ood next to him, held out her phone, smiled and clicked.
They look at the picture. Since Syaoran was a head taller, the top of his head w
as cropped. Sakura just knew that Syaoran would make fun of their height differe
nce so she spoke right away, "You do it! I can't hold the phone farther than tha
t."
"Fine, fine." He took it and held it out. "Ready?" He glanced at Sakura who was
smiling prettily. He grinned and decided to make a funny face before clicking.
"Let me see!" Sakura's smiled dropped, and she hit his arm. "That's one of my be
st smiles! You ruined it!" This time, it was Sakura who suggested another take.
However, her memory was full so Syaoran took out his phone instead.
"Ready?"
"Yes."
They checked the picture and laughed. Both of them made wacky faces without the
other knowing. "Okay, seriously this time," Syaoran said.
Sakura wasn't about to follow him, however, when Syaoran placed his hand on her
back to push her closer, she forgot what she planned to do.
"Oh, you weren't smiling," Syaoran commented as he looked at the picture. Sakura
didn't even notice that he had taken it already. "Let's try that again." He pus
hed her closer to him, unaware of the effects he had. "Smile."
Sakura smiled uneasily at first, but being in his arms was so comfortable that h
er smile turned naturally beautiful. As they took a few more, Syaoran's hand rem
ained on her waist. She couldn't help but think that the feeling of the closenes
s of his body against her still felt the same.
"Send these to me some other time, okay?" Sakura requested, trying to calm down
her nerves. She was having the most difficult time of fighting down the blush th
at badly wanted to appear on her face.
"Sure." He glanced at her at the same time she did.
Too close.
That was the only way to describe their position.
They were too close. The closest they had been since he came back. They were so
close that Sakura could already smell his scent. It was so alluring... so intoxi
cating that it was driving her mad. Her heart beat loudly, and she feared that S
yaoran could hear it. But what scared her most about their close proximity was t
he fact that she didn't mind. She didn't mind at all.
However, the moment was interrupted by the rumble made by Sakura's stomach. Her
face immediately turned a bright shade of pink.
"I-I'm sorry," Sakura stammered an apology. That was simply humiliating.
Syaoran, on the other hand, didn't see the need for apology. "You haven't eaten?
Dinner was held two hours ago, where were you?"
"Well..." Sakura tried remembering where she was. Oh... she was consoling and ca
lming Maki. "Um..."
"Never mind." Syaoran didn't wait for an explanation. She seemed hesitant to tel
l him anyway. "Let's get you something to eat."
"N-no, there's no need." Sakura didn't want to be a burden. "I'll do that myself
."
But Syaoran wasn't listening as he took her to the dining area. However, the hir
ed food caterers were already cleaning up. "We'll head outside."
Sakura was greatly touched, but at the same time, she was terribly embarrassed f
or the trouble she was causing. "Oh no, that's too much!"
"Come on." He took her hand so that he could pull her and make her start walking
again.
"Sakura!" An angry voice called her making her jump away from Syaoran.
"M-maki..." She cursed herself silently for stuttering. She sounded so guilty wh
en she wasn't even doing anything.
Maki glared heatedly at Syaoran. He was pissed at Syaoran ever since this mornin
g, and finding his girlfriend getting comfortable with the said star only infuri
ated him more. "Let's go! I'll take you home."
"But Tomoyo would pick me up, remember? She's going to spend the night at my hou
se."
"I'll drop you off," Maki repeated.
Sakura winced at the coldness of his voice. She didn't deserve that kind of trea
tment. Fortunately or unfortunately, it wasn't only her who was thinking that.
"If she doesn't want to come, then don't force her," Syaoran declared.
Maki took a step forward, but Syaoran wasn't threatened the least bit. "You stay
out of this."
Sakura could already feel the tension rising so she placed herself in between. "
I'll go. I'll just call Tomoyo and tell her to go straight to my place."
Syaoran wasn't pleased at her decision. "Sakura "
"I'll go with him," Sakura repeated firmly. It was for the best. Should a fight
occur, she could already predict the result. Cruel as it may seem, Maki wouldn't
stand a chance, but then again, Syaoran's image would be tarnished. In conclusi
on, it would be a lose-lose situation.
Syaoran watched as the couple walked away. The little scene he witnessed earlier
outside Tomoeda's locker room replayed on his mind. He had completely forgotten
about it, but now that he remembered it, he wasn't thrilled.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Sakura... look, I'm sorry," Maki apologized as he pulled up in front of Sakura'
s house. "I just it's just a bad day..."
Sakura nodded but didn't say anything. She just stepped out of the car and went
straight to her room. She was really upset, and she couldn't hide it. Though it
was a bad day for him, he shouldn't have taken it out on her... especially when
it was her who was always by his side. She had always tried her best to cheer hi
m up when it was her who needed the cheering up. She went with him whenever he n
eeded her, but he wasn't there when she needed him. He was always busy with some
thing, but she understood it.
But sometimes, she couldn't help but feel that she was always there for him but
not the other way around.
As Sakura contemplated more on her relationship with Maki, she realized that she
couldn't really blame him. After all, he didn't know what was going on with her
. He didn't know that something was troubling her. He didn't know because she ne
ver told him. Then again, would things work if she wasn't telling everything?
Sakura instantly knew the answer. 'No.' And one concrete example of a disastrous
result was what happened with her friendship with Aisa. Sakura groaned as she r
olled over on her bed. Things had really gotten complicated.
Just months ago, she was a regular senior student living her normal life and jus
t worrying about ordinary problems. Now, she was in conflict with a well-known m
ovie actress because of that extremely popular and unbelievably hot model/actor.
Now, she was hiding things from her closest friends about that extremely popula
r and unbelievably hot model/actor. Now, she was having problems with her boyfri
end because of the things she couldn't share about that extremely popular and un
believably hot model/actor.
That extremely popular and unbelievably hot model/actor a.k.a. Li Syaoran.
Sakura's thoughts were broken by the shrill ringing of the telephone. She sighed
and dragged herself down the stairs. Who would be calling her now? Ah, maybe Ch
iharu or Tomoyo since she owed both girls a call. But then again, they could hav
e called her on her mobile phone. Maybe Maki? Nah, it was unlikely of him to cal
l after what happened.
She picked up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Sakura?"
That deep husky voice just sent chills down her spine. That voice... it sounded
familiar. Could it be...?
But... how?
And why would he...?
Shakily, she replied, "Y-yes?"
"Just checking up if you got home safe. Don't forget to eat."
The concern of the message contradicted the tightness of the voice. However, Sak
ura didn't pay attention to that as she asked, "... Syaoran?"
But all she got as an answer was a click. He hanged up.
If Sakura thought that things were already complicated, then she better think ag
ain because she had another thing coming.
Chapter 8
Confrontation reveals what you weren't aware of.
"So to what do I owe this invitation for lunch?" Eriol asked, smiling pleasantly
at the young woman before him.
Tomoyo smiled back. "I just wanted to thank you personally for the fabrics you s
ent me. They were really lovely." Sometime before, Tomoyo mentioned to him her d
reams of becoming a designer. She didn't say anything more, really, so imagine h
er surprise this morning when she received a package containing exquisite clothi
ng materials. "And since you refuse to accept payment, I'll treat you today. Thi
nk of this as a token of my gratitude, though insufficient."
"Having a beautiful lady like you accompany me this wonderful afternoon is more
than enough," he stated making Tomoyo blush lightly. "And besides, I'm sure you'
ll make those fabrics into something else more fantastic."
"Well then, thank you again."
They ate their meal in comfortable silence. Tomoyo was waiting for the right tim
e to talk again while Eriol, on the other hand, was simply enjoying her company.
He found her interesting. She was delicate and so full of grace, but at the sam
e time, he could tell that she was just as sharp and clever
When desert was being served, Tomoyo finally decided to start. "Um... if you don
't mind me asking, how old are you?"
"Thirty five," he answered, making Tomoyo choke on her drink. "Are you alright?"
"Y-yes, I'm fine," she assured, slightly embarrassed. "I'm just surprised. I mea
n, you look younger."
He chuckled. "Just kidding. I'm twenty four."
"Ah..." Tomoyo nodded. "Well, if you don't mind again, aren't you a bit young fo
r a talent manager?"
"Actually, yes. I'm one of the youngest," he admitted. "But as you know, the ind
ustry I'm working for is vicious, and for my job, it's about knowing the right p
eople. I don't mean to brag, but in my case, I have excellent connections and re
sources."
"I see... but that must be tiring, right?"
"In a way, yes. I have to plan every step ahead, every action. I'm not going to
be untrue about it. What I do entails lying and manipulation, even blackmails. S
ometimes, you need to be deceitful... to be insensitive... to retain influence a
nd power."
Tomoyo just nodded again. She couldn't say she understood because she didn't. Sh
e had never experienced being in an environment akin to that, but nevertheless,
she appreciated his honesty. She pondered for a moment. She knew she was going t
o push her luck further with what she was about to ask, but there might not be a
nother opportunity such as this. "Does that apply to the actors you're handling
as well? Do you choose to be insensitive to what they're feeling?"
He looked at her for a moment before replying, "If it's for the better, then yes
."
"Better for what, his career or his personal well-being?"
Eriol wondered where all these were coming. Her line of questions confirmed what
he was thinking. She wasn't simply being curious anymore, and her shift in the
use of pronouns proved it. Even so, he decided to see where this was going as he
answered, "Both."
"But what if what if what's good for his career isn't good for his personal life
?" Tomoyo became uneasy after asking that question. She saw the strange look tha
t passed his face. It was brief, but it was definitely there. She considered ask
ing another question or changing the topic or making up some random excuse that
would require her to leave or... just anything! Anything that would end their cu
rrent conversation, but she shook all those thoughts away. She was here now. She
might as well get this over with.
"Who are we talking about?"
"That was a general question."
"It depends, actually." Eriol looked at her intently as he started explaining. "
For instance, its worth. Will the happiness be greater? I mean, will he still be
happy even if he loses his career? Or is that happiness not worth risking his r
eputation for? It could also depend if the gain is short- or long-lived. If that
happiness is just short term, then I will not allow him to sacrifice his career
."
She held his gaze. "But how would you know the value? Or if it's short or long t
erm?"
"That " Eriol smiled mysteriously, " is my secret."
"Oh." So much for that. "I apologize if you find it too nosy. I was just curious
."
He didn't buy her pretext, and she knew it. "Tomoyo."
"Y-yes?"
"You are a really smart girl, but what do you really want to know... about Syaor
an?"
Caught.
Tomoyo wasn't about to back down. There was no use in beating around the bush. "
Not entirely about him. More about you."
Now that surprised Eriol. He was good at evaluating people. He was even correct
in knowing that Tomoyo had another motive for asking those questions... but abou
t him? What about him? He voiced it out, "What about me?"
"I want to know where you stand in this."
Her directness surprised him again.
Tomoyo's next question made her intentions perfectly clear. The message couldn't
be mistaken. "Are you his friend? Or just his agent?" She knew she wouldn't be
getting an answer today when Eriol didn't respond. So instead, she called the wa
iter over and paid. "I have to go now. Thank you again for the fabrics."
With that, she left Eriol with her simple yet significant question.
"How many girlfriends did you have?"
Syaoran was caught off-guard at Aisa's question. They were currently in a café tha
t would be used a set for the movie. The crew were still fixing up so the actors
were taking this time to relearn the script since there were last minute change
s. So... where did that question came from?
"I don't know. I don't really count."
"I see... how about serious relationships?"
Syaoran just shrugged.
"Okay."
Syaoran thought the weird conversation was over so he began reading his new line
s again. However, Aisa wasn't quite yet finished.
"What about Sakura?"
He was surprised that Sakura's name was brought up. "What about her?"
"What category did she belong? Was she one of your flings, or were you on a seri
ous relationship with her?"
He placed the manuscript down and looked at Aisa closely. She wasn't just asking
if he did have a relationship with Sakura. She wasn't just confirming it. She w
as already asking what kind of connection he shared with the said girl.
... How?
How did Aisa found out about it? And why the sudden interest on her part? He kne
w she liked him, but they had already talked about it.
Seeing that Aisa wouldn't let it drop, he finally answered, "She was my longest
girlfriend."
"Oh."
'Longest.'
That was more than something Aisa expected. More than she thought she could hand
le. Her hand fisted on the papers she was holding, but as soon as she realized w
hat she was doing, she let go.
She knew he could easily deny it. He knew it too... but he didn't. He told her t
he truth and hearing it coming directly from him... hurt. She knew it was a losi
ng battle for Syaoran's heart, but when she finally did lose... it still hurt a
lot more.
Aisa was aware that she was being unfair with the different way she confronted h
im and Sakura about it. Yes, she treated Sakura as her friend, but they knew eac
h other for only a short period of time so doubt came easily. It happened to the
best of friends, what more to new friends? Also, at that time, she was really m
ad, and Sakura happened to be on the receiving end of it. But now, with Syaoran.
.. she couldn't get mad. She liked him too much. She liked him for so long. She
had been pining for him ever since they were introduced.
"Did you really love her?" Aisa knew she was stupid for asking, but she wanted t
o know. She needed to know.
"Yes."
"Do you love her still?"
Syaoran took his time. He asked that question to himself before. He spent many s
leepless nights figuring out the answer, but when he finally did, he accepted it
. He didn't question his feelings anymore because he understood it. "Yes, I love
her..."
"Oh."
"Only as a friend... but more than that," he paused. "No."
Now that shocked Aisa. "What? But why not?" Her desperate tone surprised the bot
h of them. Aisa thought that she would be happy with that negative answer, but s
he wasn't. If anything, it made her sadder.
"Sakura is... Sakura." He knew he didn't made sense, but there were no words he
could use to describe her. "She's... she's still special to me, I won't deny tha
t. Years of being apart didn't erase what we had, and honestly, I don't think it
should. If it did, then the love I had for her would have been false." Syaoran
never imagined that he would be sharing his feelings to someone else, especially
to Aisa.
On the other hand, Aisa felt a little jealous not entirely of Sakura though. She
just envied the fact that once upon a time, a sole girl was Syaoran's world.
He continued, "I still care for her, but... it stops at that. Nothing more. I st
ill want the best for her... but I don't think I can be the one to give it to he
r."
Aisa remained quiet. She thought that maybe Syaoran hadn't really moved on, but
he had a point. Sakura was once an important person in his life so he couldn't r
eally remove her from his system. He would be a hypocrite if he said that he for
got about her. She made a great impact on his life, so no matter what happened a
fterwards, she still had a place.
... But sadly, in Syaoran and Sakura's case, that was all there was to that. Jus
t a place.
Aisa didn't know what to feel or think about that information. She was torn.
Syaoran tried to suppress a yawn, but he failed miserably. This was the type of
party he hated the most: the 'show-off' party a.k.a. formal party. Tonight was a
ctually a party organized by Japan's largest television network, and it was atte
nded by today's biggest and brightest stars... with their equally big and bright
jewelries. He was used to the sight because it was the same back in Hong Kong,
but he could never be used to the boredom.
Why was he here again? Oh yeah, Eriol deemed this party as an opportunity to hel
p Syaoran make his choice because the network was offering him a two-year exclus
ive contract. According to Eriol, this would be his chance 'to feel if he belong
s'.
Syaoran grunted as he recalled those words. He came tonight out of respect, and
yeah sure, to see if he would 'feel that he belongs.' Though, that didn't mean E
riol didn't have to go. Now just wait a minute... Syaoran almost growled when he
realized that his agent tricked him again! Eriol made him attend so that it was
as if he was here representing Eriol's behalf, too. 'Damn bastard bailed.'
He shook away the gruesome things he planned to do to Eriol later. Now wasn't a
good time to be thinking those. He tried to remember the contract details instea
d. If his memory served him right, the contract entailed three movies under the
network's production company, two shows to be aired on primetime and the occasio
nal TV appearances on other programs. Syaoran and his managers were already info
rmed about the talent fee. It was already a large amount of money, but since the
network was determined, it was about to become larger.
"Excuse me, Li Syaoran?"
Syaoran turned around when a soft voice called him. "Riporu Ayame."
The newcomer, Ayame, smiled. She was pleased that the actor knew her. "It's nice
to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you."
Syaoran smiled back. "Good things, I hope?" His charm automatically kicking in.
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
Ayame was one of the most in-demand actresses in Japan. She was also the top can
didate that would be paired with him if ever he signed himself under the network
.
"Now I'm beginning to understand why they say that your partners can't help but
fall for you," she teased.
Before they could talk more, they were instantly surrounded by video cameras and
reporters. "Mr. Li, is it really true that you're the newest addition to the ne
twork?"
"Rumor has it that this party isn't just a simple get-together but a welcome par
ty for you. What can you say about that?"
"Are you really moving back to Japan because of your contract?"
Syaoran found it funny that they were all trying to get interviews about the sam
e topic when they all belong under one station. Before they could ask more quest
ions about it, he spoke, "No. I haven't signed the contract. I'm still discussin
g the matter with my agents."
"Do you have a pet?"
Syaoran almost fell over. Entertainment reporters were really the hardest to pre
dict. They could ask a follow up question or completely move to another topic.
"None."
"What's your current relationship with Ms. Aisa Dy?"
That was the tricky part. He couldn't say that they were a couple because after
their team-up, they would be paired with other actors. It would be a hassle to c
reate the break-up. He also couldn't say that they were just friends, even thoug
h that was the truth, because they were promoting a movie together. Finally, he
answered their regular line, "We're special friends." And he finished with a hot
smile to shut them up.
Special, to quench the reporters' hunger for news, but friends so that both star
s could say later on that they were really just friends when they part away.
The reporters 'oh-ed' and 'ah-ed. They were eating again at the palm of Syaoran'
s hand.
"How about Ms. Ayame Riporu?"
"Are you getting to know each other?"
"Is it true that you went out before?"
Syaoran replied, "No."
"We've just met, actually," Ayame supported.
The reporters seemed unconvinced making Syaoran sigh. When he was finally tellin
g the truth, nobody wanted to believe him. Apparently, they didn't hear what the
y wanted to hear.
"If you'll excuse us." Syaoran smiled then turned, leading himself and Ayame awa
y from the ambushed interview.
"They're really crazy," Ayame commented when they were out of earshot.
"Yeah. Couldn't agree more..." He trailed off when he spotted someone. "Oh, hey,
I'm sorry, but I have to go. It was nice meeting you." Syaoran walked off after
bidding their goodbyes. When he was finally near the person he saw earlier, he
called, "Sakura?"
Sakura looked at him, relief flooding through her eyes. "Oh, Syaoran! I'm so gla
d you're here! I've been looking all over for Tomoyo. Did you see her?"
Syaoran opened his mouth to reply but closed it again. He discreetly gestured ar
ound them, hoping that Sakura would catch on. She just looked at him confusedly,
but her mouth formed into a small 'oh' when she noticed that reporters were inc
hing closer.
"Go outside. I'll meet you later."
She nodded and walked away without giving a back glance, while Syaoran went to t
he opposite direction.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Sakura stood a few feet away from the door leading to the hotel ballroom, where
the party was held. It was a couple of minutes later when Syaoran finally appear
ed.
"They're really hard to lose," he grunted more to himself. "So... you're with To
moyo?"
Sakura nodded. "I just went to the bathroom, but I was... sidetracked when I was
about to return." She laughed nervously. "Then I couldn't find her anywhere."
He raised his eyebrow. "Sidetracked?"
She fidgeted, which made him more amused. "Fine!" She pouted. "You know I'm not
into showbiz stuffs and all that... but come on! That room is filled with celebr
ities! I can't help it if I get a little star-struck. It's not everyday I'm in t
he same room with superstars."
"I'm a superstar," he pointed out. "But I don't see you going crazy over me."
"You're different."
"How so?"
"I know you."
"Fair enough." He shrugged and changed the topic. "What are you guys doing here?
"
"Ah, about that... You know Tomoyo's mom, right? Sonomi Daidouji?" She asked mak
ing him nod. "Aside from the toy company, she owns a clothing line as well. They
're going to do a fashion show soon to launch their new collection, and the netw
ork is offering to buy exclusive rights to air it," she explained. "Since she's
out of town, and she plans to pass it to Tomoyo anyway, she made Tomoyo attend.
Tomoyo made me come too... so here I am."
At that point, the door opened revealing a reporter-cameraman duo. They were obv
iously looking for someone. Fortunately for Sakura, Syaoran was quick to react.
He was able to grab her away instantly. They had nowhere else to hide so they da
shed inside the next room.
"Don't they get tired?" Sakura asked, leaning against the wall that was next to
the door.
"Nope."
They stood still, hoping that they wouldn't be followed, but luck was against th
em when the door opened slowly. Since Syaoran was leaning on it, he was forced t
o roll over to Sakura, effectively trapping her between him and the wall. Both o
f them held their breaths, trying to avoid making even the smallest sound.
"I swear I saw him enter here," the reporter was saying as she turned on the lig
hts. If she opened the door any wider, she would have hit Syaoran's back with it
.
"Maybe he went to another room," the cameraman suggested.
"Yeah, maybe..." the first voice agreed dejectedly, and they stepped out.
When Sakura could no longer hear anything from outside, she released a laugh. "T
hat was fun."
Syaoran looked at her oddly. "I didn't see the fun part in that."
"But it was fun, all that hiding and sneaking!"
"You're really weird."
Her laughter subsided, but they were still in the same position. They hadn't mov
ed an inch, and Syaoran's body was still leaning against her. His right hand was
on her waist, while his left was pressed against the wall near the side of her
face. Sakura looked up in time to see Syaoran staring back at her. Involuntarily
, she found her eyes closing, and she could feel Syaoran's breath coming closer.
She felt something soft touch her lips, but it was so light and quick that it m
ight had been just her imagination.
The next thing she felt was coldness. The warmth wrapped around her disappeared.
She opened her eyes and saw Syaoran standing away from her. His face was blank
again.
"I have to go," he stated emotionlessly.
Sakura's eyes widened. It was happening again. He was confusing her again. No, n
o... She wouldn't let it happen this time. She grabbed his arm. "We have to talk
!"
Normally, it was the other way around. The man would stop the woman to talk, but
hey, who said their situation was normal?
"We have nothing to talk about."
"Just stop it!" Sakura exclaimed. "Whatever you're doing to me, stop it!"
He remained motionless.
"Why are you acting like that?" She demanded. Her frustration with him was comin
g back. "One minute you act like you care, then the next you're so cold to me! Y
ou confuse me! If you don't want to have anything to do with me, then stop it!"
"Then don't let it get into you."
"Don't let it?" Sakura repeated unbelievingly. "I tried Syaoran, I tried! So don
't you go telling me to not let it bother me!"
Both knew that they were treading on dangerous ground with what they were talkin
g about. They were just a room away from all those media, but neither cared at t
he moment.
"That just means you don't try hard enough." The hardness in his voice was unmis
takable. "Let it go, Sakura."
Sakura wanted to pull her hair out. Didn't he understand a word she was saying?
She couldn't simply let it go.
"I can't!" She cried out. "Because because I still care for you that's why the t
hings you do still affect me..."
"I forget it."
"... Forget it?" Sakura echoed painfully. "That's all you can say?" Her voice st
arted cracking. "Is this... is this what you want? To hurt me back?"
Syaoran stayed quiet. He didn't want to hurt her. It had never even crossed his
mind.
"You know what..." She started bitterly. "It worked. Congratulations... It reall
y worked." Sakura was tired. She was tired of playing cat and mouse with him. Sh
e was tired of how things were going. She was tired of second-guessing.
She was tired of everything.
"I'm sorry, okay?" She whispered brokenly. "I'm so sorry that we had to end that
way... I'm sorry I hurt you... I'm just I'm so sorry..."
Syaoran wanted to turn and leave, but his body wouldn't let him. He wanted to ge
t away so he wouldn't deal with this... so that he wouldn't relive the pain, but
... but this confrontation was long overdue.
He knew it... but that didn't mean he wanted it to happen.
But maybe... this was what he needed.
No... not maybe. He needed this.
"I know why you did that," he stated making Sakura look at him questioningly. "K
iya told me that the two of you talked, but I couldn't understand why you still
did it."
"I was looking out for you "
"Did it ever cross your mind that you were worth more than that?"
"Syaoran "
"You didn't give me a choice. You just decided yourself!" The years of bottled e
motions were being released. "You just suddenly decided that we had to end!"
Sakura looked down. A tear fell from her eye, then followed by another, and then
another.
"You didn't even hear me out..."
"I "
"You didn't even think of how it would affect me... of how it would hurt me..."
"No, that's not true..."
"... Didn't you trust us, Sakura?" Pain was evident in his voice.
"Of course "
"No, you didn't. You didn't have faith in us. You didn't believe that we could g
et through that." He stared at her. His eyes were displaying the ache he felt in
side. "The moment we were faced with a big problem, you backed away and left. Yo
u left me hanging... You left me, Sakura."
Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. She wanted to say she d
idn't leave him. She badly wanted to tell him that she didn't, but what else wou
ld you call her actions back then?
She left him.
"You could have stayed with me, and we could have achieved things together... bu
t you left... "
Sakura hated herself as she acknowledged that simple fact. She couldn't hate any
body as much as she hated herself right now. She couldn't even justify that she
left him for the better. True, he was covered in so much fame, but inside, he wa
s tearing apart.
She did what she thought was best at that time.
Apparently, it wasn't.
Not at all.
"You knew how much I tried to talk to you again... but you avoided me, my phone
calls, my visits, everything! You said you loved me, yet you shut me out of your
life like I was nothing!"
Sakura was deeply hurt at what she did, and she knew that she hurt Syaoran too.
What she hadn't realized, however, was that she had hurt him much, much more. Re
alization came crashing down too late, and now... now that Sakura was seeing thi
ngs his way, she felt as if her heart was taken forcefully out of her body then
crushed right before her eyes.
"You decided about us, and that was it. It was about us, Sakura... About us yet
you didn't even bother listening to me. You refused to listen! What did you expe
ct me to feel?" His voice was filled with so much pain that Sakura thought she w
ouldn't be able to handle it. "How else did you expect me to act?"
She didn't answer. She didn't have an answer.
Sakura was angry at herself for always making stupid mistakes. She was angry at
herself for causing all of this. She was angry at herself for being unable to ma
ke it better for him.
She did one decision. One stupid decision... and it resulted in to all of this.
"But you know what's more? I am so ashamed to call myself an actor because I cou
ldn't even pretend that nothing happened between us." He was letting everything
he felt out. He had carried this burden for so long, and it was about time to le
t it go. "I didn't mean to confuse you nor hurt you..."
Her sob was uncontrollable now. It was even a struggle to breathe, but she didn'
t care about that. The anguish she was feeling was too much for her, and she cou
ldn't contain it.
"I tried to act unresponsive, but I couldn't... I tried to act okay, but I could
n't... because every time I'm with you... I just lose it."
She wanted to reach out for him and hug him. She felt so weak and pathetic as sh
e slid down to the ground. She wanted to do anything everything to make it all g
ood for him... but she was the one who caused this.
"I tried to be indifferent, but... but when you're near, I lose my self-control.
.. but when we're close too close... I have to push you away because because all
the pain I felt before keeps coming back." He looked straight at her. "And I do
n't want that."
He had been hurt so badly that it was hard for him to put his heart at stake aga
in, and give that same person a chance to hurt him once more. Syaoran was able t
o cover it up better, but that didn't mean he was hurting less.
Sakura kept on crying. She cried and cried, and this time, she didn't stop Syaor
an from walking out the door.
"Oh Sakura..." Tomoyo hugged the said girl. Sakura had been crying for days ever
since Tomoyo found her in the function room next to the ballroom. From what she
could gather, the ex-couple talked. However, Sakura was crying so much that she
couldn't understand anything more. "Sshh... it'll be okay." The first time she
took sight of Sakura's broken form, she realized that whatever it was they talke
d about, it was bad. Really, really bad.
Tomoyo stroked Sakura's hair, trying to calm her down. It seemed to work because
after a few minutes, her sob lessened. Tomoyo thought that Sakura cried herself
to sleep again, but she was proven wrong when Sakura moved and slowly pulled aw
ay.
"I-I ha-have " Sakura started, breathless and croaked from all that weeping. "I h
-have to t-talk talk t-to him..." Tears were still flowing out, but her face hel
d a determined look. She needed to see him again... to tell him, to show him, ju
st how sorry she really was. She may not be able to change the past, but she wou
ld do everything she can to make it up to him.
Tomoyo, on the other hand, bit her lip. She didn't plan to deliver this sad news
today. She was waiting until Sakura had calmed down.
"Wha-what's w-wrong?"
Tomoyo made a move to hug Sakura again since the latter was beginning to get hys
terical, but Sakura moved away.
"What what i-is it?" She repeated. Fear was eating her from the inside.
Tomoyo gave her an apologetic look. "Eriol called me... Eriol and Syaoran they w
ent back to Hong Kong. They're gone, Sakura."
Chapter 9
A bridge from one place to another, from one time to the next.
'He knew all along,' Sakura recalled painfully. Syaoran knew she and Kiya talked
, but he still tried to get her back. He tried to talk to her, but she refused t
o hear him out because she knew that they would get back together, and that woul
d be detrimental to his career. What she did may not have been the best option,
but what else could she do? She was young and she didn't know how else to handle
the situation, so she chose what she thought was good for him.
However, what she failed to realize when Syaoran tried to get her back was that.
.. he chose her.
He knew the consequences, but still... he chose her.
"Did you hear what I said?"
"Oh... um..." Sakura looked down, ashamed of her actions. She and Maki were toge
ther again, but it seemed like she was going to ruin things. He looked so excite
d so whatever it was he was saying must be important... but she didn't even hear
a thing. "What was that again?"
Maki stared at her concernedly. "Are you okay?"
No, she wasn't okay. She wasn't okay since Syaoran left. She would almost always
 find herself dwelling on her own sorrow instead of listening to what others wer
e telling her. She didn't mean it, but she couldn't help it either.
'I shouldn't drag Maki into this...' Sakura concluded. 'We're fine now, and I sh
ouldn't destroy what we have because of my mistakes in the past.' It was her mis
take, and it didn't have anything to do with Maki. She was being unfair to him b
y acting the way she was. Even with her own trouble, she was still thinking of o
thers. Taking a deep breath, she assured him, "I'm okay. So, what was it you're
saying?"
"I was just telling you that too bad you didn't see me last weekend."
"Oh, right, sorry about that," Sakura apologized. She wasn't feeling well that t
ime so she wasn't able to see Maki model.
Yep, Maki was now a small-time model. Some agent called and asked him to try out
. Fortunately, he passed the screening, and he was given his first break just la
st weekend.
"Hey, Maki," Tara smiled flirtatiously. "I saw you. You were really good."
He grinned proudly. "Thanks."
"Just tell me the date of your next show, okay? I'll be there to support you, un
like some people." Tara turned pointedly to Sakura when she said that.
Sakura didn't retort because as much as she hated to admit, Tara was right.
"I have to go now, bye!" Tara winked at him before walking off.
When Tara was gone, Sakura asked, "I thought you hated models?"
"Well, this type of opportunity doesn't come knocking on your door everyday. I m
ean, me, a model? Whoa."
"If you say so..." Sakura said unsurely. What was it with her and models?
"Couldn't you just be happy for me?"
"I'm happy for you..."
"Besides, wouldn't you want that, a model boyfriend?"
Was she really supposed to answer that?
"Anyway, there's a big show a month from now," Maki continued saying. "I really
hope that I'll be chosen. My career could start from there."
"Um, yeah..."
"I still have a month for practice. You'd watch me, right?"
"Um, sure..."
Maki looked at his watch. "Oh, I've got to go. I still have to attend a workshop
."
"Okay... I'll just see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah. I'll treat you out after class."
"Sure."
Hong Kong
A collective groan could be heard from one of the classrooms located at the most
prestigious University in the country.
"This will be 40 of your grade, which means," the professor paused for emphasis.
"You fail this, you fail the subject."
Another round of groans came from the journalist students, but the lecturer igno
red it.
"I want you to make a simulation of a newspaper, but it would only revolve aroun
d one person."
"Who, sir?" Some random student asked.
The professor passed around a glass bowl. "That contains the names of famous peo
ple, and whoever you pick will be the topic of your discussion." He waited until
everybody had pulled out a strip of paper from the container. "You should write
about that person in different aspects that correspond to the different parts o
f a broadsheet. Remember, each section of the newspaper is written and approache
d differently. It is up to you on how you want to present it, but if I find it b
oring, I won't read it, and that translates to failure," he stated making the st
udents gulp. "It is also up to you on how you will obtain reliable information,
and if I discover fraud, I will throw it away, and that equals a grade of zero-p
oint-zero." Another gulp. "That is all. Class dismissed."
Instantly, the room was filled with noise as the students complained about their
project.
"Oh man, he was really harsh. Anyway, who did you pick?"
The girl's eyes narrowed distastefully at the piece of paper she was holding. "L
i Syaoran. Great, a celebrity," she commented sarcastically. "I would have prefe
rred a business tycoon or even a politician over this."
"How could you say that?" The girl's friend reacted. "You are so lucky, you know
."
"Whatever. Let's go. I'm starved."
Sakura sighed sadly as she walked home. Maki wasn't able to fulfill his promise
of taking her out... again. This was the third time.
She didn't want to say this, but the attention was getting into his head. Everyb
ody at school loved him. He turned from Mr. Popular to Mr. Super Popular because
of his gig. She was really trying to be the best girlfriend... but it was hard.
Maybe this was her karma.
Her thoughts drifted back to Syaoran. She needed to talk to him. But how? It was
n't as if she could follow him to Hong Kong. It wasn't that simple. What would s
he tell her father? 'Dad, I would go to Hong Kong to talk to my ex-boyfriend, wh
o, by the way, I didn't tell you about.' Right. Like that would go well. Besides
, what about school? She didn't have the luxury either to just fly abroad whenev
er she wanted. And once she was there, did she really expect that she could talk
to him easily? He was a star. With all those surrounding him, she doubted it. S
he would be thrown outside even before she could say his name.
But maybe she could lie to her dad. Maybe she could take a leave from school, an
d just get notes and homework from her friends. Maybe she could borrow money fro
m Tomoyo for her travel expenses. And once there, she would try everything she c
ould think of just to talk to him. Right. Like what they all say: easier said th
an done.
'You're pathetic, Sakura!' She mentally scolded herself. 'So pathetic to even wi
sh that the silver car parked outside your house was his ' Wait what? She didn't
know much about cars, but wasn't that the same one Takashi said to be the most e
xpensive Lamborghini? So what was a limited-edition luxury sports car doing in t
his middle class neighborhood?
It was funny how both her footsteps and heartbeat quickened. 'Oh my God.' Her th
oughts were a big mess, and she couldn't get her mind to think straight. 'Please
, let it be him.' She had so many things she needed to say, but she didn't know
how to say it. Though her brain was all jumbled up, she deeply wished that the c
ar was his... that he was here.
When she finally outside her house, her eyes could only widen in surprise. If sh
e was expecting something, this wasn't it.
Syaoran was seated on their front steps... leaned against the door... fast aslee
p.
Well, he definitely knew how to ruin a perfect dramatic encounter.
She was still debating whether she would wake him up or not when a cute bright t
an-and-black coated Yorkshire terrier came running from their backyard. 'Since w
hen did we have a dog?' Her musing was broken when she saw the pup about to jump
on Syaoran. "Oh, no, no!" Sakura panicked.
It was too late, however. "What the " Syaoran instantly woke up when the male Yor
kie bound on him. The pup barked happily, and he supported himself by placing hi
s little paws on Syaoran's chest.
"Um..." Sakura shifted nervously as Syaoran stood up. "I don't know who owns him
... I'll just ask around and return him."
Silence followed after that. Even the puppy, who was bouncing up and down just s
econds ago, was quiet besides Syaoran's feet.
"Sakura "
"I'm sorry!" Sakura cut in. She wasn't going to waste this opportunity to talk t
o him again. "I'm really sorry, Syaoran, for what I did... for everything. I'm s
orry... I was stupid... so, so stupid. It was a really foolish thing for me to d
o..."
"Sakura..."
Even though she was trying hard not to cry, tears were still starting to form. "
I know saying sorry wouldn't take the pain away, and I'm just I just..." She tri
ed to compose herself. She needed to be strong. "I know its cliché, but if I could
turn back the time, I would... I really would. I would have done things differe
ntly, but I I would still let you go, Syaoran..."
"Sakura..."
"You mean so much to me, and I wouldn't allow you to risk everything you have ju
st because of me." She wiped away the tears, but it still kept on falling. "I kn
ow you hate me right now, and I understand that. But I hope that someday, you'll
forgive me... I know it's too much to ask, but I still hope that "
"I'm sorry." He had said it so quietly, but it was still effective in cutting Sa
kura off.
"Please don't say that," Sakura stated softly. "You have nothing to be sorry abo
ut. It's all my fault."
"I was harsh. You didn't deserve that."
"Yes, I did "
"No, you didn't, Sakura," he repeated. "I'm sorry. I went out of line."
"But "
"Are we going to argue over an argument?"
"Wha " Sakura was flustered, "W-well no, but "
"But nothing," Syaoran ended. Silence ensued once more, and this time, it was th
e puppy who broke it. He barked, as if sensing that the tense conversation was o
ver.
Sakura's attention was diverted to him. He was such a cute little thing. Sakura
crouched down. "Hey, boy, come here." The Yorkie hid behind Syaoran, but Sakura
wasn't deterred. "I'm going to return you to your owner, come here... yes, that'
s right... come on... good boy."
"Do you like him?" Syaoran asked when Sakura hugged the puppy to her chest.
She stood up and nodded. "He's adorable."
"Good. He's yours."
"What? He isn't mine."
"He's yours now. I'm giving it to you."
"Was he yours?"
Syaoran sighed. Sakura really had her own unique way of making things difficult.
"I bought him for you, so he's yours."
"Really? He's mine?" Sakura eyes sparkled excitedly as she stroked the puppy's s
oft and glossy hair.
"I believe that's what I said."
"Oh, thank you!" Sakura didn't waste any time playing with her new friend. "What
would I name you, hmm?"
"... Um, Sakura?"
Upon seeing Syaoran's serious look, she placed the puppy down. "Yes?"
"Listen, I don't know about you, but I've noticed that fate found it funny to al
ways make us meet unexpectedly," he started, and Sakura couldn't agree more. "Ho
nestly, I don't know what we are, but I don't want to feel awkward the next time
I see you. So while I'm still here, can we can we be friends? Even just for the
time that I'm still here in Japan... do you think we can be friends?"
"No."
"Oh."
"Not just for the time you're here." Sakura smiled. "We're friends even after yo
u leave."
"Ah... then that's good to hear."
Sakura felt a burden lifted off her because they finally had the closure they ne
eded. But unlike any other failed relationships, they didn't completely lose eac
h other. Instead, they managed to reestablish it. "Let's start over. I'm Kinomot
o Sakura."
Syaoran glanced down at her extended hand and shook it. "Li Syaoran." He sported
his trademark smirk. "Did I mention you're hot?"
"Take it seriously!"
"What? I am serious."
Sakura's jaw dropped open when she realized that Syaoran wasn't joking. "Is that
how you normally introduce yourself?"
He looked at her innocently. "Well... not all the time, only if the lady I'm tal
king to is attractive."
'And he had guts to even answer that.' She could only stare at him incredulously
. "You are such a big flirt!"
"What? You told me we were starting over!" He defended.
To say that Sakura was scandalized would be an understatement. "And that's your
idea of starting over?"
"I already told you, that's what I usually say if the lady "
"Never mind!"
Tomoyo blinked when she descended the stairs. "... Eriol? What are you doing her
e?"
"Hello to you, too."
"Err, sorry about that. Welcome back, Eriol." Tomoyo recovered from her surprise
. She motioned for him to take a seat. "Is... Um..."
"Yes, Syaoran came back with me," he answered her unspoken question.
"I thought you guys were never coming back," Tomoyo admitted. So she was worried
over nothing? But... when Eriol called her that time, he sounded so different.
There was something amiss she was sure of that. But what it was, she had no idea
.
"I have something to ask you, Tomoyo."
She nodded, urging him to go on.
"You remember that question you asked me?"
She nodded again. Of course, how could she forget? Wait... did he have an answer
already?
"I just wanted to clarify... you asked me that because you knew about Sakura and
Syaoran, am I correct?"
Tomoyo was about to nod for the third time when something clicked in her mind. O
h... god. "You know too?"
"Yes," he replied. "Did you know what happened between them during the SPS party
?" He asked, referring to the party organized by the network.
"Sakura wasn't able to tell me all... did Syaoran did he tell you?"
"No."
"How did you find out then...?"
"I heard them," Eriol stated above a whisper.
"What? But you weren't there."
"I was."
Tomoyo's eyes widened.
"I knew Syaoran would be pissed because I didn't come to the party, so to avoid
his wrath, I followed." Eriol smiled, but it was empty. "I didn't find him anywh
ere, so I thought he left. I was about to do the same, but I saw a reporter and
a cameraman coming out from a room. I overheard them saying that they saw Syaora
n enter there. I decided to check it out for myself, but I waited until they wer
e gone..."
Tomoyo was shocked at what she was hearing. She had never expected this. She had
never imagined that Eriol would find it out this way.
"When I heard their voices, I thought of stopping them because they were arguing
at the most dangerous place. But... I didn't." He looked down. "I realized that
it was too personal for me to interfere. However, I didn't leave either. I need
ed to make sure no one else came close to the door. So... I heard them."
Tomoyo took a deep breath before voicing out her thoughts. "You didn't get in th
e way of his personal affairs, but you still protected him by staying. I think "
"But I brought him back to Hong Kong, Tomoyo," he revealed. "I rescheduled all h
is engagements and took him away... so... what did that make me?"
She was silenced. If Eriol hadn't cut her off earlier, she would have said that
he was Syaoran's friend. But after that confession... after knowing that Eriol w
as the one responsible for Syaoran leaving...
"If I did it once, I can do it again," Eriol stated. "I can take him away..." He
smiled that hollow smile again. "So I guess my place is still unknown, huh? I'm
sorry that I still couldn't answer your question."
"Eriol," Tomoyo called softly. "If there was one thing I learned from what happe
ned, that was we shouldn't assume what's best for others."
"I'm sorry," Eriol started. "But I have to tell you right now that what you may
want me to do may not be what I will choose to do."
"I trust you'll do the right thing."
"Don't count on it yet. I'd like to see thing for myself."
Tomoyo smiled nonetheless. She knew it was unrealistic to believe that she could
change his mind because things like that didn't happen in just a snap. His way
of thinking couldn't be altered with just a couple of conversation, but she was
happy that, at least, she got him to give it a chance.
"By the way, when's your fashion show?" He asked.
"Next month."
"Do you think " He hesitated for a moment. "Do you think you could, um, squeeze i
n a male model in the line-up for your show?"
"I'm not sure. I have to talk to the..." Tomoyo trailed off when she realized wh
at Eriol was hinting at. "Are you saying that...?"
"He'll model for you for free," he paused. "Well no, not really. Business is bus
iness so I guess I could just discount his talent fee."
"B-but, I mean I..." She stammered as she digested the information. "Are you ser
ious?"
"Yes." Eriol silently congratulated himself for making Tomoyo, the always-compos
ed one, stumble over her words.
"But Syaoran isn't any ordinary model. If he walks on that runway "
" He'll become your official endorser," he finished for her, pleased that she cau
ght the implication of his action. "Syaoran had his mishaps here and there, but
I'm proud to say that he stayed professional through it all. So with that, I'm p
ositive that I can convince him to agree to this deal," he explained. "As for le
gal matters, there isn't any problem either because he's not a representative of
any Japanese-based clothing company."
Tomoyo could only nod at Eriol's proposal. She was startled at how he could turn
into business-mode in an instant.
"So..." He continued. "I'll have the contracts prepared by tomorrow. Just make s
ure Sonomi receives and signs it. Also, if it's possible, I would like to keep t
his as a secret until the night of the show." He winked. "I want to surprise the
media and everybody else with this."
"But what about rehearsals and all that?"
"Nah... You could just send me the clothes he'll model, and we'll send it back f
or any adjustments," he explained. "You could tell him the instructions and ever
ything else minutes before the show. Or you could simply push him out on the sta
ge. He'll know what to do."
Tomoyo was amazed. "Oh."
"I can't go, you guys..."
"But Sakura," Chiharu started. "This is the prom we're talking about. Don't let
that bastard ruin your senior prom."
"But "
"You have to be stronger than this," Tomoyo stated gently.
"She's right. Don't let them see you grieving over him. He's not worth it." Rika
turned around and glared at their schoolmates, who were whispering around them.
"Back off!"
Want to hear the school's hottest gossip? Sakura Kinomoto was dumped by Maki Min
ari for Tara Chen.
Everybody at school was talking about how Maki broke up with Sakura saying that
she wasn't being supportive and all that. Two days after that, Maki and Tara wer
e seen in the halls making out. Talk about decency.
"I can't..." Sakura repeated. "I mean, I don't care if I don't have a date, but
I don't think I can stand seeing them together. And besides, Tara will just rub
it in my face. The school is going to talk about it."
"They're going to talk about it more if you don't attend," Rika pointed out. "Yo
u have to show them that it doesn't bother you."
Chiharu nodded. "He's just a jerk, Sakura. Don't let him get to you."
"We'll be there for you," Tomoyo comforted.
"But I still..." Sakura trailed off when she noticed that the halls suddenly bec
ame quiet.
Maki and Tara, also dubbed as the perfect couple, had just entered the scene, ho
lding hands. It was the first time the three of them were in the same place afte
r the break-up. Everybody hushed down wanting to see and hear this little event.
Tara immediately smirked upon spotting Sakura. "Hey Kinomoto. I heard your ex-bo
yfriend dumped you... for someone better!"
Seeing Maki wasn't interfering felt like a slap for Sakura. This angered her. "I
f a whore is synonymous of better, then I'm afraid you're right."
"Stop it, Sakura," Maki cut in.
Double Slap. Was this really the man she dated? "Know what? You guys really go t
ogether perfectly," Sakura hissed. "You, Tara, are the trash can, and you, Maki,
are the trash. So what do I do with my thrash? I throw it, just like you, Maki.
Enjoy my trash, Tara."
"Why you "
Sakura blocked the incoming slap from Tara. "Oh what the hell. I've always wante
d to do this." With that, she slapped Tara.
"You, you freak!" Tara was hysterical. "Maki, look at what she did!" She held he
r face dramatically.
Maki frowned at Sakura. "How could you hurt her?"
Sakura could only stare at him disbelievingly. He was okay when Tara was about t
o slap her, but now... he was looking menacingly at her for defending herself?
"I thought you were better than this," Maki shot one last time before taking Tar
a away. The crowd was immediately buzzing with new rumor: Sakura Kinomoto hit Ta
ra Chen out of pure jealousy.
But Sakura wasn't affected by that twisted gossip. She was too stunned at the wa
y Maki treated her.
Chapter 10
You can't always force the light to shine on you.
Sakura was really starting to regret coming to their prom. All throughout the ni
ght, Tara and her posse kept shooting angry glares at her. Maki simply refused t
o look at her. Her friends were true to their words and didn't leave her side th
e moment she arrived. However, it only made Sakura guilty so she forced them to
dance and enjoy the event.
"I can't believe she did that!"
"I was supposed to still vote for her for prom queen, but after that..."
Sakura sighed. She kept hearing bad stuffs about her. Yes, she was sorry for her
actions. It was just the heat of the moment. She was really angry that time, bu
t who could blame her? She was experiencing one of her most difficult times, but
she tried her hardest to become the devoted girlfriend. But what happened? He d
umped her for someone who was after him since day one. He replaced her for someo
ne who stopped at nothing just to embarrass her. How was she supposed to feel?
She really liked Maki. If she didn't, she would have left him a long time ago. E
ven if most of the time, he wasn't there for her, she still stayed with him, and
that just showed how much she cared for him. Sakura was hurt because of him lea
ving her. After what they had been through, all he said was the stupid line, 'th
is isn't working out', then poof, he got together with Tara two freaking days af
ter.
Everything just piled up, and Tara was really asking for it. True, Sakura inflic
ted physical pain by just one slap, but what about all those times Tara humiliat
ed her? What about those insults Tara kept throwing at her?
How... how could they judge her so quickly? Even if everybody knew that Sakura w
as dating Maki, they didn't say anything when Tara flirted openly with him. They
didn't say anything every time Tara used foul language against her.
"Well, well, well... if it isn't the little bitch."
'Not now...' Sakura thought tiredly. Not wanting to cause a scene, she stood up.
She was about to head to the ladies' room, but one of Tara's friends grabbed he
r.
"We're not done with you!"
Sakura couldn't deal with this right now. "Can you please let me pass?"
"Let you pass?" Another friend snorted. "You think you could get away with what
you did just like that?"
The people close by were starting to form a circle around them.
"Tara, the slut is over here!"
The crowd murmured among themselves when they saw Tara approaching the circle. O
nce she was there, everybody quieted. "It's payback time." She smirked evilly an
d hit Sakura right across the face. It happened so fast that Sakura wasn't able
to react immediately.
"Get away from her!" Tomoyo shouted as she, Chiharu, and Rika forced their way t
o get closer. However, Tara's gang blocked them.
"Move before I make you!" Rika hissed.
"I don't listen to empty threats!" With that, the girl grabbed Rika's hair.
"Now you've done it!" Rika retaliated.
Chiharu came to help, but she was roughly pulled back by another. "Oh you're ask
ing for it!"
Just like that, the girls created a cat fight. Even Tomoyo got included. It didn
't last very long because the teachers came rushing in to stop the fight.
"Kinomoto started it!"
"That's not true!" Sakura defended. "You and your friends started it!"
"Liar!" Tara lunged at Sakura again, and they both fell to the floor. All the ot
her girls, who got involved in the fight, continued the action too.
"Stop this instant!" The two teachers didn't know how to stop the nine students,
two of whom were against Sakura. "That's enough!"
Maki, who just came in to the scene, tried to break the girls apart but he was u
nsuccessful.
"Oh my god!" Some random student called out above the noise. "It's Yamada Kyoji!
"
"Is that Hideki Akito?"
"Mizumaki Arou is here too!"
Instantly, the attention of the students and the teachers was shifted towards th
e newcomers, who happened to be the most admired Japanese personalities as of to
day. Students were excitedly whispering amongst themselves as to why the said st
ars were there.
"I can't believe they're here!"
"They are so hot!"
"Oh, god. Are they guests for tonight?"
"I'm going to faint!"
The crowd automatically parted to give them way. Students, with the exception of
Tara and Sakura who were still busy damaging each other, were mesmerized by the
m.
The three celebrities took in the girls' disheveled appearances: the messy hairs
, the smudged make-ups and the wrinkled and torn dresses. They gave out an amuse
d smile, which made everybody standing close by melt.
Still, Sakura and Tara were unaware of what was happening.
"Kinomoto Sakura?" Kyoji asked.
Tara and Sakura's head whipped to the new voice. Tara was the one who recovered
first as she let out a small, "Oh, god."
Sakura looked at the three guys standing in front of her. Did he did he just cal
l her name?
"Hi, I'm Tara Chen!" She didn't waste any time introducing herself. Attention wa
s the thing she loved most. 'And I'm going to get it right now.'
"Hello," Kyoji greeted her with a polite nod, and that made Tara smile smugly. S
he could see it now... damn, hanging out with these men. Oh, she could already t
aste the increase in her popularity. No longer would she be only school-popular,
but she would also be known nationwide. All she had to was to play her cards ri
ght.
"So what brings you to our humble..." Tara trailed off when she noticed that the
newcomers weren't listening to her. To her horror, they were facing Sakura, and
were even extending a hand to help Sakura up.
"T-thanks..." Sakura let out weakly.
"You are probably wondering why we're here," Akito started. It was a comical sig
ht how everybody nodded, even if he was just talking to Sakura. "We were informe
d that you didn't have a date... so we came here."
The students gasped. These three were Sakura's dates? These hot actors were with
Sakura?
What the hell.
Sakura was dumbfounded. She knew them through TV, but that was all. "W-what? But
but how? I mean, I don't I " she stuttered. She couldn't help it! She was stand
ing in front of these attractive men who arrived out of nowhere. And now, they w
ere claiming to be her date...? It was... too much. This was surreal. 'Am I drea
ming? Maybe maybe I was knocked out by Tara thus causing my brain to conjure thi
s up.'
"Li Syaoran sent us," Arou lowered his voice.
"I I don't understand..." Sakura managed to say.
Arou smiled patiently. "We are good friends of his. He asked us to accompany you
for tonight. If he wasn't so busy, he would have been here himself."
"Poor man so overloaded with work." Kyoji chuckled good-naturedly. "He barely ha
s the time to sleep."
"So Sakura wait, we could call you that right?" Akito asked making Sakura nod. "
So Sakura, would you be our date? I hope you wouldn't turn us down since we are
all dressed up." He smiled and motioned to their tuxedos.
Sakura was still in shock but a nudged on her side woke her up. "Oh, oh yes, sur
e... Um... I'd love that, I think..."
"What is going on?" Maki demanded, obviously displeased at what was happening. H
is face was contorted into anger and jealousy.
"If you are so dumb to realize," Rika turned to him smugly. "Sakura just got her
self a date... oh, I meant, dates." She smiled maliciously.
Tara spluttered, "B-but..." This wasn't supposed to happen! It was her night! Th
e spotlight should be on her, and not on that "Slut!"
Akito turned around. "Excuse me?"
"She's a slut!" Tara exclaimed. "I'm warning you, she's a bitch! Stay away from
her!"
The students glanced disgustedly at Tara. She was making a fool out of herself i
n front of the actors, who obviously didn't believe a word she said. Tara was ac
ting pathetic.
"Okay, show's over!" Tomoyo called out. She shooed them away making the students
leave reluctantly. Some, however, stayed back and tried to stay as close as pos
sible. This was definitely a surprising event for everyone, but Sakura was the m
ost shocked of them all. Li Syaoran just sent three of the most gorgeous men in
Japan to be her date. Good lord.
"Oh before I forget..." Akito pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. "This
is from him."
Sakura looked at the paper confusedly. "Um, thanks..." She unfolded it and recog
nized Syaoran's neat handwriting.
Sorry, couldn't be there. Call me when you get this.
The little note contained a number, but it was left unsigned. He didn't need to,
anyway. Sakura pulled out her mobile phone from her little purse. She thought o
f going somewhere else to make the call, but she knew that if she did, people wo
uld just follow. She decided to stay on her place. At least her friends and date
s were surrounding her from those nosy students. She dialed the number and place
d the note discreetly in her purse.
Syaoran's deep voice answered after the fourth ring. "Hello?"
"Hey Sy-... um, you told me to call," Sakura cut herself off before she could sa
y his name.
"Sakura? Why are you whispering?"
"I'm in a room full of people crazy about you. Do I really have to elaborate on
that?"
Syaoran chuckled on the other line. "Sorry again if I couldn't be there."
"First off, don't say sorry because you don't have any obligation to be here in
the first place. And second," Sakura took a deep breath before whispering franti
cally, "Are you crazy? Do you have any idea who you just sent here?"
"Why?" Syaoran asked puzzled. "Oh! Don't you want them? I could send some else,
hmm... what about Dai "
"What are you saying?" Sakura interrupted. "These three are more than enough to
be prom dates, dummy! Heck, even one is too much already!"
The actors could hear her, but they didn't say anything. They actually found it
quite entertaining. It wasn't a big deal for them since they do this all the tim
e. Just last month, it was Arou who asked Kyoji and Syaoran to attend his sister
's birthday . Since all of them were surrounded with much intriguing issues, att
ending a seemingly innocent party didn't really attract attention from the press
people.
Syaoran was quiet on the other line, and Sakura realized why. Someone was callin
g his name from wherever he was. "Wait."
"Okay," Sakura replied though he probably didn't hear her. She caught Syaroan's
muffled voice saying something about 'five minutes'. Sakura slapped herself ment
ally after that. Oh, right! The man was busy, and she was taking away his precio
us time.
"Sorry about that," Syaoran's voice came back.
"No, no! I should be the one who's sorry," Sakura stated. "Anyway, I just called
because... well, you told me to, and to thank you for sending them over, but yo
u didn't really have to."
"Oh for the love of shut up for just a sec!"
Sakura's mouth snapped shut. What did she do?
"Sorry, sorry, I wasn't talking to you..." Syaoran apologized immediately. "Erio
l is being an ass."
She could easily detect the tiredness on his voice. "Maybe you should go."
"Hold on," Syaoran told her. "I'm going to the bathroom to pee!" He called over
bluntly. "Don't tell me you want come?"
"Um... No..." Sakura flushed when she heard some rustling and a door closing.
"Sorry again," Syaoran apologized for the fourth time. "No more interruptions th
is time. Well, at least until Eriol checks up on me. He's gay that way."
"Ah..." Ah, so he wasn't talking to her about that bathroom stuff.
Syaoran's brows furrowed. "What did you mean by 'no' awhile ago?" He paused for
a moment before laughing out loud. "You actually thought I was inviting you?"
Sakura flushed harder. "N-no..." She denied pathetically. "I mean, were you invi
ting someone else?"
He chuckled again. "I told you I was talking to Eriol." He paused, as if thinkin
g of Sakura's question and Eriol. He instantly shuddered. "That was just gross,
Sakura!"
"What? It was just a question!" Sakura defended.
"But you were insinuating something!"
"How come you're so defensive all of a sudden?" She teased. "Know what? You don'
t have to hide it. I mean, society is more open-minded now. I'm sure they will b
e able to accept you once they get over it."
"I've heard so much gossip about me, but that one was just preposterous."
"Uh-huh. Sure."
"Hey, Sakura, do you want "
"No!" She blushed. Sakura cut him off quickly because his voice turned husky and
suggestive. He was going to tease her, and she knew it.
"You don't even know what I'm going to say."
"Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it. You and your dirty mind!"
"What are you talking about?" Syaoran's tone became innocent. "Tsk, tsk... I did
n't know you were into those kinds of stuffs."
"I am not into that kind of stuffs or any other stuff you're thinking! You're yo
u're impossible!"
Syaoran stayed silent for a moment, "Sakura?"
"What?"
"Am I turning you on?"
"Wha what oh, god! What?" Sakura's mouth dropped open in shock. "I am not having
this conversation with you!"
"You didn't answer my question, baby."
His smooth, sexy voice just sent shivers down her spine.
"I'm talking to you... in the bathroom..." Syaoran continued, "... and I'm all a
lone."
Sakura was rendered speechless. She couldn't even utter a single 'um'.
"Are you feeling hot now? 'Cause I sure am..."
Sakura's face was ten times redder than before, but god, that voice... and what
he was saying... 'I'm going to faint,' she realized. He needed to stop right now
, or she was going to simply drop unconscious.
However, she was brought back to reality when she heard Syaoran laughing on the
other line. "Oh man!" He managed between laughs. "I wished I could have seen you
r face! I bet it was priceless!"
"Sh-shut up!" She knew it was a lame come back, but she was still trying to comp
ose herself. She was still relearning the process of breathing.
"What? You want more?" His voice turned serious again.
"No!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Are you sure? 'Cause I'm really starting to feel hot right now..."
"Syaoran!" She was scandalized, but she wasn't about to fall for his tricks agai
n. "Fine, fine! I take it back, you're straight."
"See? That wasn't so hard."
Sakura bit her tongue to prevent herself from retorting.
"But really, do you want to continue?"
"Oh what the I can not believe you!"
"Kidding, kidding!" He laughed again.
"And to answer your question..." She paused before exclaiming, "No! I'm not turn
ed on!" Sakura bowed down quickly when others glanced at her. Her friends and da
tes could actually hear her since she failed so miserably in keeping her voice d
own. They were amused at what they were hearing and could only wonder at what Sa
kura and Syaoran were talking about.
"Um, Sakura, listen, I've got to go. Eriol's already knocking on the door."
Sakura could hear him yawn. "Oh, okay... hey, Syao?"
"Hmm?"
"Go home at midnight."
He chuckled. "No can do. I'll probably leave here by nine a.m. at the earliest."
"What? That's crazy!"
"Nah, it's okay. I'm used to it."
"You're a star. Act all diva or something and say you want to go home."
He smiled though she couldn't see it. "It's okay, really."
"But, but... fine," Sakura gave up. Syaoran was really too professional for his
own good.
"Just have fun there. Tell those three dumb-asses over there to entertain you."
"As if I could," she replied dryly. "Just... take care, okay?"
"I will. Bye."
"Bye." Sakura hanged up in time to see Tomoyo's smiling face. "What?"
"Nothing, nothing," Tomoyo blinked at Sakura innocently.
"Spill."
"I told you, it was nothing." Tomoyo turned away, still grinning.
"Fine." Sakura gave up and let out a smile of her own. A conversation with Syaor
an was what she needed. It was definitely effective in lifting her spirits up. T
he happenings the past couple of days were nothing compared with what Syaoran di
d for her. With his extravagant action, the dispute with Tara seemed so petty no
w.
When the night ended, everybody was still so captivated by their guests that nob
ody gave a damn when Maki Minari and Tara Chen were announced as 'Prom King' and
'Prom Queen.' They were too busy ogling to care, and that didn't made the 'roya
l couple' happy.
"No?" The Chinese girl repeated incredulously. "Listen here, Miss, I flew all th
e way here from Hong Kong! You just can't simply tell me no!"
The building's receptionist forced out a polite smile. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but th
at's how it goes. You have to make an appointment first before you could see Mr.
Hiiragizawa."
"I don't want to talk to him! I came here for Li Syaoran!"
"Mr. Li doesn't allow direct appointments with him. Everything goes with Mr. Hii
ragizawa first."
"Fine!" The girl huffed. "How do I get to talk with that Mr. Hiiragizawa?"
"You have to make an appointment with one of his secretaries."
"And how do I do that?"
"It's usually through phone calls but since you're already here, Mr. Hiiragizawa
's secretary that handles that job is on the twenty-fifth floor."
"Okay, thank you." The girl gritted. She exchanged her I.D. for a visitor's I.D.
that would only open doors on the designated floor. She dragged herself inside
the elevator while cursing inwardly. Finally, a mechanical voice announced that
she was on the twenty-fifth floor.
'Must. Be. Polite.' She chanted to herself. "Hello, good afternoon." She forced
out a smile. "Are you Mr. Hiiragizawa's secretary?"
"Yes. What business do you have with him?"
'Must. Be. Polite.' "I would just like to schedule an appointment."
"Okay, you will have to leave your name, company and contact numbers. You also h
ave to state your purpose," the secretary explained, making the girl nod. "If yo
u're purpose is deemed unimportant, we will not schedule you. If you are just a
representative of the company, a certification letter is required. Oh, before th
at, do you work under these companies?" The secretary pulled out a folder.
The girl didn't even glance at it. "No. I'm still a student."
"Then I'm sorry. You can't schedule a meeting with him."
"What?" The girl shrieked. "Just because I don't work under those freaking "
"Calm down, ma'am, or I'll be forced to call on security."
"Are you nuts? And what's with all those requirements?"
"Would you please "
"What the hell is wrong with you people! I would just like to talk to Li Syaoran
for my damn project! I am not making an appointment with God!"
"Ma'am," the secretary called warningly.
"This is absurd! You are all ridiculous!" The girl exclaimed before walking out.
She was really furious. Apparently, flying from one country to another wasn't e
nough to talk to Li.
The receptionist was surprised when a livid girl passed by her. "Ma'am, wait!" S
he tried to run after the said girl when she realized that the girl didn't claim
her I.D. back. "Wait!" However, it was too late. The girl was already out of si
ght.
Well, it looked like the receptionist needed to make a call to the owner of the
said I.D. Sighing, she glanced at it. 'Li Meiling.' She arched an eyebrow. 'A re
lative? Nah... Li Syaoran was an orphan.' And besides, Li was a common last name
.
"Um... thank you for coming today. After what happened with my last request to t
alk to you, I would have understood it if you didn't want to come this time."
Sakura just smiled at the other woman. She hadn't seen or heard from Aisa since
that incident between them.
"I just wanted to apologize for my rude behavior," Aisa started. "And I'm sorry
it took me too long to say it."
"It's okay," Sakura replied. "I'm sorry too for not telling you earlier."
"Actually, in a way, I'm kind of happy you didn't, because if you told me your p
ast connection with him, I would have gotten jealous," Aisa joked. "Then if I've
gotten jealous, we wouldn't have hanged out together." She gave out a content s
mile. "Because of Syaoran, I realized now that you really didn't mean to hurt or
lie to me."
"... Syaoran?"
"Yeah, we talked about it. More than once, even," Aisa admitted. "I thought it w
ould be awkward and all that, you know, talking about you, him, and me... but it
wasn't." She laughed. "It was, like, he transformed into this completely seriou
s person, and I was left to wonder whether aliens abducted the real Li Syaoran."
"I could totally imagine that," Sakura agreed. Syaoran, most of the time, was th
e laid-back type, but when he decided to be serious, he was... well, really seri
ous... and scary.
"I asked him why he didn't tell me," Aisa continued her story. "He told me, in a
really frank way, mind you, that it wasn't my business."
Sakura cringed because she knew exactly how Syaoran could be brutally honest. He
y, no guy is faultless.
"But that knocked some sense to me. It wasn't really my business, and I shouldn'
t have acted the way I did."
"I'm just glad that it's good between us," Sakura smiled. "I thought I'm never g
oing to see you again."
Aisa giggled. "It was actually funny how most people thought that the movie was
done filming because of Syaoran's sudden disappearance."
Sakura blushed guiltily. She was one of those who thought that.
"Syaoran overshadows me! That's not fair." Aisa playfully huffed. "I'm feeling s
o down right now... come on, let's go shopping!"
Sakura smiled again. Finally, things were turning out for the better.
Or so she thought.
Chapter 11
Don't start a fight you can't finish. Someone else will crush you.
"Sakura!" Tomoyo greeted her friend cheerfully. She ran all the way from the bac
kstage to the lounge where the guests were waiting. Several people were already
there, but a lot more were still expected.
"Tomoyo!" Sakura hugged her friend.
"Where are Rika and Chiharu?"
"They're going to arrive any minute now." Sakura smiled enthusiastically. "Anywa
y, good luck tonight!"
"Chen?" Tomoyo's eyes narrowed when she spotted her schoolmates mingling among t
he guests in tonight's event.
"What?" Sakura turned to her best friend confusedly before following her gaze. "
Oh."
A waiter carrying a tray full of glasses of wine passed by them, and Tomoyo took
one instantly. She marched at the corner of the room with Sakura in tow.
"What are you doing here?" Tomoyo tried to be even-tempered as she confronted Ta
ra and her friends. As much as she hated them, Tomoyo needed to appear calm beca
use her mother's business associates and media reporters were also present in th
e room.
Tara glared at Tomoyo and Sakura. "If I had known earlier that this was your fas
hion show, I wouldn't even bother coming."
"You can only be here if you have an invitation. How you got one is beyond me, b
ut don't tell me you didn't realize that it was from Daidouji Designs?" Tomoyo t
ook a sip from her drink, and that made Sakura sigh in relief. She had actually
thought that Tomoyo would use that drink as a weapon against Tara. Hey, Tomoyo h
ad a malicious glint in her eyes when she grabbed that glass.
"I'm here for Maki," Tara answered instead. "He's on tonight's show." She smiled
smugly at the surprised look of Tomoyo and Sakura. It was a well-known fact tha
t the models who walked on the runway for Daidouji Designs were top-notched. The
models were thoroughly selected, and only those who met the high standards of t
he company were chosen.
If Maki was here tonight, then that could mean that he really had the potential.
That, or he had an insider connection. Tomoyo chose the latter.
Tomoyo scowled at the arrogant faces of her schoolmates. She badly wanted to dra
g them out, but she couldn't... because Sakura was holding tightly onto her arms
. She let herself be pulled away.
"Don't mind them, Tomoyo. Relax," Sakura soothed. She knew that Tomoyo was feeli
ng a little agitated because half of the designs they were going to show later o
n were made by her. Confronting Tara was Tomoyo's own little way of relieving he
r stress. Too bad, it didn't help.
"I'm sorry, Sakura," Tomoyo started. "I didn't know Maki was here. I could go ba
ck there and tell the director to remove him. As a matter of fact, I'm going now
"
Sakura stopped her. "It's okay. If he's here, then that means he deserved it."
Tomoyo pursed her lips. It was so like Sakura to think of others first. Even aft
er what Maki did to her, Sakura still thought of his welfare. She wasn't someone
you would call a push-over. It just wasn't in her nature to get involved in unn
ecessary fights.
"I remember now... Maki was constantly talking about a big show back then. He re
ally wanted to be in it. I didn't know why, but it never crossed my mind that th
is would be it," Sakura said. "He must have worked hard because he finally made
it here."
'But along the way, he deserted you,' Tomoyo kept that thought to herself becaus
e it would only dampen the mood more. The silence was broken by the alarm of Tom
oyo's electronic organizer. She was so busy tonight that she needed something to
prompt her of the things she must do. She took it out and read the reminder. A
smile crawled up on her features. 'Why didn't I think of this before?'
"Hey guys!" Rika and Chiharu came. Both were sporting excited smiles on their fa
ces.
"Good luck on the show Tomoyo!"
"Thanks," Tomoyo smiled and welcomed their hug. "Hey, listen, I really need to g
o back there now."
"Sure, sure," Chiharu replied. "Don't mind us. We know you still have tons of th
ings to do."
"I'll just meet you inside later, okay? Our seats are labeled with our names so
we could easily get together again," Tomoyo informed.
After their temporary goodbyes, Tomoyo walked straight to the backstage. She smi
led once more before ticking off the current to-do note that was displayed on th
e screen. Welcome Li Syaoran at back entrance.
Tomoyo was waiting with a few trusted employees to welcome Syaoran's arrival. As
usual, he pulled in right on time. She could only watch in amazement as he ente
red the building through the back. 'Wow... he had his own entourage.' Since he w
as a star, Tomoyo knew it shouldn't surprise her, but it did because Syaoran was
always the humble type. It was just an unexpected sight when he came in with hi
s own crew.
Upon seeing that his staffs were all familiar and comfortable with each other, T
omoyo realized that he had always worked this way. She couldn't help but nod app
rovingly because even if he had these people to attend to him, he still remained
down-to-earth.
"This way..." Tomoyo ushered them to his own dressing room.
"Thanks."
Tomoyo didn't leave. Instead, she waited until they settled in. 'How to begin, h
ow to begin... Aha!' She smiled when she thought of her conversation starter. "H
ey, Syaoran... I just want to thank you for sending those prom dates for Sakura.
"
"Oh, that? It was nothing. Thanks for informing me, by the way," he replied. Yep
, it was Tomoyo who told Syaoran about that prom dilemma.
"Though I hope your friends weren't surprised by the scene that greeted them..."
She left her sentence hanging. 'Take the bait... take it, come on...'
Syaoran's brow furrowed. "Now that you mentioned it..."
'Yes!' Tomoyo mentally raised her fist in the air.
"... They did say something about a... fight?" Syaoran continued confusedly.
"Oh. It was between Sakura and Tara Chen. Do you know her?" She asked innocently
. Innocently? Yeah, right.
He jogged his memory, but the name didn't really ring a bell. "Nope."
"Hmm... Ah, I know!" Tomoyo fought back an evil smile. "Remember when you were s
hooting scenes in our school? She was the one who tried to hurt Sakura." She con
gratulated herself for that. That was the worst way to remind Syaoran of someone
. 'Go me!'
"Oh." Syaoran frowned. He remembered that.
"Tara had always hated Sakura. She was always rude, but Sakura usually ignored i
t. I guess the last straw was when Tara stole her boyfriend."
His frown deepened. "Really?"
"Yes. He dumped Sakura then got together with that bitch just two freaking days
after. With what he did, who knows, he may have been cheating on Sakura all this
time." Tomoyo knew she was exaggerating, but she also knew that this would infl
uence Syaoran's thinking. 'Oh god, I'm hanging around Eriol too much.'
Syaoran remained quiet, and Tomoyo took this as a good sign.
"Sakura was really devastated... really, really devastated..." Tomoyo slowly pus
hed further. "She was so sad about it, but Maki didn't give a damn. He was so se
lfish... abandoning Sakura and all that..." She smiled inwardly. 'I am so good.'
"I see..."
"Anyway," she purposely changed the topic to leave him hanging. "I'll call the s
how director so he could talk to you. In the meantime, here's the initial instru
ction." Tomoyo pretended to look over the paper in her hands before acting surpr
ised. "The hell! What is his name doing here?"
Syaoran turned to her concernedly, "What? Who?"
She didn't need to pretend acting disgust here, "Minari Maki."
"Who's that?"
Tomoyo almost fell over. Was Syaoran really bad with names? Somehow, she didn't
think so. He just never remembered the names of those people who he deemed unimp
ortant. He was on the haughty side on that one, but he was still hot.
"Sakura's ex-boyfriend."
"Oh... wait, he's on tonight's show?"
"Yes. Ugh... If I had known this any sooner, I would have done something about i
t! What a conceited jerk!" Tomoyo rambled on. "I hate to think that this might b
ecome his big break! If only I could do something about it..." She hinted subtly
. "If only I could ruin this for him... If only someone could..."
'Come on now,' Tomoyo waited patiently for his reaction.
"Hey Tomoyo..."
'Score!' Tomoyo tried her hardest to suppress a mad grin that was threatening to
show on her face. "Yes?"
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Sakura, Rika and Chiharu were already seated inside. Since they were friends of
the daughter of Sonomi, they had the privilege of being situated close to the st
age. Not the closest though, because those seats were reserved for the sponsors,
media and the company's officers.
"We're in the second row," Rika whispered excitedly. "In line with VIPs!" She ga
ve a quick glance towards the back before smiling evilly. "And guess who are loc
ated all the way at the back?"
Chiharu and Sakura looked at the direction Rika was pointing at. Tara and her fr
iends didn't look so confident now. How could they? They had the worst seats. Yo
u see, events like these usually had extra chairs, but most of the time, they we
re never used. But right now, Tara and her friends were occupying it.
They smirked while Chiharu mouthed, "Who's the loser now?" They laughed when Tar
a fumed. She obviously understood Chiharu's words. Their attention, however, was
shifted when Tomoyo arrived. She could have placed herself in the first row, bu
t she preferred to be in the company of her friends.
"I'm so excited for you, Tomoyo!" Chiharu gushed. The organizers were just waiti
ng for all the guests to settle in before starting.
"This place looks amazing," Sakura commended as she looked around in her seat. T
he site had been transformed into a unique setting with stylishly decorated chai
rs and a large T-shaped catwalk. There was also a huge projector screen, which f
lashed information about the event.
Sakura, along with everybody else, turned their attention toward the stage when
the lights dimmed. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen," a pleasant voice announc
ed through the speakers. "We would like to thank you for being here tonight. Now
, may we present to you... the Daidouji Designs: Black and White Collection."
As soon as the voice ended, the backdrop was filled with white smoke. Lively mus
ic started playing, and silhouettes became visible. As practiced, a couple of mo
dels emerged since the first cycle was to be done in pairs.
Everybody couldn't help it but applause as a sign of their appreciation. The clo
thes were highly decorated with an elegant mix of black and white. It was a clas
sic, but the designers were able to put a modern twist to it as evidenced by the
fabrics, textures and cuts. Truly, the designs were marvelous, and the presenta
tion was magnificent.
However, just when people thought it couldn't be more beautiful, they were prove
n wrong. Suddenly, the lights changed, and the music paused dramatically. It res
umed at the same time Syaoran appeared. Everybody gasped at this.
"Oh. My. God."
"It's Li Syaoran!"
Everybody was extremely surprised that Li Syaoran was there. It was a well-known
fact that he rejected numerous offers from clothing lines... and now, here he w
as... on the stage for Daidouji Designs.
The sponsors of the show, the high-ranking officers of Daidouji Inc. and Syaoran
's agent and publicist knew this all along, and they were absolutely pleased at
the reaction of the guests. It was exactly what they were expecting, and more. T
he crowd was buzzing, and the media people were ecstatic as they took pictures a
nd videos of this unexpected occurrence.
"I'm getting goose bumps," Rika whispered. Sakura could only nod since she was a
lso experiencing the same thing.
Syaoran was simply the epitome of male beauty. Nobody could take their eyes off
him. It was like he had this aura around him that drew people to look at him and
only him. He had something about him that would render people incapable of anyt
hing, but just gawk at him. Still, even though he was utterly breathtaking, he h
ad his own special way of not taking the attention away from what he was wearing
. It was one of his characteristics that made him superior in this field.
His each stride was confident yet graceful at the same time, and that left viewe
rs watching him in awe. Not only that, it wasn't simply fashion for him because
he knew how to effectively present the outfit in character. He could change his
looks to fit into any mood, but at the same time, he could retain what was disti
nctive about him. He was simply amazing.
Rika let out a breath, "Damn..."
Syaoran's first cycle was now over, but people were still in a haze. Seeing Syao
ran do his stuff, in person, was truly a different experience. It gave off an un
explainable feeling that would make you thirst for more, and this was proven by
the people who were still staring at the right side of the stage, where he made
his exit.
Suddenly, Sakura's eyebrows furrowed. Was she imagining things, or did someone e
xit at the left?
"Did someone walk with Syaoran?" Chiharu asked, also looking confusedly at the l
eft side. Oh, so it wasn't only Sakura who saw that.
Tomoyo couldn't hold her laughter anymore. "Yes!" She was laughing hysterically
when she asked, "Guess who?"
Her friends' mouths opened in shock. "No way!"
"Yes way!"
They instantly laughed hard when Tomoyo's confirmation sank in. Maki walked with
Syaoran... and nobody noticed! Oh my!
They stopped laughing when someone glanced their way. However, huge grins were s
till evident on their faces. It was hard to fight it, you know. It was Maki's fi
rst appearance... and nobody saw him! It was simply priceless! Then, as if think
ing of the same thing, Tomoyo and her friends looked at each other before lookin
g at the back. Mortification was written all over Tara's face! That brought abou
t a new wave of giggling from them.
"Oh, man! This is hilarious! This is " Rika couldn't even finish her sentence due
to lack of air.
"That must have been so humiliating!" Chiharu managed to say between laughter. "
I wish I saw it!"
"I still can't believe it," Sakura was also astonished at what happened. It was
mean to laugh, but she couldn't help it. It was just really funny, and she had a
n inkling feeling that Syaoran did that on purpose.
"I'll give you copies of the show later," Tomoyo replied evilly.
It was actually Syaoran's idea to change the sequence. All his rounds should be
solo performance, but he requested to be paired off with Maki for the first cycl
e. Syaoran didn't want Maki to be informed beforehand. How he pulled that off? T
omoyo had no idea, but it was obvious that Maki only became aware of the changes
at the last second... literally. She could still remember the shocked look on M
aki's face when he walked out and came face to face with Syaoran, who emerged fr
om the other side.
But that's not all... Syaoran intentionally ruined the rehearsed pair routine. I
nstead of stopping halfway, he went straight to the front. That left Maki strand
ed in the middle, looking like an idiot. Oh my! Syaoran was so just so amazing t
hat it looked like it was Maki who was wrong. However, Syaoran didn't stop there
. He deliberately made a wrong turn and took what should have been Maki's place,
and that confused the poor newbie on the spot. When Maki regained his senses, S
yaoran was already walking back, so he had no other choice but to walk back too.
Maki wasn't even able to reach the final spot in front because he had to exit a
t the same time as Syaoran.
Tomoyo knew it was a risky move to intervene and make a model lose his focus, bu
t she also knew that Syaoran would be able to cover it up. Syaoran knew how not
to take the lime light away from the clothes. But too bad for Maki, he also knew
how to take every thing away from his co-model.
The guests were completely engrossed as the show went on. It was now an individu
al performance, but Syaoran wasn't done yet. He had also requested that he came
first before Maki in every cycle. That way, people would still have the 'post-Sy
aoran effect' when it came to Maki's turn. Damn, Syaoran was harsh.
Overall, the show was fantastic. The models, with the exception of Maki who no o
ne really remembered, were able to bring the designer's creation to life. The pa
ssion, timing and choreography were also executed flawlessly. In the end, the sh
ow received a standing ovation for the excellent production.
Once it was officially over, the media wasted no time in conducting interviews a
nd taking pictures. On one side, a reporter was already standing in front of the
camera and doing a live broadcast.
Sakura, Rika, and Chiharu immediately went to look for their friend. Awhile ago,
Tomoyo was part of the final bow, so she exited backstage with the other design
ers. Since everybody else was busy, Sakura and her friends were able to enter ba
ckstage without much of a fuss.
"Wow... I didn't know it was big back here," Rika thought out loud. After lookin
g around, they were able to spot Tomoyo in front of another door. Her friends in
stantly congratulated her and gave her the praises she very well-deserved. They
would hug her, but she was carrying three bouquets of flowers, so it wasn't poss
ible at the moment.
"That was so good, Tomoyo!"
"Yeah! That was awesome!"
"Oh, thank you guys." Tomoyo sniffed. She was really lucky to have such wonderfu
l and supporting friends.
"We are so proud of you," Sakura stated sincerely. At that time, someone emerged
from the door they were standing near at. Sakura didn't have to guess who it wa
s because Rika and Chiharu's squeals gave it away.
"You're leaving already?" Tomoyo was the one who spoke first.
"Uh, yeah..." Syaoran smiled apologetically. He wouldn't be attending the after-
party.
"Avoiding press people, I see," Tomoyo observed making Syaoran nod.
The duo was quite. Their pattern was always like that: excited stunned to silenc
e excited again completely mad. Syaoran just hoped that he would be gone by the
time they enter the third stage.
Sakura, on the other hand, was still debating whether she would ask him if he ha
d done the things he did on purpose on her behalf.
"Maybe I did," Syaoran answered her unspoken question. She was so easy to read.
"Or maybe I just didn't really like him." He playfully smirked.
"You are such a " Sakura stopped. She didn't want to argue. "Great job back there
, by the way."
Syaoran raised a brow at the change of topic.
"You improved so much," Sakura continued softly. "You were really wonderful." An
d it was the truth. She was so amazed in her seat that she almost wouldn't belie
ve that she knew that man on stage. How could she be acquainted with such greatn
ess? And now, she was standing in front of him... It was so unreal.
"Okay, you're complimenting me too much. What do you want?" Though his face was
serious, mirth was present in his eyes.
Sakura realized that he had changed, but somehow... he was still Syaoran.
"Oh my god!"
Syaoran cringed. The duo entered the third stage. Thankfully, Tomoyo was holding
them back. "I think I have to go..."
Sakura and Tomoyo understood, but their friends just whined. "Already?"
"Um, yeah... I still have taping after this," he stated truthfully.
Sakura just looked at him concernedly. She remembered Tomoyo telling them that S
yaoran came from set. He had been working before this, and he would work again a
fter this.
"That's too bad..." The duo was crestfallen.
"So, yeah... I need to go." He smiled. "Bye Tomoyo," he started making the raven
-haired girl wave. "Rika, Chiharu."
At the mention of their names, the duo instantly brightened. Syaoran remembered
them and just said their names! "Bye!" They chorused energetically.
Finally, Syaoran turned to the girl standing closest to him. "Bye, Sakura."
Sakura looked up at him. He was tired. She could see it, but she could do nothin
g about it. "Bye," she mumbled.
Syaoran didn't move away. Instead, he gently placed one of his hands on the side
of her face. His fingers lightly grazed her cheek, and that almost made her shi
ver. There was just something in his touch that always pushed her to the edge. S
uddenly, she felt something soft and warm touch her forehead. His lips.
Oh god. Sakura froze on her spot.
His lips... his scent... and just simply the feeling of having him so close to h
er almost drove her crazy. Her brain simply stopped functioning. She forgot wher
e they were. She became unaware of her surroundings. She was incapable of thinki
ng of anything else.
They just stood there... in that same position, with their eyes closed.
But like any other, the moment came to an end. "Bye," he whispered. And just lik
e that, he was gone.
"Lena Dowell was seen coming out of Tokyo International Airport at two o'clock i
n the afternoon yesterday," a TV host for a celebrity talk show was saying, whil
e pictures of Lena getting out of the airport was flashed on the TV screen. "And
an hour later, she was reportedly spotted at SPS Studio 24 where the star of th
e upcoming movie 'Destined', Syaoran Li, was filming."
"Really?" Another host responded. Both of them sounded excited and proud at the
same time. Who could blame them? They were the first to deliver this extra-juicy
gossip about Li. "Could Lena be pursuing him again?"
"Well, whatever it was, it didn't make his co-star, Aisa Dy, happy," the first h
ost spoke as another picture was flashed. This time, it was Aisa looking furious
. "But that's not all. We also found out that Li is taking a week off from work.
"
"My, my, that's definitely interesting. His break matched Lena's arrival. Isn't
that too much of coincidence?"
"Or maybe, it wasn't coincidence at all." The host flashed a smile. It was as if
she knew something the television viewers didn't.
"Uh-oh, I smell a love-triangle here... and a celebrity cat-fight too."
"My thoughts, exactly." The host nodded. "Only three days had passed since Li to
ok us all in a surprise by his unexpected appearance on the runway for Daidouji
Designs, and now, he seemed to be involved in a whole different issue yet again.
"
"Wow, people are still speculating about his decision behind Daidouji Designs, a
nd now, this? With the way things are turning out, the spotlight won't be leavin
g Li's side anytime soon."
"You bet." The host turned to face the camera. "We'll be sure to keep you posted
with the latest happenings on this event. We have yet to get Dy's and Li's stat
ement on the issue."
Chapter 12
Realizations come even if you're not yet ready.
Ruby eyes narrowed at the links displayed on the screen of her laptop. She wasn'
t expecting that a simple search about two celebrities would yield so many resul
ts. Having no other choice, Meiling decided to click on one. Once the website lo
aded, she was instantly greeted with numerous images of Syaoran and Lena. When s
he saw the date, she realized that the most recent ones were taken a few months
back. All were obviously paparazzi shots.
The couple hanging out at the beach, shopping at the mall, strolling at the park
, partying at a club, or even just entering their car or walking at the, well, s
idewalk, you name it the website had images of it. Meiling had to admit that the
y looked good even if they weren't primed for their pictures to be taken. They w
ere, like, the 'gorgeous celebrity couple' decked in expensive and trendy design
er outfits and stylish sunglasses.
Meiling didn't scroll all the way down. She already saw what she needed, so she
decided to read articles about them instead. She was a little intrigued with his
current affairs, but apparently, she wasn't a big fan so she needed to do some
reading to get a little background. After browsing here and there, she found out
that Syaoran and Lena had been dating until Syaoran's on-screen pairing with Ai
sa.
Syaoran and Lena coincidentally announced their break-up during the filming of h
is first movie with the actress, but still, there were claims that the supposedl
y ex-couple was still together. Meiling tried to search for more information abo
ut it, but she saw no images or proof just plain statements, which were really r
are. "Wow... his agents are really good in covering him up," Meiling thought out
loud.
After the release of his first movie with Aisa, Meiling became aware that there
was absolutely nothing written about him and Lena anymore. After Syaoran flew to
Japan with Aisa for their second movie, everything about him and Lena completel
y died down. Why wouldn't it? Li-Dy was a big hit, so who would want to write or
read about an old issue?
"So they covered his real relationship with a fake one." Meiling was obviously d
ispleased. "And the public eagerly embraced and accepted it. Fools."
Pondering about the things she saw, she reckoned that Syaoran and Lena didn't re
ally break it off, but the public was too blind to see it since they were regula
rly fed with lies. Her theory was only strengthened by Lena's appearance, and sh
e was left to wonder how they would cover up this incident.
Meiling just sighed and exited her internet browser. Aside from ideas, she got n
othing more out of it. There was only so much the internet could give. Besides,
she couldn't use those as her sources anyway. Celebrity websites and fan sites?
Ugh. She was having a hard time obtaining information from the primary source be
cause she couldn't talk with the model/actor himself. She couldn't get an interv
iew with Syaoran's managers either. Where else could she get hold of data? Who e
lse was close to him?
Family? Okay, poof. As fast as the thought came, it vanished. He had none.
Friends? She could name a handful, but they were all celebrities. Damn. She alre
ady knew that trying to contact a star was futile. On the other hand, she had no
idea about the identity of his non-showbiz friends.
Ex-girlfriends? Pft. Like above, she only knew the models he allegedly dated.
Hmm... Old friends from Japan? That could do... but no, she needed someone more
recent someone he kept in touch with after all this time, but someone who wasn't
famous. Who she needed was someone personally close to him... but the big quest
ion was...
Who?
"I thought you were going to give Sakura and Syaoran a chance," Tomoyo started o
nce she was settled inside Eriol's spacious office. Her voice was tight as she c
ontinued, "I thought you were going to help me."
Eriol stared at the girl who was seated across him. He knew exactly what Tomoyo
was talking about. "I already did."
Something almost similar to a glare was visible on Tomoyo's feature. "By practic
ally shoving Syaoran to that supermodel?"
Eriol continued to look at her. He wasn't obliged to answer any of her questions
, but he did... he always did. "Remember when I talked to you about how I found
out about Sakura and Syaoran?"
Tomoyo nodded tersely.
"At that time... I was already informed of Syaoran's decision to decline the off
er from the SPS network. He didn't want to stay here. He had no reasons to. And
that..." He hesitated for a moment, "And that was the reason why he initially tu
rned down Daidouji Designs, too."
... What?
Tomoyo let his words sink in. So when they had that talk, he already knew about
Syaoran's decision about the network?
Wait... wasn't it Eriol who suggested making Syaoran a Daidouji Designs endorser
? So when Eriol proposed that... he was already creating another option of bindi
ng Syaoran, one way or another, back to Japan. And when Syaoran refused Daidouji
Designs at first, Eriol still managed to convince him. He had helped her, alrig
ht.
"But that's all I could do," he spoke again, and she understood him. Eriol was s
till in a conflicting position, and he couldn't do anything more. He was in the
middle, and if he took one more step, it would destroy the balance.
Tomoyo was grateful for what he did. She really was, but she still had to ask, "
Why did you let him go with her?"
"You seem to forget one important fact, Tomoyo. Lena is still Syaoran's girlfrie
nd."
She looked at him closely, as if waiting for the real explanation.
Eriol had to smile at that. Tomoyo was really quick in catching up. "It's in the
business."
She didn't understand the concept. "How?"
Eriol swiveled his chair to the right. "Syaoran and Aisa the pairing is famous a
s it is, but what better thing can you add to a couple's popularity? What will m
ake people talk about them more?" He answered his own question. "A third party..
. and in this case, another girl."
"So you planned Lena's appearance?"
"No, it wasn't planned," Eriol admitted. "Lena took us all by surprise, but I sa
w that as an opportunity, and I couldn't allow that chance to pass. So we leaked
out her unexpected visit to Syaoran."
Tomoyo's eyes widened in surprise. "You... leaked it out? You didn't cover it up
?"
Eriol nodded. "It all worked out for us because with that, we got what we desire
d. I got the publicity, Lena got her man, and Syaoran got the break he needed ba
dly," he explained. "And when Lena leaves, everything that transpired would just
be denied."
Tomoyo tried to grasp all that he was saying. "So you used Lena as a publicity s
tunt?"
Eriol shifted his gaze back at her. "Tomoyo... It isn't just about that. You hav
e to understand, this is how we do it."
"I... I don't follow..." She suddenly felt lost with what was going on.
"Syaoran, Lena, Aisa and everybody else involved know what we are getting into,"
Eriol continued. "It isn't just me. We are all perfectly aware of the situation
and the benefit of that action... and we pursued it. This is how we do things."
He looked at her gravely. "As I've said earlier, 'we' leaked it out. By that, I
mean, everybody has given their consent over the matter. If you want to say tha
t we 'used' Lena, so be it, but Lena is benefiting as well. She is gaining somet
hing for her own publicity."
Tomoyo was quiet. She was still processing his words. Did she understand it righ
t? They were... using each other. Wasn't that a little too harsh? And that wasn'
t all, they were also aware that other people were using them too. Aisa and Lena
they hated each other. Syaoran and Lena they liked each other. But in the end,
the feelings didn't matter. Relationships were treated the same.
"Mr. Hiiragizawa," his secretary's voice came through the intercom. "The car is
already outside."
Eriol pressed a button to reply, "Okay, thank you. I'll be out in a few." He tur
ned his attention back to Tomoyo. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. I have to attend
an important function across town."
"Oh... okay," Tomoyo let out. She didn't know what else to say. "I, um... thank
you for what you did and for your time."
Silently, they walked out of Eriol's office and rode the elevator together. When
Eriol was about to step inside the car that was waiting for him, he called her,
"Tomoyo..."
"... Yes?"
"This is our world. This is how we live."
She just watched as Eriol's car zoomed past her.
Eriol warned her before about the things they did the lying, the blackmails, and
all that. She didn't think any of that at first, but now, she was beginning to
realize how deceitful it really was. She only got one taste, just a little infor
mation, but she could already feel that their world was truly vicious. It was fu
ll of plotting... of manipulations. It was either you would use someone, or some
one would use you. It was either you stepped on someone, or be stepped on. It wa
s either scheme against someone, or be the victim of it.
Their world wasn't glamorous. It was ugly. Being soft and placid would be the ul
timate downfall.
'Maki.' Sakura's ex-boyfriend suddenly came to Tomoyo's mind. The Daidouji Desig
ns fashion show was his last. After his terrible performance, nobody wanted him
anymore. Nobody wanted to book him, and all his previously agreed commitments we
re cancelled. Just like that... just one night everything crashed. All his hard
work was wasted. All his trainings had been for nothing. He had no insider conne
ction or whatever things Tomoyo thought of. Maki just worked hard to be there...
and now... it was gone.
Did he really deserve that? Tomoyo clenched her fist. That night, she so was mad
and she wanted to get even for Sakura, but now... when her thoughts were finall
y clear, she realized that what happened to Maki was too much. She didn't mean t
o take away everything from him. She just wanted to get back at him, but what sh
e did completely ruined him. It wasn't her intention, but that was the end resul
t of her action. He no longer had a future in that industry. The doors closed on
him. It was over.
With shame, Tomoyo became conscious of the fact that she had been a part of his
downfall. After all, it was her who told Syaoran the story. She initiated it, an
d she blamed herself for that. She was just Tomoyo. Who was she to make him fail
? At that moment, she had the power because Maki was working under her family, a
nd she blatantly used that control to damage him. She had become an amateur vers
ion of Eriol that night, and she had influenced Syaoran's thinking.
But wait...
Hadn't Eriol mentioned that everybody else involved knew what they were getting
into? Syaoran and Eriol they belonged in the same world, so that meant... Syaora
n knew what he was getting into. He even knew better than Tomoyo. He was aware t
hat Maki wouldn't stand a chance against him, but still... he destroyed Maki.
Maki was just a neophyte. He was attacked too early, and he was defenseless agai
nst it. Syaoran, on the other hand, perfectly knew where to strike and how to ru
in him, and that, Syaoran did without any reservations. He didn't hit Maki physi
cally, but he caused damage mentally, emotionally and socially. From the beginni
ng, it wasn't a fair fight.
If Tomoyo would look at that night again, this time without bias, what happened
was simple: Syaoran had been cruel.
She thought that agents, like Eriol, were already doing a difficult job because
they do the planning, but now, there was Syaoran he did the acting. He was the o
ne who execute it. If Eriol's job was hard, what more was Syaoran's? He wasn't a
puppet. He was far from it. All this time, he didn't simply 'go along' with Eri
ol. He clearly understood Eriol's actions. He understood the intention, the impa
ct, the results... and he still did the things he did.
Tomoyo slowly slid down to the pavement. She did one talk against Maki just one
and she felt so horrible about it. But... how about them? How many talks had Eri
ol carried out? How many acts had Syaoran performed? How many people had they de
stroyed?
A lot.
But why... why weren't they affected?
Here she was, regretting that one time, but Syaoran seemed to have forgotten it
already. Was he so used to it that he didn't feel any remorse? Tomoyo knew she w
ouldn't be able to do something like that again. She couldn't stomach it. She co
uldn't put up with it.
It was in plain sight: Eriol could be ruthless... and Syaoran could be too, if n
ot more.
She wasn't judging Syaoran. He was a good guy, no questions about it, but he had
also become callous because of his environment and experiences. He had been exp
osed into that industry since he was a kid. He learned how to control his sympat
hy for others at such an early age. Her friends may not have realized it yet, bu
t Syaoran showed that side of his during the fashion show. He destroyed Maki, an
d he didn't feel guilty.
'This is our world. This is how we live,' Eriol's words rang in her mind. In jus
t a matter of minutes, Tomoyo understood the untold meaning of it. He was right.
That was their world, and it was completely different than their own. Asking he
r to accept their ways was too much and too fast.
They weren't just misleading the public... they were also caught in their own li
ttle game of exploiting each other, intentional or not.
And now... after discovering its corrupt nature, was she still willing to throw
her best friend into that world? After realizing all that... was she still willi
ng to push Sakura to Syaoran?
Hong Kong
Housekeepers bowed politely to welcome the Mistress of the house. Awhile ago, th
ey were all shocked when one of their co-workers in the port office informed the
m of her sudden arrival.
The estate was located at the middle of an island situated at the most-southern
part of Hong Kong territorial boundaries. The private island, which was strategi
cally placed away from prying eyes, was only accessible through the owner's excl
usive ferryboats. The whole place itself reeked of success and power something t
o be expected from one of the country's wealthiest.
The woman, who had just arrived, surveyed her surroundings. The entire driveway
and the large fountain in front of the mansion were extremely breathtaking. The
cream-colored manor had a splendid façade emphasized by thick, white pillars and l
arge tinted windows. As the woman stepped inside, she was greeted with a more im
pressive sight. Everything was grand and regal from the furniture to the chandel
iers to the winding staircase and even the heavy drapes and plush carpets. Every
thing embodied a tradition of elegant living.
"Mistress," a man in his mid-fifties bowed.
The woman merely nodded. Her movement was graceful, but her presence exuded auth
ority and control. As the lady moved, her black hair that was stylishly pulled i
n a high ponytail moved with her. "Nothing has changed."
"We didn't move anything, Mistress," he replied respectfully. He observed the wo
man before him. She sounded firm and strong, but he could see that she was still
in sorrow over the loss. No one had been able to completely move on.
The people parted to give her way, but the man followed her courteously.
"How was everything during my absence?"
"The same, Mistress," he answered. "How was England?"
"The place was lovely." She started up the stairs, but the man remained at the b
ase, giving another bow. However, the woman stopped in the middle. She turned ar
ound and glanced at the house again. "I've been gone for such a long time..."
"Indeed Mistress, such a long time..." he agreed, sounding as wistful as she did
. "Twenty long years..."
"Yes, twenty long years..."
The two of them remained quiet until the man broke it politely, "Would you like
your food to be sent up?"
"No. I prefer to rest, Wei."
"As you please, Mistress Yelan."
When Tomoyo arrived at her house, she was surprised to find Sakura waiting there
for her. "Sakura?"
"You're late!" Sakura playfully glared at her. "I'm usually the one who's late,
not you."
"Oh, um, sorry..." Tomoyo started, not really sure what she should be sorry abou
t. "Come on, let's go to my room."
"Is something wrong?" Sakura asked concernedly while following Tomoyo.
"N-no, nothing is wrong." Tomoyo opened her bedroom door and casually tossed her
things at her bed.
"Are you "
"So Sakura, not to throw you out or anything," Tomoyo tried grinning. "But what
brings you here?"
Sakura shot the other girl another worried look, "We're going to catch that new
movie today, right?"
"Oh, yeah!" Tomoyo smacked her forehead. "I'll just go and change "
"No," Sakura cut in. "We don't have to go today. What's wrong? Are you feeling o
kay? Do you "
"I'm fine," Tomoyo shrugged off her concern. "I planned this day. It was rude en
ough that I invited you then I forgot, and then now, I would cancel it? We would
definitely go today."
There was finality in the tone used by Tomoyo, but Sakura wasn't deterred. "We'r
e not going anywhere. You need to rest."
"But "
"No." Sakura stepped towards Tomoyo to grab her away from the closet. "You're no
t going anywhere. I would..." She trailed off when her thigh bumped into the sid
e of the bed, making Tomoyo's things fall off. "Oh, I'm sorry." She bent down to
retrieve the bag and an envelope from the floor. The contents of the envelope s
pilled out, revealing images of Syaoran from a photo shoot. "Oh, what's this?"
Tomoyo smacked herself for the second time. "I forgot to give those to Eriol." S
he went to see Eriol to give those prints, but in her haste to confront him abou
t Syaoran, she completely forgot to give it to him. "Damn, those are urgent," sh
e scolded herself irately. Eriol was gone from his office now, and Tomoyo had no
idea where he was, or what time he would be coming back. She couldn't leave tho
se to his secretary. "Damn." It looked like she needed to go make a visit to Sya
oran, instead. Tomoyo was about to reach for her things, but Sakura beat her to
it. "Huh?"
"I'll give it to Eriol. As I've said before, you need to rest."
"Eriol's gone somewhere else. I'll give it to Syaoran."
"Eriol, Syaoran, whoever, I'll do it," Sakura stated seriously. "You stay here,
just relax. Where is he?"
"At the penthouse suite at the Diamond Plaza Hotel," Tomoyo answered distractedl
y. She was feeling tired. She wasn't really fit to go out right now, but she cou
ldn't order other Daidouji Designs' employee since Syaoran's every transaction w
as restricted to selected people only. "I have to "
"Diamond Plaza, you say? I'll do it." It was final. "I need to talk to him, anyw
ay. I haven't properly thanked him for the things he did." Sakura smiled gently
at her. "You're not feeling well. You're going to rest, understand?"
Tomoyo was about to nod when she remembered something. "No no, I'll go there!" S
he insisted with more force.
However, Sakura heard none of it. "See you later."
"No, Sakura! No "
But Sakura was already out the door. 'I'll drop by the pastry shop first,' Sakur
a thought. She would get something for Syaoran and Tomoyo.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Sakura hummed to herself as she lifted her hands to ring the doorbell. She didn'
t have a hard time getting in. Err... she sort of slipped in, actually. She stop
ped her humming when nobody answered. She waited for a decent interval before pr
essing the doorbell again. 'Maybe he isn't here. Just one last.' With that decid
ed, she pressed it again. "Oh well." She was about to leave, but the door sudden
ly opened.
A girl, who was about a few inches taller than Sakura, appeared. She had long bl
ack hair and stunning dark blue eyes. "What?" She asked impatiently. She was bea
utiful, but too bad, the same didn't go for her personality.
"Oh... I'm sorry. I must have gotten the wrong "
Slam!
" room," Sakura finished dryly. Okay, that was rude. The other girl didn't have t
o slam the door on her face. "Somebody forgot her manners," Sakura muttered. "Sh
e could have at least let me finish my sentence." She shook the thoughts away. W
hy was she getting negative feelings, anyway? Sighing, she decided to focus on t
he task at hand. Tomoyo clearly stated that he was here, and she couldn't be mis
taken since this was the only penthouse suite, and it occupied the entire floor.
'Might as well try again.' She pressed the doorbell another time, and the same
lady faced her.
"What?"
Sakura cleared her throat and decided to ask straight away, "Sorry for the troub
le, but is Li Syaoran here?"
The irritated look on the other girl's face was replaced with interest. Sakura t
ried not to squirm when the other girl openly eyed her from head to foot. "And y
ou are...?" She drawled.
"Uh, I'm Kinomoto Sakura... I'm his friend... "
"Who is it?" A male voice called from the inside. It was Syaoran's, definitely.
The girl smiled at her. Sakura was about to smile politely too, if not for the g
irl's next action. She called back out to Syaoran. "Just room service."
Slam!
Sakura's jaw dropped open. She could only stare wide-eyed at the closed door bef
ore her. 'Okay... breathe in...' She let her first rudeness slip, but doing it a
gain? And lying in front of her face? '... Breathe out...' She told her that she
was a friend, and he was definitely there, but she was still denied? '... Now b
urst.'
She rapped at the door this time. What did she do to deserve that kind of treatm
ent? She remained courteous even after all that, and that was how she was regard
ed? Sakura huffed. She was going to teach someone proper etiquette!
"Don't you know " Sakura started when the door opened, but she stopped short when
she realized that it was Syaoran standing in front of her. His half buttoned sh
irt and wet hair indicated that he had only gone out from a shower.
"Sakura?" He looked at her in surprise. Nobody knew he was staying here, only Er
iol. Moreover, this suite was registered under a fake name. Suddenly, he remembe
red something. He turned his attention to the black-haired girl. "Lena, I though
t you said it was room service."
Oh... so that was why the girl looked familiar. Sakura had seen her in TV and va
rious magazine covers. She was Lena Dowell.
"I though she was one," Lena replied, glaring at Sakura. "She didn't say she was
n't."
"I didn't say I was!"
"Could have fooled me. You certainly look like one."
Oh, the nerve of this girl!
"Lena, stop it," Syaoran warned.
"Fine." Lena looked at Sakura. "I'm sorry." She rolled her eyes while saying it.
Too bad for her, Syaoran saw that. "Lena..."
Lena gave out a defeated sigh. Ugh. The things Syaoran made her do. "I apologize
for my behavior. Sorry if it offended you."
Sakura merely nodded. It didn't sound heartfelt, but she knew that it was the si
ncerest she could get out from the female model.
"What's that smell?" Syaoran scrunched up his nose. The women did the same, and
they got a whiff of something burning.
"Oh no!" Lena panicked, already running inside. "The cookies I'm baking for you!
"
"I don't know why you even try," Syaoran called out to her, but there was a smal
l smile on his face. Finally, he turned to the remaining girl. "I'm guessing Len
a had been rude to you. Sorry about that," he apologized. "Don't take it serious
ly, though. She's just like that to any female she finds threatening."
"Oh... okay..." She didn't know how to react to that.
"Anyway, I would invite you in, but the room is sort of messy."
Messy? Syaoran wasn't the messy type, but Sakura didn't think more about it. "It
's okay."
"So... what brings you here?"
"Uh, here." Sakura extended her hand that was holding out the envelope. "From To
moyo. Pictures from the photo shoot," she stated before he could ask.
Syaoran took it. His brows knitted confusedly. "Tomoyo made you come all the way
here just for this?"
"No, not really. You see, I sort of have something..." Sakura trailed off when L
ena reappeared.
"Burnt," was the only thing Lena said before she wrapped her arms around Syaoran
's torso. She started giving him light kisses on his neck.
Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. She pathetically lost h
er ability to verbalize.
"You have sort of something...?" Syaoran urged her softly.
Still, Sakura couldn't talk. She could only watch as Lena gave him butterfly kis
ses. He didn't seem to mind her actions. In fact, it was as if it was just a nat
ural thing for them.
No... There was no 'if.' It was just really a normal thing for them. Why wouldn'
t it be? They were a couple.
"I n-no, it's nothing." She cursed inwardly when her voice wavered. She hid the
paper bag she was holding. She bought cookies from the pastry shop, but there wa
s no way she would give it to him now.
Syaoran was looking at her confusedly. "Sakura?"
"It's nothing," she repeated, still holding the bag tightly.
However, her hand movement might have been too much because it caught Syaoran's
attention. "What's in the bag?" He asked curiously.
"N-nothing!" She answered too quickly and too defensively. Syaoran would definit
ely figure out that something was wrong so she needed to make her exit. "I have
to go."
"Are you going to Daidouji Inc.?"
"I I'm going to Tomoyo's..." Sakura was almost shaking now. The moment... the si
ght... it was killing her. She wanted to shout. She wanted to scream.
"Oh, good. Let's go together. It's on my way."
"No! I mean... I, um, I have to go... somewhere else..." Sakura's pitiful excuse
was interrupted by Lena.
"Syaoran, babe, what time would you be back?"
He paused, "Probably tomorrow. I have to go to the studio after."
"Tomorrow?" She repeated incredulously. "You can't leave me that long!"
"Fine, I'll drop by tonight."
Lena smiled happily and leaned in for a kiss, which Syaoran received halfway.
Sakura couldn't bear to watch it anymore. She had seen too much.
Breathing hard, she took a few steps back. She stumbled weakly to the direction
of the elevator. 'Come on... open up, please...' Sakura mentally pleaded as she
repeatedly pressed the down button. 'Come on! Please!' Her hands were now shakin
g. 'Open up! Open!' She was already forcefully hitting the button, but the damn
contraption wouldn't open for her. "Please..." she whispered brokenly.
Sakura was getting weaker by the second. She didn't want Syaoran to see her in t
his state. No... He couldn't see her like this. Frantic and desperate to be out
of the place, Sakura ran towards the fire exit and tore the door open. She didn'
t know how many flights of stairs she had run. She just kept on running and runn
ing until she lost her balance, causing her to trip over the remaining couple of
steps.
She didn't move. The fall didn't hurt, but she still refused to move. She was ju
st sprawled on the floor of the fire exit located between the twenty sixth and t
wenty seventh floor.
No sound. No movement.
Why... why did she run away? Why couldn't she bear the sight of Syaoran with ano
ther woman? Seeing them so close together... it took the air out of her lungs. S
he needed to break away from the scene badly. She wanted escape, but... why? Why
couldn't she endure that sight?
Simple.
Because seeing it made it real.
Sakura shut her eyes tightly. She knew all along that he had a girlfriend. All t
hose times she spent with him, she knew the existence of another girl, but she p
ushed that thought into the back of her mind. Subconsciously, she was aware of i
t, but she chose to ignore it. Now, it was biting her back in the ass.
'I'm so stupid! Stupid! Stupid!' Sakura berated herself. She shouldn't have give
n meaning to his actions. She shouldn't have hoped! All those good feelings for
him came flooding in, and it clouded her judgment. She let her emotions took con
trol, and now, she was suffering the consequences.
She placed both her hands over her mouth to muffle a sob. Reality was catching u
p to her as her fear materialized. Seeing Lena with Syaoran forced her to accept
that there was really someone else... someone else who wasn't her.
Lena was real.
Their relationship was real.
All that she had been denying and burying in the depths of her mind was real...
and it presented itself right in front of her.
More muffled sobs shook her form. Why was this happening to her? Why did she hav
e to go through all these? She didn't want to feel this way. She never asked for
this! It was so painful. So, so painful that there was nothing else she could c
ompare it with.
The ache was just there, and it was slowly killing her.
She could imagine that she and Syaoran were in a different situation. She could
picture another scenario. She could twist things up... but in the end, it would
all be just in her mind. It would all be just in her thoughts.
The reality was laid out there...
And she had run away from it.
It hurt because... it was real.