.::Spilling Stars::.

By Fantasiimaker

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Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to Clamp. Not me. That's why this is a FAN fiction.

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Summary: Sakura's summer vacation is going horribly, until she runs into a boy who touches her heart like no one ever has. When school starts, he appears again-as a cold, untrusting rich guy who has the attention of every girl in school. Could he possibly be the same person?

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*Author's Note- Hey everyone, this is my new story! I've worked on it for a while, so please take a look and be sure to tell me if you like it!

~Chapter One: Vacation

A little girl skipped lightly along the sparkling white beach, sand flying behind from her small feet. The ocean breeze stirred lazily at her pink-flowered dress and her short hair, which glinted reddish-brown in the sun. She stopped for a moment to look back at the two tiny figures in the distance. "Daddy! Touya!" she called, waving to them happily.

She felt something poking her foot in the warm sand and stooped down to see what it was. A white seashell. Squealing at her discovery, she brushed the sand away from it and held it carefully with cupped hands. This was a treasure, and she had found it all by herself! Joy and pride filled her heart.

Leaping up, she splashed through shallow ocean waves that only came up to her ankles, waving her arm wildly. "Daddy! Daddy! Look what I found! Daddy-!"

Her feet suddenly flew out from under her, and she landed hard, half on the sand, half in the water. The shell flew out of her grasp and fell, with a small plunk, into the water.

For a second, she was too surprised to react. Then her eyes opened wide, and the tears streamed down her cheeks like a flood. "Waaaaaahh!!" she sobbed loudly, sitting back in the sand.

She heard light footsteps behind her scuttling closer, then coming to a pause next to her. Paying no attention, she continued to grieve sorrowfully over her lost item. "Why are you crying?" a small voice piped up. Startled, the girl looked up into the dark amber eyes of a young boy. He was leaning over her with an expression of curiosity.

"I lost my shell!" she told him mournfully. "It fell into the water somewhere..." Her mouth trembled, and she looked dangerously close to crying again. But before she could, the boy threw himself into the water. "Wha-what are you doing?" she asked, puzzled. She threw a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. It was such a funny sight, with his legs sticking straight out of the ocean.

When he came out, the boy was holding something in his hand. "Is this your shell?" he asked shyly.

"Yes! You found it! Thank you!" she cried in delight, throwing her arms around him and squishing him tightly in a hug. She didn't see the blush spreading slowly across his face.

"Sakura! It's time to go!" called her father.

"Okay, Daddy!" She pulled away and gave him a smile that outshined the sun in its warmth. "Thank you for helping me," she said to the boy. "Here, I'll give you my shell. You can have it." She put it into his hand and put her hand over his, folding it closed. Smiling swiftly over her shoulder, she skipped merrily away from him to her waiting family.

The little boy stared down at the sand-colored shell in his hand. Suddenly, his head shot up. "Wait!" he called.

But she was already too far away to hear.

*****

"Unngh..." Sakura Kinomoto woke up to the sunlight falling in bright bands across her face through the window. Groggily, she rubbed her eyes and blinked at the ceiling, then groaned again and flung a hand over her eyes. "My dream..." she mumbled. "Come back to me..." Turning over, she pulling the blanket tighter around herself. What was this dream that she had been having lately? Even though she couldn't remember all of the dream, it always gave her a warm, contented feeling, a sense of simple, childish innocence and joy. She smiled to herself, envisioning the seashore she had seen beneath her closed eyelids. She wanted to go there, away from everything...she wanted to escape.

Sighing, she pulled herself up and trudged to the door. Did she really want to go out there? Well, it wasn't as though she had a choice. She shrugged and reached down to open the door. Her hand barely touched the knob before it flew open by itself, slamming right into her face.

"Sakura, get up! We're gonna be late!" said her older brother, Touya, to the empty bed. "Oh..." He looked down at Sakura, clutching her forehead and grimacing in pain. "Sorry, didn't see you there," he smirked. "Well, now that you're up..."

He started to leave, but Sakura brought her foot swiftly down on his, yelling, "You stupid idiot!" Grinning with satisfaction as he winced, she realized that he wasn't hugely taller than her anymore. She could at least inflict a little damage now.

"God, Sakura! You're in high school, and you haven't changed a bit. You're still a little mon-" She cut him off with a hard push and chased him out of her room, down the stairs. "-ster!" he finished, making a face at her as he sat down at the table. "Morning, Dad."

"Good morning, Touya, Sakura. Did you sleep well?" Fujitaka, the kind glasses-clad man that Sakura knew as father, lowered his newspaper and smiled at them. Sakura smiled weakly back and took her seat. Stupid Touya. She rubbed her head gingerly, glaring at her brother, who was wolfing down his breakfast as fast as he could.

"Why are you eating so fast?" she grumbled, picking up her fork and half-heartedly digging into her omelet.

"Sooner we finish, the sooner we can hit the road! C'mon, eat faster, squirt! You're such a slowpoke!" Touya swung his empty plate over her head and headed for the sink.

"Stupid," complained Sakura. "Why are you in such a big hurry?"

"I heard the beach is really nice this time of the year," he replied, grinning.

"Hah! You're just want to go there so you can drool over girls in swimsuits! I see you've turned into an old pervert in college! And who says we're going to the beach? What if I want to go hiking or something? I doubt you'll find any bikinis in the national forest- Hey!" She ducked quickly from his punch.

"Hand me the chips, monster," said Touya.

Sighing, Sakura rummaged around under her car seat until she came up with the bag, and she tossed it at him. They had been in the car for almost five hours, and she was ready to burst. She stared out of the window at the passing landscape, the dry yellow grazing land dotted with cattle, giving way to tall pine trees that stood on both sides of the road. The sky was so blue today, there wasn't a single cloud in sight. If only she weren't here in this car, it would have been an almost perfect day.

She leaned her head against the cool window, looking at her faint reflection in it. Wishing to be somewhere else wouldn't do any good; she was already on the way to a nice family vacation. But Tomoyo's words to her last night still echoed in her head. "Sakura! You have to go to the party! Keichii's definitely going to be there this time! You have to!" she had said excitedly over the phone. But Sakura had said no and had hung up sadly, feeling the tears prick at her eyes. Now that she thought about it, she realized how stupid those tears were.

"What a waste," she muttered under her breath.

"Hm? Did you say something, Sakura?" Fujitaka glanced up at her backseat image in the mirror.

"Oh, nothing!" she smiled.

It wasn't as though she had no way to go to the party. If she had explained to her father, he would have understood and postponed the vacation for the next day. But the vacation hadn't been the reason why she didn't want to go. It was...

It was Meilin. Sakura was immediately ashamed at these thoughts about her friend, but she knew it was true. If Meilin and Keichii were going to the same party, she didn't want to be there. Even though she, Tomoyo, and Meilin had been the best of friends ever since grade school... Even though she and Meilin had giggled and talked about countless guys as they were growing up... Even though they had gone through so many precious experiences...

Keichii.

Sakura's heart jumped at the word, at the very thought of his picture imbedded deeply in her mind. You're so stupid, Sakura, she thought. Why are you thinking about him now? Just forget him. He's already forgotten about you. She swallowed and stared hard into the window.

"Yoohoo! Hello, Earth to Sakura!" said Touya, waving a hand in front of her face.

"What?" she snapped.

Touya laughed. "What do you mean, what? We're here!" he said, pushed open the door, and jumped outside. Sakura followed him, pulling her bag with her. The air smelled different from the town where they lived; here, it was all fresh and natural, without any busy streets, garbage, or excessive signs of human technology. Their cabin was made of wood and blended very well with the thick trees around it, or so it looked from the outside. She walked after Fujitaka and Touya into the building and gasped at what she saw.

They had just walked into what seemed to be a very large living room, with logs already crackling merrily in fireplace and comfy sofas surrounding it. The wooden-planked floor now became lush carpet, feeling soft to Sakura's feet even through her socks. To her right, she could see a clean white kitchen with a refrigerator even bigger than the one they had at home. Large windows across the room let in so much light that hardly any light was needed, at least until the night. Suddenly, she rushed to the windows.

"Wow..." she said gazing at the crystal waves in the not-so-far-distance. "You can see the ocean from here!"

Fujitaka chuckled softly. "Your room is upstairs, but you don't have to unpack now-"

Sakura cut him off and flew up the stairs, squealing, "My own room! Yesss!" She skidded to a halt in the upstairs hall, disbelieving, and called down, "Um, which room is it?" There were at least five bedrooms there. This house sure didn't seem so huge from the outside.

"The one nearest to the stairs!" he called back.

After getting settled into her room, Sakura wandered downstairs again, full of questions. When could she go out and explore? What was there to do around here? What were they having for dinner? And how in the world could they possibly be able to afford a place like this? They weren't exactly poor, but she knew they had to save for her going to college in a few years. No way would her father do something like this for no reason.

"Dad!" she called, peeking into the many rooms.

"Yes, Sakura?" He was sitting on the couch, leafing through pamphlets, and he smiled at her. "I take it you like where we're staying?"

"Oh, I love it!" she said. "But Dad, how are we paying for all this? I mean, it looks like such an expensive place..."

The doorbell rang, and Sakura looked up at the door, surprised that someone would call on them so soon after they arrived. "Should I get it?" she asked hesitantly.

"It's all right, I'll get it," said Fujitaka, rising from his seat and striding towards the door. He pulled it open and smiled. "Yelan, you're here," he said. Sakura peeked around the door. It was a tall woman who had an elegant, dignified look about her. Her dark hair was tied back, and she swept gracefully and effortlessly into the house, a swan gliding on lake water.

"Fujitaka Kinomoto," she said, taking his hand. "It's been a very long time." Sakura found herself staring at the familiarity between her father and this strange lady, staring at her as she stared back. Something twisted into an uncomfortable knot deep inside her.

"Ah, Sakura, this Yelan Li. And this answers your question as well. We won't be the only ones staying here. She and her son will be sharing this cabin with us, so we each payed in part for the stay," Fujitaka explained.

Yelan smiled warmly down at Sakura. "It's wonderful to finally meet you," she said. "You know, my son is about your age. The two of you should get acquainted with each other. I don't know where he ran off to, but he should be back soon."

"Where are the girls?" asked Fujitaka.

"Oh, they're all in college or working now, so they would rather go vacationing with their friends. No time to hang around their old mother!" The two parents laughed together.

"Hey, Sakura!" called Touya from upstairs. "You got a call from your friend, Tomoyo! How the heck did she get my cell number anyway??"

Happy for the chance to escape, Sakura bolted to her brother and yanked the phone out of his hands, yelling, "I gave it to her!", ran into her room and flung the door closed behind her. "Tomoyo?" she said, throwing herself on the bed with the cell phone clutched tightly in her hands.

"Sakura! You know what Meilin said? She told me that Keichii said he wanted to see you at the party!"

Her heart began to thump quickly. Keichii...? What did this mean? Did it mean that he...?

"But...ah..." Tomoyo continued. "He said this to her while they were...um..."

"What, Tomoyo?? Hurry up and say it!"

"-on a date!" she bursted out. "I'm so sorry, Sakura! I don't know when they got so close, but Meilin called me and said they went out, and-"

"Calm down, Tomoyo," said Sakura. "I really don't mind. I don't care about that idiot- I mean, Keichii, anymore. It was over a long time ago, remember? Like last year? I'm way over it now. So just give Meilin my congratulations. Gotta go now. Bye." She pressed the off button on the cell and laid her head down wearily on the bed's freshly laundered white sheets. This was it. No more stupid childish obsessions over Keichii. From this moment on, she resolved to throw him out of her mind. Or at least lock him away somewhere. It really didn't matter now. He had never shown any sign that he thought of her as more than a friend. So that was all they were. Friends. And that was okay. Everything would be okay...

She trudged slowly down the stairs again, hoping her father, Touya, or even Yelan could perhaps offer some distraction. Maybe one of them could tell her about any fun places she could go to nearby. The door to the kitchen and dining room was closed. "Strange," she muttered, reaching out to push it open. But she stopped when she heard voices behind it.

"-lucky she isn't here," murmured a female voice.

"Yes, we can't let her know about this until the time is right," said a deeper voice. Sakura gasped in recognition and clamped a hand over her mouth. Yelan and her father! She pressed an ear against the door, listening with intent curiously. Who was this "she" they were talking about?

"Your daughter seems not to trust me very much, Fujitaka."

Soft laughter. "Don't worry, she'll get to know you. All she needs is a little time." Sakura's eyes widened. They were talking about her!

She heard some rustling and clinking, and then, "Oh Fujitaka, you musn't do that!"

"Calm down, Yelan, it's all right. Nadeshiko loved this-" At the mention of her mother's name, Sakura turned and fled. Even though she couldn't believe her ears, she had certainly heard enough. Was her own father having a secret girlfriend behind her back...? The thought sickened her. Had he forgotten about her mother already? Sakura banged open the front door, not bothering to close it behind her, and raced blindly away from the cabin, filled with fiery rage and sorrow.

*A/N- Soooo...what did you think? I know I rambled on a bit, but I had to get all the intro and setting stuff out of the way. SO review, tell me if you liked it or no. Oh, and Sakura will be meeting a certain someone in the next chapter...  ^_^