Note: Hey everyone. Thanks for all of the support so far, and I look forward to reading all of your reviews for this chapter :) Also, I thought that everyone would have figured it out, but it has confused quite a number of people. All the text that is in italics is the present and what is happening right now. All the text that is in standard font is what is happening as a part of the novel and takes place in the past. If you have any other questions, send me an e-mail and I'll get back you.
© July 15, 2007
Who I Am
Chapter 2
He wanted to laugh aloud at his good fortune, but that would ruin the stoic, unfeeling image he had worked so hard to create. Malicious mirth was reflected in his eyes as he gazed at the profile he held in his hands.
Running his rough fingertips gently over the picture attached to the folder, his lips turned up slightly in a remorseful smile. She had changed so much since he had last seen her years ago. It seemed like an eternity passed, but in reality it had only been five years.
Throwing the light folder on his desk, he got up and turned around to look out the bay window of his office located on the ninety-first floor. He gazed down upon the people below, viewing them as they appeared to be; miniscule ants working away. Brushing a few tendrils of brown hair from his amber eyes, he let out a long deep, chesty sigh.
Syaoran, Syaoran, he thought to himself, what the hell have you gotten yourself into this time?
"How could you do this to me? You know what he did to me and there's no way I'll work with him. I'll throw away writing if I have to! But… I… ugh! No!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.
Sasaki sat before her, sipping her tea elegantly, waiting for Sakura to finish throwing her temper tantrum.
After Sakura was stunned into the stupidity of being unable to form articulate sentences, Sasaki had decided it would be a good idea to see Sakura before the woman decided to something melodramatic, like jump off her balcony or something. No… that would be too cliché for her writer. Tilting her head to the side slightly, she began to imagine how the young, cynical woman might take her life.
"Hello? Sasaki! Are you even listening to me?" Sakura cried indignantly.
"Yes, yes. Syaoran is scum. You hate scum. You refuse to work with scum," Sasaki replied without batting an eyelash.
"You know, you can at least pretend," Sakura told her editor while sending her a cutting gaze.
"Pretend what?" Sasaki asked dubiously.
"That you're listening to me and that you actually give a rat's ass that my whole novel is about to fall apart now that I'm going to have that womanizing moron looming over my shoulder," Sakura pouted before falling into the seat next to Sasaki on the couch.
"I am listening to you; you just keep on spewing the same rubbish over and over again. Listen, just because he's going to 'looming over your shoulder' as you eloquently put it, that doesn't mean anything has changed. The facts cannot change; they'll forever remain the same. So you still have your story. This is professional Sakura, and you're doing exactly what he wants," Sasaki told her, finishing off her tea.
"And what's that?" Sakura asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"You're cracking under pressure which just proves that you're just not cut out for this business," Sasaki explained to her simply before standing up and walking to the door.
"Hey! I've been doing this for three years! People told me the agencies and editors would eat me alive, but I'm still standing. So don't you dare tell me that I'm not cut out for this business when I've shown you book after book that I am," Sakura told Sasaki angrily while following her to the open door, watching as she put on her shoes and jacket.
"Then prove it Sakura. Not just to me. Prove to him that he can't break you, no matter how hard he tries," Sasaki demanded, swinging to look her in the eye the moment she was outside the threshold.
"Fine. Tell him to be here tomorrow morning and ready to work," Sakura responded, her mouth set into a grim line before she slammed the door in Sasaki's face. Running her hands over her facial features and letting out a deep sigh, she went back to her laptop and began to type.
"Tomoyo, he's such a grouch! I really don't know how you're going to manage living with him for the rest of the year," Sakura laughed at her newfound friend. They were in Sakura's dorm room now, waiting for her roommate to arrive.
"I know! We'll have to find a way to soften him up somehow. But he's kind of hot don't you think?" she remarked with a grin, causing the two girls to break out in a fit of giggles again.
"Hey ladies," a deep masculine voice called for their attention at the door. He was tall, probably about six feet. He had a dark look to him due to his noir hair and storm coloured eyes, but he had a smile that could light up any room.
"Hey, come on in, you must be my roommate. My name's Sakura and this is our neighbour, Tomoyo. What's yours?" Sakura asked him brightly.
"I'm Aaron. Nice to meet you two," Aaron told the two girls with an illuminating smile, walking over to the free bed and dropping his single duffel bag on top of it.
"What's this?" Sakura asked Tomoyo, confused at the flyer on the desk.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. While you were in the shower, some couple came by and told us that we should come to this party they're having tonight before classes start next week. I told them we might show up," Tomoyo told her, taking the neon piece of paper from Sakura.
"Oh, we should definitely go! Aaron, you should come with us," Sakura grinned.
"That sounds cool, but I still have to unpack," he told her sheepishly.
"That's what tomorrow's for. Grab some clothes and hit the showers," Sakura playfully commanded with a grin, pointing in the direction of the bathroom.
"Fine, fine. Just promise me that you won't peek!" Aaron commented, grabbing the essentials he would need for his shower and walked over to the bathroom. Laughing, the two girls agreed before turning to Sakura's closet to figure out what she would wear that night.
He was looking over one the text books he had purchased when a knock came to his bedroom door.
"Go away," he told whoever it was gruffly, not bothering to even open the door to check who it was.
"Are you naked?" a vaguely familiar feminine voice questioned from the other side of the door.
Pausing in writing his next sentence he gazed at the door sceptically from his peripheral vision. What kind of absurd question was that? Well not really, but it was still pretty random.
"No," he told whoever it was after a moment of silence and looked up in time to see the door fly open. He groaned in dismay. It was that annoying girl, Kinomoto, he believed her name was. Taking a second a look at her, he felt his eyes widen in surprise.
"Hey, I'm not sure if you remember me, but my name's Sakura. You're Li right?" she asked.
"You clean up nice," the words left his mouth before he had a chance to process them. You blubbering idiot, he thought to himself as he felt the heat crawl up his neck.
Sakura was dressed in black tights that ended at her mid-shins with lace decorating the bottoms. She wore an emerald green baby doll top that complimented her eyes with black pumps, and gold jewellery.
"Thanks, I bet you do too. So why don't you go get dressed and come to this party with my roommate, Tomoyo and me," Sakura told him sweetly.
"I don't think so," he scoffed, turning back to his work.
"What, do you have agoraphobia or something?" Sakura asked him, placing a hand on her left hip.
"I beg your pardon?" Syaoran questioned, bewildered.
"Agoraphobia, it's a fear of going out—"
"I know what agoraphobia is," Syaoran cut her off.
"Well I would hope so, since you have it," Sakura told him sincerely, cocking her head to the side. "It's too bad. Such a cowardly disease; I would have thought you would be better than that. Ah well, it looks like I'll have to tell that to everyone so they don't bother you," she told him. Then she placed her index finger on her chin, looking contemplative. "Or, they just might become more aggressive with trying to get you to face your fears of the public. We'll have to see, won't we?"
She shrugged her shoulders and turned to walk away before he reached out and grabbed her slender wrist. He realized she was right. If she was an idiot (and from what he knew about her so far, she was) and told people he had a fear of going out in public places, people would only become more adamant about getting him out, and he would never be left alone.
"Give me a couple minutes to change," he groaned.
"Okay!" she grinned before all but skipping out of his room and sitting on the couch in the living area, waiting for him to come out.
Yup; he definitely didn't like her.
"So, didn't you say that our roommates were coming with us?" Syaoran asked hesitantly, now dressed in black kahis and a forst green button up shirt, wondering where they were going.
"Yeah, but Tomoyo didn't think I'd be able to get you to come out, so they went on without us," Sakura told him happily.
It was around eight in the evening and the two were walking to the party. It was at one of the houses someone owned just five minutes from they were. Considering the warm September weather and the cost of gas, they decided it would be a good idea to walk.
"So tell me all about you," Sakura surprised him with her question. He was content with walking in silence, but of course, she was a girl so she wanted to talk.
"There's not much to tell, I'm just your average guy," Syaoran told her, shrugging his shoulders.
"Your conversational skills suck, so I'll go first. My name's Kinomoto Sakura, but you know that already. I'm eighteen and I've lived in Tomodea for most of my life. I've always wanted to go here and my major is law. My birthday's April 1, so everyone always has a laugh with that. I've got one way overprotective brother; he's seven years older than me so he always thinks of me as a kid. My mom died when I was three, so, I was practically raised by boys, but I've never really gotten along that well with girls, so it works out. My brother, Touya, he's in medical school and my dad's an archaeologist," Sakura told him, smiling all the way.
"You talk a lot, you know that?" Syaoran told her, a sardonic smile gracing his lips.
"Yup! It's one of my most endearing qualities," Sakura told him, an even brighter smile upon her lips.
"If that's an endearing quality, I don't even want to know what your repulsive qualities are," Syaoran told her with a smirk.
"Hey!" she cried, laughing while swatting him playfully on the arm. "It's your turn now."
"I still don't know what to say. I guess… my full name is Li Syaoran, I'm nineteen. I was born July 13, and my major is psychology. I know what it's like to be raised by the opposite sex since my dad died when I was eight and I have four older sisters," Syaoran began.
"Four sisters!" Sakura exclaimed. "Are you gay?"
"I'm perfectly straight thank you!" he exclaimed, indignant. "But anyway, I lived in Kyoto for most of my life, and I just came here to take care of my cousin. I haven't seen her since I left her in the lobby though, so if I don't run into her by tomorrow I'll have to give her a call. Remind me, okay?" he asked, glancing at her from his peripheral vision.
"You know what that means though, don't you?" Sakura asked him, walking a little bit ahead of him so she would beat him to the house that was a couple feet before them.
"What?" He asked, not sure if he wanted to know that answer.
"You just gave yourself an excuse to spend some more time with your newest favourite chatter-box," she told him, skipping up the stairs the house. Shaking his head in mock dismay, he allowed himself a small grin.
"Hey, how are you doing?" Syaoran asked the woman who took the seat in front of him at a small café.
"I'm okay, how are you?" The raven haired woman asked him, taking off sunglasses to reveal bright amethyst eyes.
"I'm alright. So how's the fiancée, Tomoyo?" Syaoran asked, taking a roll and buttering it.
"Eriol's alright. Any girls I need to interrogate for you?" Tomoyo asked playfully.
"Actually there is one. But I'm pretty sure you'll approve," Syaoran told her.
"Oh?" Tomoyo remarked, not believing a word he said. "Give me a name, age, description and occupation and I'll tell you whether or not I'll even agree to meet her."
"Well, she's twenty-three right now; she's a writer who's moving pretty fast in the industry. She's tall, tanned, and has the most beautiful green eyes. She's a blondish auburn by genetics, but you couldn't tell with her wit," Syaoran told her, noting Tomoyo's smile of approval.
"Ooh! I like what I hear," Tomoyo grinned. "Now just give me a name."
"Kinomoto Sakura," was all he had to say to make her smile vanish.
"Wow! I had no idea you were so great at soccer!" Sakura exclaimed when he came inside from the backyard. She had encouraged him to play with some of the guys when they needed an extra player.
"Thanks, I played in high school," he told her, taking a bottle of water from her hands.
"And it looks like you've developed quite the little fan club," Sakura giggled, pointing out a group of seven to eight girls who were ogling him from the other side of the yard. Grabbing her hand, he led her inside while she merely giggled louder.
"I'm going to go wash my face; I'll be back in a second okay?" Syaoran told her, while pointing out his roommate for her so she wouldn't be standing alone. "What's her name is over there, so I'll look for you guys when I'm done."
Nodding in affirmation, she made her way to Tomoyo who still hadn't noticed her yet. There was no point in calling her name; the music would drown her out easily. Instead, she continued to push through the crowd finally catching Tomoyo's eye and was about to wave her over, when someone seized her waist and pulled her close to their very drunken body.
"Hey sexy, how are you doing?" he slurred into her ear, the scent of alcohol coming off of him in fumes.
Sending a bewildered glance in the man who held her, she noted that he was actually quite cute and was probably a nice guy when sober, but pushed the thought aside. Shooting a glance to where Tomoyo last stood, she saw the girl was trying to make her way through the crowd, but due to the large amounts of people, she was making little to no progress.
"Uh… I'd be much better if you would let me go," she yelled into his ear over the music.
"No," he grinned, "I think you're good right where you are." With those last words, he buried his face into her neck and began kissing her. Frozen with shock Sakura has no idea what do.
"Hey buddy, would you mind laying off of my girlfriend?" a familiar and quite annoyed voice asked. Looking up, nothing but sheer relief filled her eyes and she was pulled of drunk-cute-boy's arms as she had dubbed them while her mind was racing with panic and figuring out what to do.
Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin when the doorbell rang. Checking the time to the right hand corner of her laptop, she noted it was already 5:00. It was Monday, and she usually placed an order to get dropped off everyday during the week since she wouldn't have time to cook when working. Pulling some money from her wallet, she got up from where she sat and walked to the door.
"Hey, Joey. Twenty-seven eighty, right?" Sakura asked, opening the door and sorting out her change to give him a good tip. Not hearing the young boy who always delivered her food reply, she looked up and dropped the money she previously held.
"You," she whispered in a malicious tone, "what the hell are you doing here?"
TBC