This is an AU and a Sakura and Syaoran fanfic. Just a very short one-shot.
Also, this has a follow-up called Timing is Everything, and Managing Time. Read them on my profile page if you would like to see what happens after this drabble.
Disclaimer : I do not own any of the original Card captor characters, everything else is mine.
-
-
Time Management
-
Syaoran's POV
My name is Syaoran Li. I spend most of my mornings at the computer center of my university tending to its functions. I am in my second year of college studies, where I am currently studying computer graphics and other technology. I am an average guy, with average intelligence and form. You could say that I am not bad looking as I haven't had any complaints in that department.
I have a routine that has served me well up to now. I get up early in the mornings and walk from my apartment complex toward the university. I go towards the Technology center where I clock in and head towards the computer center, conveniently located in the same building as the bistro in this side of the campus.
My job is to make sure that the computers are running smoothly and the rules aren't broken while I am in charge. I just monitor at least once every 30 minutes and try to answer questions to those who need answers and figure out the simple problems the computers have at that particular time. I come in at seven in the morning and leave at nine for my first class. I return at 12 in my break between classes until 2 pm. I later return at around 5 pm until around 8 which is when we close the facility.
I use the time in between my classes to study and prepare for my classes. So in the end I am getting a credit that I need for experience for one of my classes and have extra time in which I can focus on any other classes and my other studies.
At the end of the day I just go to my apartment and relax. I prepare dinner for myself, take a shower and finish whatever is left of the day. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, which are my days off, I hold a part-time job at a computer repair shop. I earn minimum wage, but its just a way to earn some extra cash for my spending of each month but also to maintain some human contact with people who I wouldn't have met otherwise.
My life never changed. Every day was the same. Until it happened.
Until I saw her.
It was the second week of the semester when she walked in ten minutes after I opened the door. She was wearing a white blouse , the first two buttons opened and a peak at a white lacy bra was imprinted in the lacy material. Her blue jeans were riding low at her hips and her pink backpack was hanging on one of her shoulders. Her short brown hair framed her features delicately, her round face and smiling lips with sparkling green eyes truly took your breath away.
Okay, so I had seen some very beautiful girls in my life, still, when you see one the first time, it hits you somewhere deep inside your stomach and you can barely look away until you have her features fully memorized into your brain to recall later in time.
She silently walked towards the middle of the room and sat in front of one of the computers that was almost secluded in its location. A low whistle erupted from my lips as a reflex. But then, I lifted her from my mind and let my daily schedule continue on.
It was like clockwork after that. She came in every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7:30 AM and left ten minutes to nine in the morning. She then later returned at noon and left ten minutes to two in the afternoon. We leave together almost to the minute every time. I trail behind her as she leaves the building and takes a left where I continue straight on.
I've often had to bury the impulse of following her to see where she is headed every time we part company. I was truly caught by a pretty face. One question pestered me day after day though, as I saw her walk away. What could be her name?
Sakura's POV
My name is Sakura Kinomoto. I am in my second year of college and currently undecided in what I want to focus my studies on. You could say that I am a dreamer that is currently waiting for her dream to come true. I'm one of those people that has a lot of areas of interest but yet hasn't figured out how to use their strengths. I'm certain that the arts are going to be the main forte of my studies.
I currently have a very set schedule in how I spend my days. My classes are throughout the week and with hours in between which I spend in a computer lab that always has at least ten computers available for use throughout the day for free. I am fascinated by computers and the technology it allows me to sort through. I also have a lot of assignments that must be done in computers for most of my classes.
I go to the lab mostly on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays. It's the days that I possess the most time to use the facilities. I am always earlier than I need to be as I like to get a good parking space and getting early is the only chance that I'll actually have it.
I arrive around seven thirty or forty five, it depends on a lot of things out of my control. I walk towards the building from the parking and go directly towards the computer lab.
That's were I noticed him.
He seems to be there every time I go to the place. He is always sitting on the front desk, his head bent forward to either a book or pages in front of a computer that commands his total attention.
The first thing I noticed the first time I saw him were his hands. They were to the side of the desk, with his arms resting on the top, and a pencil twirling around his fingers. It was such a mindless gesture, that I concentrated on his profile. His head had tilted upwards, with his eyes crossed and a pensive look, as if the world was hanging in the balance of his thoughts.
He had the most beautiful profile I had ever seen. Oh yes, it seemed to be that I was as fickle as those girls I had abhorred in school years before. He was also too good-looking to not have a girlfriend in the speed-dial of his cell phone.
I was brought out of my stupor when his eyes opened and he directed his gaze toward me. I blinked, when his eyes settled on me I could feel the blush settling around me cheeks. I realized that I had been staring dumbly towards him for the past minute. I turned in the usual direction I take and went to the computer I always use in the morning. I could still feel his eyes on my back, just as he must have sensed my staring just a few minutes before.
Completely mortified, I hid myself in the secluded space. My mind concentrated on the computer and the things I was searching. Time passed and I heard footsteps approaching. It was him.
He was doing his usual rounds it seemed. He passed my station by without a glance, and I couldn't help but recall his features while I spaced out in front of finishing a sentence of my assignment. And that's how he began to enter my fantasies. I had an immature crush, and my age didn't factor into my mindless dreaming.
A month passed by, and the same routine followed. He was in the lab every time I arrived, wearing a T-shirt, even though the lab was always kept cool, I suspect because of the computer equipment. His arm muscles were taut, not with brawn or seriously defined like the guy that spends most of his time lifting weights at the Gym, but one of those that stays physically active.
I went completely gaga every time I recalled this tidbit. Who knew that a guy's arms could be so sexy. Always flexing delicately, hinting at the muscle underneath without revealing its innermost secrets. Every time I gazed toward his direction, I could find a new detail that would command my attention.
And that's how I found myself obsessing over a guy whose name I didn't even know.
Syaoran's POV
I really could care less. I had been asked by one of my instructors to tutor a beginner in computer programming. I was to meet the person on Mondays at noon and forego two hours of the day. I usually wouldn't mind it, but I was in the throes of an obsession.
There, I finally brought it out into the open.
I wanted to find out her name.
I needed to see if the person inside could maintain my attention and relieve me of the constant lapses in thoughts that completely disrupted my days.
I found out coincidentally that she attends one of my classes. I was currently running late as always, the classes are in opposite sides of the campus and I only have around 8 minutes to get to the class. The teacher has usually started lecturing by the time I manage to make it through the door and find a sit that was always in different places in the classroom. It was an art class so I could finish my general credits and truly concentrate on what I needed for my degree.
She arrived after I sat down. She seemed out of breath, her eyes scanning the room for a place to sit without disturbing the professor. She walked in my direction and sat on the other corner of the row.
I was surprised as I had not noticed that she was in the class as well. I usually don't have time to look around at the students in this class. Her eyes roamed the corners as she sat down, when she finally noticed my presence. She was startled for a moment before looking back towards the front of the class.
Maybe it was the poor lightning, but I was sure her cheeks had reddened a bit, although she still seemed out of breath. I think it was just the running.
What a coincidence it was. It would be pointless to say that I did not recall what the lecture was about fifty minutes later when the class was dismissed.
Every time I entered the class after that day, I looked closely at the rows and always found her in a corner with her attention focused on the teacher. I hadn't gotten a single look of acknowledging since then.
I growled at myself each time, as she seemed to not even know I existed in the same ecosystem as her. She always looked away when our eyes met accidentally as if she had never seen me before in her life. And then, the day she smiled shyly and looked away, I felt like I could walk through clouds. I felt like the fifteen year old guy whose crush had just acknowledged his existence. It was painful to feel like a blubbering teenage boy at 20 years of age.
The professor dismissed the class and I gathered my books and walked towards the Technology center of the campus. I was to meet my 'student' in one of the computer rooms. She turned towards me as I was ready to put the books in my backpack and waved towards me. She left while I stupidly wandered the halls and spent five minutes trying to open a door that said pull, not push.
"Syaoran," Eriol, one of the desk volunteers greeted me as he signed me in at the tutor center of the tech building. "She's waiting for you in the B room." He smiled, adjusting his glasses over his nose as I passed him by. "I think you'll enjoy the next hour." His eyebrows wiggled and a small cough accompanied the suggestion.
I couldn't help but sigh as the comment. It could mean many things where Eriol was concerned. I opened the door absently, looking at the window as I placed my pack over the table and rubbed my temples. It was time to earn my paycheck. I turned around and froze in my tracks.
"Hello, my name is Sakura Kinomoto, and I've had some trouble understanding the material of the programming..." she turned while she introduced herself. I was in frontal view of the most beautiful and energetic smile I had ever seen gracing a human face and for the second time that day it was directed at me. I could feel elation rushing through my veins. I was definitely gaga over this girl. She trailed off as she took in the person that was standing by the door.
"Oh," she muttered as she seemed struck dumb by my presence. I didn't know if I should feel insulted or pleased by her demeanor.
"It's you," her smile took in a sweeter contour if it was possible, a graceful blush appearing on her creamy skin, and she extended her hand.
I looked at it dumbly before I realized I was supposed to shake it. I rushed forward, my palms sweating as she walked towards me as well.
"I've seen you around the computer lab," she told me as our hands came into contact. A shiver of anticipation raced through my body. "You're also in one of my classes, right?" She asked, while her face became completely animated.
She had a wonderful voice, it sung to my senses as my mind screamed to finally commence full contact with the girl that had captured my imagination for the last month at the most importune of times.
"Yes, I am," I replied to her question as we both walked towards the chairs and the books she had brought with her. "My name is Syaoran Li."
"Nice to meet you Li," she replied to my introduction, her hand was still trapped inside mine, but she didn't seem to notice or case, so I let the contact continue. "This seems to be a great coincidence."
"Indeed," I muttered as I took in her presence and reassured myself that she was truly here within reach. "This promises to be a wonderful semester."
She seemed breathless, her eyes wandering to our still clasped hands, and then back towards me. "It certainly seems to be."
We turned toward the subject at hand, while I now had a name that matched her perfectly. This was a promising coincidence indeed.
XOXO
This is the first installment, Timing is Everything is a follow-up that is posted as well because of the requests of some type of sequel. Thank you for reading and reviewing...
No matter where they are, Sakura and Syaoran are meant to meet in the end.
MS
-