Cultural Wasteland- Chapter Four

Cultural Wasteland- 19 year old Syaoran checked himself into rehab for drug abuse. He gets caught in a fast lane when he meets 18 year old Sakura a recovering drug abuser who has thrown her life away. Syaoran finds out that life is not all butterflies and daisies when he sees the other side of the world through Sakura`s eyes. Rated: M

A/N: This is the alternative version to the ending. The happy version, so without further delay, enjoy!

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A few weeks passed; Sakura was ignoring Syaoran. It didn’t matter much to either one them. Their friendship had ended before it began.

At meal times Sakura would keep her corner spot and glair at Syaoran through her long, dirty bangs. In the hallways whenever she saw him a slight scoff would escape from her lips; and whenever they were both helping out Mimi, Sakura would make Syaoran’s task even harder.

“Can you help me clean the cafeteria?” Mimi asked the two of them one day, “It is awful and hasn’t been cleaned for the longest time.”

The thing is that with Mimi she would ask you a question but in the end you’d have to do it anyway. So, Sakura and Syaoran had no objections or more like, couldn’t object.

The two started out at separate ends of the cafeteria both glad that the place would be clean. As the hours passed they got closer and closer until interacting with each other was imminent.

“Ass…” Sakura muttered under her breath.

A dirty rag covered in god knows what hit Sakura dead on in the face. The person who threw the rag was none other than Syaoran who looked at her like she was pathetic and not worth his time.

“You’re the one who is an ass. I did nothing to you but console you and this is what I get? Were you just looking for a reason to hate me?”

“No, you were blatantly comparing the two of us. You don’t know! OKAY? Your mommy and daddy feeding you drugs, well I had worse! I had to do everything to survive, EVERYTHING. Until one day I was luckily found by Mimi!” Sakura started yelling at Syaoran.

He just rolled his eyes and stated, “You’re quite the little victim aren’t you?”

Sakura’s eyes blazed red, “WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW?!” She marched straight up to him knocking over Syaoran’s bucket filled with dirty water and punched him straight on in the face.

The sound resonated in the empty cafeteria.

Sakura became satisfied with her release of anger as she saw the growing red lump on Syaoran’s face. Syaoran crouched down holding his cheek where he was punched.

“Bitch!” He cried out in pain.

“So what are you going to do about it?” Sakura retorted coldly.

Syaoran got up with a serious expression plastered on his face. How dare she have the audacity to hit him square in the face? Thinking about what he should do, he finally decided on something quite audacious.

Syaoran wasn’t mad, he wasn’t angry, but he was confused and slightly upset by the thing Sakura was doing. He finally moved towards Sakura. She took a step back with caution. As he moved towards her she moved back but finally she hit a wall and had nowhere to go.

“W-what do you think you’re doing?!” She stuttered.

Syaoran said nothing but a small smirk appeared on his face. His shadow cast over hers causing her to shrink down the wall. Syaoran lifted her back up and hugged her.

“HOEEEEE!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” She screamed with a bit of cuteness.

“You’re very defensive but when I thought about it you really need a hug don’t you?” Syaoran replied.

Sakura looked like an awkward, limp stuffed animal hanging over the taller Syaoran. It was quite an awkward moment but Syaoran was laughing through it all.

“P-Put me down!” Sakura demanded finally.

“Humm….” Syaoran pondered but decided to swing Sakura around instead.

Sakura wasn’t amused but she wasn’t angry anymore. Syaoran’s unconventional ways of healing were quite refreshing to Sakura and left her feeling more placid than anything. She was like a baby being comforted by Syaoran but she didn’t mind too much then and there.

After a while Syaoran finally did put her down and they continued cleaning. This time there was a silence between the two but it was probably better that way. Sakura seemed to have forgiven Syaoran and it was good, she looked so much better when she wasn’t angry anyway.

The dirt and grime from the gross buildup on the cafeteria tables was immense. It was hard not to get the stuff on them and so the two ended up being caked in molded food scraps. But it wasn’t all for naught because the cafeteria looked immaculate. The crusty tables were gone and replaced with a sea green oasis. The tables were such a shiny green that a person’s face could actually be seen in it. The walls were not splattered with grease anymore and were replaced with a nice rust colored brick wall. The floors were mopped and produced glimmering white tile. The whole place in general was extremely better and when Mimi walked in her jaw dropped straight to the floor.

“How did you do all of this?” It was the first time the Sakura and Syaoran saw Mimi excited, “I guess I have to put you to work more often!”

“Ehehehehe,” Syaoran laughed uncomfortably.

The cafeteria workers came in and were immediately stunned at their new working conditions. There once lifeless faces were replaced with exuberant expressions as they explored their clean surroundings. The workers were so amazed that by the time dinner rolled around there was a feast that could please a king.

“Damn, if they served this stuff everyday I wouldn’t be so skinny!” Sakura exclaimed stuffing her face full of hamburger.

Syaoran chuckled while enjoying his meal as well, “Then I guess we should start cleaning more often! If we could clean the bathrooms you think they would give us hot water for showers?”

Sakura Shook her head, “Naw, they wouldn’t do that at all.”

Mimi appeared and sat next to Sakura, “Ok so here is the deal,” Mimi’s voice lowered, “You guys are pretty much working for me so I need your help with giving medication to the people here.”

Sakura’s hamburger dropped from her hands, “What?!”

“Please, I have to go to a workshop tomorrow and I need your help. I trust you guys.”

“Is….that even legal? I mean we are patients here!” Syaoran said.

“Oh, it’s perfectly fine, so long as you don’t think about stealing the medication.” She handed the keys to Sakura.

Syaoran protested, “Mimi, I really don’t think you should let us do that, who knows what will happen.”

Mimi thought about it for a second and then took back her keys, “You know what, your right. What was I thinking…haha….trusting you two….”

Mimi walked away looking angry. No doubt she was going to have to hire someone who actually knew what they were doing. It amazed Sakura and Syaoran how cheap Mimi could be sometimes.

Dinner went by fast with people groaning from belly aches. They probably hadn’t eaten as much as they had since they went to rehab. It was a nice feeling for them amidst the pain from their splitting sides.

Syaoran was content with the new and improved cafeteria workers so he took his leave and went into his bedroom.

About an hour later there was a frantic knock on the door. It was hurried and quick. Syaoran opened the door to see Sakura with a bundle of something wrapped up in her shirt. He looked at her all frazzled and decided to say something smart, “What did you do, steal something?”

Sakura nodded and let herself in past Syaoran. She didn’t see his expression but it was surprised and quite shocked. Syaoran couldn’t believe she would steal something but the real question was: what did she steal? Syaoran whipped around to see that Sakura had unloaded her bundle. What was worse about her stealing was that she stole pills.

Syaoran hurried and closed his door so as to avoid any onlookers, “ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS? FREAKING CRAZY?!!!” He shouted, “How the hell did you get those?!”

Sakura shrugged and pulled out a key out from her pocket, “Mimi had a spare key on her chain,”

Syaoran looked at her like she was crazy. Why would she steal pills; pills that she had to keep away from if she wanted to stay clean and get on with her life? Syaoran was confused and he plopped down onto his bed with the same shocked expression.

“I….I don’t want to live anymore…” She muttered. Syaoran saw the hurt in her eyes as she eyed the pills on his bed, “I can’t…there is nothing out there for me at all….I realized it when I met you…I don’t know why but….you make me feel useless.”

Syaoran was tripping over the words to say, “S-Sakura…what are you saying?!” He felt unsure of what to say.

“Don’t say anything more…I’m going to do it.”

Syaoran snickered, “You’re in LOVE with me!” Sakura whipped around and looked furious, “You want me to stop you. That’s why you are in my room instead of just taking the pills yourself!” Of course he was joking but of course Sakura took it all too seriously.

“I DID NO SUCH THING, DON’T SAY THINGS SO EASILY!!” Sakura shouted at Syaoran.

“Come off it…” Syaoran pulled Sakura into a bear hug, “You really don’t want to die…you said it yourself.”

“Then why do I feel like this?” Sakura muttered with her head in his chest.

Syaoran looked at the hopeless girl and felt compelled to comfort her, “Put the pills back,” He cooed, “Don’t do it…I know you don’t want to.”

Sakura shuddered; she felt so tempted to hug Syaoran back with all her might. There was something about him that made her feel worthless but the other side of it was a warm and cuddly feeling. Syaoran made her feel good about herself in a weird contradiction. The worthlessness came from an unknown feeling, a feeling she hadn’t experienced yet and she didn’t know if it was a good thing or not. Still, she couldn’t deny that it was love.

Syaoran lifted up her chin and unexpectedly kissed her. At first Sakura didn’t respond. She let it deepen and she eventually closed her eyes. It seemed as if she was enjoying Syaoran’s attention. She got so caught up in his kiss that she forgot what she was doing. But as soon as she realized it, Syaoran already had her in his grasp.

She ripped herself away and slapped him with her powerful force but in turn he pulled her back. The heat that he exuded made her head light. Syaoran looked at Sakura’s frowning face and laughed. His laughter angered her further as she tried to pull away a second time. It didn’t work and Syaoran held firm to her tiny frame.

She didn’t want to; she wanted to resist his laughing eyes. For some reason they attracted her all the more causing a stir in her head. With her brain blasting she finally admitted to herself that she liked it but she would had never admitted it out loud. With such a realization she stopped struggling so much and muttered, “Fine….”

Syaoran’s face turned into a priceless piece of work. His laughter turned silent and his eyes were surprised. With a hint of lust you could tell that Syaoran was turned on by Sakura’s surrender.

“Damn…you got me off guard.” Syaoran muttered scratching his head.

But his surprise did not last long for he immediately suffocated Sakura with the burning heat of his breath. He suddenly imprisoned her lips with his and caused Sakura’s light-headedness to deepen.

“Hum…” Syaoran murmured as he looked at Sakura’s quizzical expression, “I don’t think I can stop.” Sakura’s eyes widened as Syaoran pounced her kissing her everywhere.

When morning came Syaoran opened his eyes. He saw a beautiful Sakura resting in the glimmering sunlight. It created a ring around her making her look angelic. She was naked which for one thing meant that they had done it. Syaoran’s mind raced and remembered every detail of what had happened. Syaoran laid there silent soaking up all of the events.

Her steady breathing told him that she was still alive. She didn't pull anything while he was asleep which meant one thing. She loved him a whole lot. Maybe she just wanted his attention to pull a stunt like that. Whatever she wanted she got. Syaoran moved a piece of hair out of her face and smiled a bit.

Sakura stirred and opened her eyes. She blushed furiously when she saw a beaming Syaoran laughing wholeheartedly, "HOEEEEE, WHATTHEHELLISTHIS?!"

Syaoran merely smiled again, "See I told you, you love me!"

"Like hell I do!"

Syaoran just shrugged it off and started teasing Sakura, "Wanna come back to bed, Honey?" He said patting the place where Sakura was in his bed.

Sakura gave him the middle finger as she slipped on her pants.

Syaoran narrowed his eyes, got up and captured her lips like he had the other night. To his surprise she didn't retaliate and actually kissed him back.

"Asshole..." She muttered but a smirk was evident on her face.

Syaoran stared amazed at the new development, "What an improvement!" He muttered blushing a little.

Mimi appeared walked around the corner. She was furious, her pace picked up and she broke out into a jog. Her extra key was missing and she was suppose to give it to the substitute in one hour. The day -she could tell- was going to be a bad day.

As she rounded another corner she began searching for Sakura. She knew that she had the key because she was the only one to touch them since the day before.

"SYAORAN!" Mimi shouted before opening his door, "Have you seen Sakur-"

The first thing that Mimi saw when she entered Syaroan's room was the two young adults making out with Syaoran naked underneath his bed sheets. Then she saw the pills, full but scattered around.

"Y-you two stole those pills!" Mimi became flustered, "And you two are breaking the rule about romance in t-the rehab!"

Sakura became annoyed, "We were going to give them back!"

Mimi gave an incredulous laugh, "Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say." Mimi scribbled something on her notepad, "Well, looks like you two will have to be kicked out,"

"Y-you really don't mean that Mimi, do you?!" Syaoran said.

"I really am, you have two serious offences piled up on your plate, you're lucky I didn't call the police!" Mimi walked over to the pills and began to pick them up one by one.

"BUT-" Sakura began.

"Stop. We will leave this place in an hours time."

"Syaoran!" Sakura protested but Syaoran gave her a stern stare. Sakura figured it would be for the best to stop.

Mimi turned around and left, "Good,"

"Syaoran where are we going to go?!" Sakura shouted.

"Don't worry, just get your stuff and we'll leave." He simply put.

Sakura grew silent and left. She had never left the rehab in five long years. Five long years she spent in that rehabilitation center free of charge and never once did she think about leaving. She was afraid and had no clue what Syaoran wanted to do. She would probably end up on the streets again. Suddenly she was regretting not taking those pills.

"Where am I going to go?!" Sakura once again protested after she had packed all of her things. Syaoran was hushed and did not say anything as she did so.

Mimi was at the door waiting for them to leave.

They stepped outside and it was like a whole different world. The sunny sky bled through the trees casting shadows on the pothole filled road. The air smelt of the spring. When Syaoran had entered the rehab it had been a chilly winter’s day.

Sakura was amazed by such sheer simple beauty that she had forgotten throughout those years. Her attention immediately turned to Syaoran. Instead of asking a question about her she decided to ask about him, so where are you going to go?”

Syaoran and Sakura started walking down the sidewalk, “I’ll go get a job and an apartment and finish school, probably…”

Sakura’s face gave an ‘Oh’ expression.

“-With you of course,” Syaoran finished. He then grabbed Sakura’s hand and held it.

Sakura’s eyes filled up with tears; real emotion could be seen from them. She laughed as some of the tears fell out, “Good…” She muttered and squeezed Syaoran’s hand hard.

Mimi watched the two until they could not be seen anymore. Out of the corner of Syaoran’s eye he could have sworn Mimi was smiling, “Be free,” She muttered and with that went back inside.