The Choice
Sakura looked out her window at the moon with a sigh. Why didn't Li just admit it? She knew he liked her, and she liked him. She was too embaressed to admit it, though. 'Maybe he's too embaressed to admit it, too.' That thought hadn't occured to her before. Maybe she would have to admit it first. But then what if he denied liking her? Then she'd be totally embaressed, and probably wouldn't be able to face him ever again. But what if he did say he liked her? What would she do then? She'd probably act like Meilin . . . she shuddered inwardly at that thought. What if she acted like Meilin? Yuk!! She hated Meilin!
Li was looking out his window at the same moon Sakura was. He was thinking about what to do about Meilin. He loved her like a sister, but he definitely didn't want to marry her. He was trying to think of a kind way to dump her. But he just couldn't think of anything. Maybe he could hide out for a few weeks and let her think her died . . . no, that would cause her a lot of pain. 'But any way I do will cause her a lot of pain. There's no way around it.' Couldn't she just leave him alone? It was annoying! Maybe he could manage to make her fall in love with someone else, or get someone else to tell her that he didn't love her. But that would be cruel, to hear that from someone else, and she probably wouldn't believe it, and then she'd come to him and he'd have to tell her . . . He decided to think about it some more.
The next day at school, Kero was nosing around in Sakura's backback, looking for her lunch (so what else is new?) when he found a note with Li's name on it. Being a nosy busybody, he unfolded it and read it.
Dear Li,
I would really like to speak with you after lunch today, without Madison or Meilin. Do you think you could manage it, please? I won't bring Madison. Please let me know. Thank you, Li-san.
Sakura
What! She's meeting him without me? The nerve! I'll be there, no matter what. And she called him Li-san! Why did she do that?' He pondered over it some more, then gave up. But he was sure that he'd be there.
At their first class, Sakura was digging in her backpack, and Kero had to use all his willpower to not bite her for ignoring him or eat her lunch, because then she'd know he was there. She grabbed the note, and then rushed over, put it on his desk, and rushed back to her seat. She sat there until Li came in the room, then she straightened and waited for him to read it.
Li picked up the note. It looked like Sakura's writing. It had taken him days to get enough sampings of her handwriting to have it memorized, but now he was certain he'd never forget it. He was almost sure it was hers. He read the note. Why did she call him Li-san? That was for people you respected, and Sakura had never given him any sign she respected him . . . he pondered over it for a moment, then looked at her. She was sitting there, tense, awaiting his answer . . . it would be hard to talk to her without Madison, but he was fairly sure he could manage it, since she would do a lot of things he told her to. And why did she want to talk to him, anyway? She was such a stupid . . . he felt his anger and contempt crumble quickly, as it always did when he thought of her eyes, her face . . . he realized he was actually glad he could finally talk with her without Madison or Meilin there to bother or interrupt them. 'It would be an opportinity to tell her that I . . . but what if she thought I was weird or laughed at me . . . or even worse, she told me she loved someone else?' He thought he might as well listen to what she had to say. He looked at her, and then mouthed the word "Yes."
'He said yes! I'm so glad!' She blushed then, and looked down at the floor. 'I wonder why . . . I expected him to refuse . . . maybe it's because he loves . . .' No, that was silly. There was no way he loved her. But then why would she tell him, if she knew she was setting herself up for a rejection? There was no way she was absolutely sure, but it felt like she was . . .'At least I'll be able to get this off my chest, and then I can feel comfortable around him, even if he doesn't feel comfortable around me.'
Li watched her blush, then felt a blush come to his own cheeks. He never blushed, except when he was around Sakura. She wouldn't know that, though, becuase she was never not around to see him not blush. He felt glad when he saw her reaction, thinking maybe there was some hope after all. Now, how to get rid of Meilin . . .
Ten minutes before lunch he approached Meilin. he hoped this would work, or he wouldn't get to talk with Sakura . . . "Hey, Meilin?" he asked tentatively.
Her face brightened, as it always did when he talked to her. "Oh, hi my Li-chan! Have you come to see me?"
'Well, duh, or I wouldn't be talking to you.' She could be so stupid sometimes. But she was like a sister to him, so he didn't say anything out loud. "I was wondering if you could hang out with Madison for a little bit after lunch." Her face darkened. "Not to be friends with her or anything." She perked up a little bit. "I was wondering if you could try to get some information out of her about Sakura and what she's been doing lately, so we can make sure they aren't getting ahead of us or anything."
'Oh, my Li-chan, you finally trust me! You're letting me be your own personal spy!' "Don't worry, Li-chan, I won't let you down!"
"I'm going to talk with Sakura-" here Meilin got an almost viper-like look on her face "-to talk with her about the Clow Cards. The other reason I need you to keep Madison busy is so she doesn't wreck the conversation. It'll take me some time to gain Sakura's trust, and I don't need Madison to come along and wreck averything in the middle of it." 'Finally, done with the speech! Now if only she believes it . . .'
"Sure, my Li-chan! I'll help you out in whatever way I can!" 'And do whatever I can to get information out of that Madison girl . . . I never liked her all that much . . .'
At lunch, Sakura taked with Madison. "Madison, I'm going to talk with Li about . . . stuff." Madison grinned knowingly, and Sakura blushed. She continued anyway, though. "Li said he would get rid of Melin, so if she comes and talks tto you, do whatever you can to keep her there. You can tell her anything-" here Madison grinned again, and Sakura quickly amended her statement "-almost anything, but just don't let her come see me or Li."
Madison nodded. "Okay." She said it cheerily, but inside her heart was spiraling. She hated Meilin, but she would do what her best friend asked, even though she didn't want to.
At recess, Li and Meilin eyed Sakura and Madison. "Okay, go!" Li whispered to Meilin. He raised his voice. "Hey, Sakura!" Sakura came over, running. 'She runs in such a graceful way . . . not like Meilin does. And she looks really good in that mini-skirt . . .' He bushed, embaressed at thinking that.
Sakura saw Li look at her and then blush. Was there something wrong with her? She blushed and looked at the ground. 'I hope I look okay . . .'
Li looked at her. She was running toward him, but she was looking at the ground and didn't see where she was going . . . there was another girl who was going to back straight into her path, and she wouldn't notice . . . Without thinking, he ran toward her as she crashed, catching her before she hit the ground.
"Oh!" She fell, and braced herself for the impact of the hard cement, but it didn't come. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again. She noticed a pair of arms about her waist, and, noting who's arms they were, blushed. Li stood her up, and looked at her. "Are you okay?"
'I hope I caught her in time . . .' Seeing her red face, he quickly asked, "What's wrong? Are you okay?" 'I hope that she's not mad at me for some reason . . .'
'He caught me! He cares! Oh, Li! I've been hoping you cared, and now I know you do! But do you care for me as a friend, or as a girlfriend? Tell me, Li!' "I'm fine. Thanks for catching me. That would have really hurt."
He blushed. "You're welcome." 'She said thank you to me!' "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" "I was wondering . . . do you think we could go off somewhere less . . .crowded?" "Sure."
They walked in silence for a while, neither one wanting to say something, lest the moment be over. They shut out everything around them, and in each of their minds there wasn't any noise at all, just silence. They let the silence be there for a while. Then they broke the silence. "I-" They stopped, each waiting for the other to go on. When niether one spoke, they both tired again. "What I'm trying to say is-" They stopped again. Then they tried one last time, their voices saying the same thing in unison.
"I love you."
They started, each surprised that the other one had said that, and, even more suprised, that they themselves has said such a thing. They turned and faced each other, looking at each other in disbelief. Then her eyes caught his, and they stared at each other. Their faces moved forward, and for a moment, time froze. Then it continued, their lips meeting in a soft embrace, their arms locked about eack other's waists. A girl who was sitting nearby sighed in jealousy, and then left, dreaming about finding her true love. They held the kiss for a while longer, then broke apart. They stared into each other's eyes.
Sakura felt Li start to break away from her arms, and she grabbed him, not wanting him to leave. He turned, looking annoyed, but his annoyance disapeared as soon as he caught her hurt look. He would never hurt her again, not for all the world. He looked at her. "I'm sorry." Then he kissed her again, and he felt her arms lock about his waist. He did the same. He never wanted to let go. Not ever, for anything. Her arms were warm and soft, as were her lips. Nothing in the world could make him want to leave her. They broke apart, and then they just sat together until lunch was over.
Kero peeked out of the back of Sakura's bag in her classroom. No one was there. 'All clear! Now, to find Sakura . . .' He flew through the hallways, peeking around every corner to make sure on one was there to see him. He finally flew out onto the playground, high above everyone else so no one would see him, and looked around for Li and Sakura. He finally saw them walking toward an empty corner of the playground. They stopped for a second, stared at each other and then . . . 'No way! That can't be Li and Sakura! They would never . . .' He flew in for a closer look, staying out of sight behind some trees. 'No way! It is Sakura and Li! I can't believe it! They just . . .' he tried really hard to get the word out, but it still took him a while to force it out of his mouth. ' . . . kissed! Oh my gosh!' He re-appraised them. 'They do make a cute couple though . . . and it's even better because they're both Card Captors and don't need to keep secrets from each other . . .' he smiled at them both, then decided not to interrupt their meeting and to go tell Madison intstead . . .
Madison was having a really hard time keeping her temper under control. Meilin kept asking about things she had no right to know about, and kept trying to stick her nose into buisness that wasn't hers. Madison was avioding telling her anything at all, but her patience was starting to wear thin. She hoped Sakura would be back soon, otherwise she might just have to strangle Meilin . . . for some reason, that thought wasn't all that repulsive . . . but she was sure she'd regret it as soon as she'd done it, especially because she'd have to go to jail for it. She turned her attention back to Meilin, and sighed as she listened to the endless string of questions. 'Sakura, what's taking you so long? Please come rescue me from this horror . . .'
Meilin was frusterated as well. She hadn't gotten a single answer out of Meilin the entire time they had been talking, and that had been almost twenty minutes. 'But I won't give up on my Sayoran Li! You can count on me, my Li-chan!' She might not have been quite so enthusiastic if she had known about Li and Sakura . . .
Kero zoomed around. Not here, not here, no, not here, either! 'Where is that Madison! She doesn't have to go out of her way to make herself inconspicuous. My job is hard enough as it is.' then he spotted Madison sitting in the corner, talking with . . . oh no, not Meilin! 'Now I'll have to wait until after school to talk to Madison!' He wasn't sure he could hold in the information that long, but he'd have to try, especially if he wanted to be the first to tell Madison. 'Hey, maybe I could tell Meilin, too. It would just break her heart . . .' he grinned inside, thinking how he could finally pay Meilin back for all those times she'd called him "a little stuffed animal" and "not worthy to guard the Clow Cards". He'd show her!
The bell rang.
'Oh no! I haven't gotten any information out of that girl for my Li-chan!'
'Finally! I was getting so sick of talking to Meilin!'
'Now I won't get to see Sakura 'till the end of the day . . .'
'I don't want to leave my Li-chan, but I guess I'll have to.'
'Great! Only a few more hours until I can tell Madison!'
It was a long afternoon for everyone. Meilin was dreading telling Li she hadn't gotten any information, Madison couldn't wait to talk to Sakura, Sakura couldn't stand being without Li, and Li missed Sakura terribly.
After school everyone was rushing around trying to find everyone else without everyone else there. Li finally found Meilin, but that wasn't who he wanted to see . . . "Hi, Li-chan." Meilin was miserable. She was dreading what he would say about her failure . . . "That's okay. You kept Madison distracted! I found out everything I needed from Sakura." Noting that her face was still downcast, he continued his statement. "Really Meilin, you did great. I couldn't ask for a better person to help me." She looked at him, the smile returning to her face. "Really?" he smiled back at his sister-like friend. "Really."
Sakura ran around, looking for Li. She wanted to talk with him. She really wanted to kiss him again, too . . . She shook her head and cleared her thoughts, trying to concentrate. 'Find Li . . .'
Madison ran around as well, looking for Sakura. She had to know how it had gone with Li. It would drive her crazy if she didn't . . . She saw Rita, and ran up to her and grabbed Rita's shoulder. "Have you seen Sakura around?" Rita looked puzzled. "No, why?" Madison looked a little dissapointed, but she covered up her dissapointment quickly. "No reason. Just wondering."
Meilin left Li to go get a drink. He didn't want to come, so he said he'd wait for her outside the building. She ran inside.
Sakur finally found Li outside, alone, as she had hoped. "Oh, Li!" she said. he turned his head and saw her running toward him, and his face immediately brightened. She had decided not to kiss him, but as soon as she reached him, he kissed her. She was surprised, but not unpleaseantly so. She kissed him back, and she felt his arms lock about her waist again. That was nice, the way he kept doing that. It made her feel protected, wanted.
Madison met up with Meilin in the school at the drinking fountain. "Hey, Meilin!" Meilin turned. 'Great! Maybe I can get a little information out of her now!' "Oh, hi Madison! How are you?" "Fine. Hey, have you seen Sakura? I can't find her." Meilin frowned. "No, I haven't." "I wonder where she could be?" Meilin had found herself unconciously starting to like Madison. She had never been mean to Meilin, and she always had a kind word for everyone, no matter what happened to her. "Maybe I can help you find her." She started, suprised at herself for being so nice to Madison. Madison looked surpised as well. They walked out to where Li and Sakura were kissing.
"LI-CHAN! HOW COULD YOU!"