SourPop1004: Wassup! I'm finally posting up the revised version of this story. Thanks to My Trial One, this is possible. THANK YOU!!! And also, please visit my page if you've never read my stories by clicking on my penname. (Sourpop1004) and have a go at my other stories. I'm currently writing another one shot so please look forward to that. Enjoy!
Snow
By SourPop1004
Sakura was dressed in a pair of baggy jeans that dragged on the floor with a white army belt that hung like a long tail, a yellow Paul Frank shirt, and a pair of Adidas. Her long straight hair was tied up in a ponytail. She had the punkish look.
"Dad! I'm late and it's my first day! Got to go!"
Sakura ran past the kitchen counter and grabbed a toast. She ran out the open front door jumping over stacks of boxes and dodging men hauling in heavy furniture. She ran down the sidewalk, her honey hair sparkling with flecks of gold under the bright sun. The sun was high, but the weather was cold. He put on her white Hurley sweater and flung her Hawaiian print red backpack over her shoulder. She pulled up her pants and ran, her bag bobbing up and down, to Seujio High.
The class bell had already rung and everyone was in their seats in homeroom. Syaoran was in his seat surrounded by the popular people. The popular girls tried to sound and look dainty to impress Syaoran. Li Syaoran was the hottest, smartest, and the most athletic guy in school. So, naturally, every girl in the entire school loved him and every guy envied him.
There was Blaize. She was the bitchy leader of the popular group who happened to be Syaoran's girlfriend. Who knows how that happened? Anyway, nothing more need to be said. That explains just about everything for itself.
Daidouji Tomoyo was one of the popular crowd, but managed to become apart from Blaize's group. She was smart and pretty and knew better than to hang out too much with shallow materialistic girls. She had her close friends Chiharu, Rika, and Naoko to talk to her and actually have a decent conversation without the word "like" popping up every 2 seconds.
Chiharu's popular boyfriend Takashi was the class clown. He managed to set a school record for most detentions received in a year with 417 detentions. And the rest are either good friends of just a bunch of wannabe's. The class was loud and bustling with talk about the senior field trip to the mountains in 2 days. When the teacher came in, everyone straightened up and the room became silent.
The teacher eyed the room and smiled. "Alright, settle down. I know you're all excited about the Senior Ski Trip in 2 days, but come on, we can wait. Nevertheless, I have an announcement. I know it's the middle of the year, but we have a new student. I hope you all will be the nice students. I know you can be, and help her out through out the year. Please give a warm welcome to Kinomoto Sakura." The teacher turned towards the door, but no one was there. Everyone laughed, but quickly fell quiet when they heard a noise in the hall.
Sakura had stopped by the office and was running at top speed down the hall to her homeroom with her schedule clenched in her hand. Failing to notice the wet floor, she slipped and slid across the hallway floor, passing her classroom.
"CraaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAp!" Sakura hollered.
When she finally came to a stop, she got up and dashed back into her classroom. When she stepped into the room, she was trying to straighten out her clothes. When she looked up, she saw the whole class staring at her punkish figure.
"Uh… I was just… checking if… the floor was safe." Sakura shrugged and smiled. The whole class fell apart and cracked up. The loud laughter rang through the halls.
"Well, thank you for your grand entry, Miss Kinomoto. Please take a seat over there." The teacher pointed towards the seat in the back next to a girl with long wavy violet hair.
Sakura walked towards the back smiling confidently. On her way, Takashi thought it would be funny to trip her, so he stuck out his foot. Sakura kept on walking and stopped right in front of him. She turned her head to him and smiled.
"Oh, come on. You can do better than that!" Sakura smiled and stepped over his foot and sat in her seat behind him.
Everyone started to whisper amongst themselves.
"Class, settle down." The teacher silenced the class.
The teacher started talking about the fact that the government was a scam. Everyone ignored him as usual. Sakura turned when a girl tapped on her shoulder.
"Hi, I'm Tomoyo." Tomoyo stuck out her hand at Sakura.
"Hey! I'm Sakura." Sakura firmly shook her hand. "Sorry if I'm being rude, but who's the geek?" Sakura pointed at Takashi.
To Sakura's surprise, Takashi turned around. He was sitting in front of her. "The geek would be me, Takashi." Takashi smiled.
"Hello, Geek. Nice to meet you." Sakura smiled back.
Takashi turned to Tomoyo. "I like her. She's fun. A challenge, but fun."
Sakura and Tomoyo giggled. Soon, Naoko, Rika, and Chiharu had joined the little chat. They all whispered and giggled. When the teacher saw what was going on in the back of the room, he scolded them. Everyone soon went back to their seats and the bell rang. As Sakura and Tomoyo walked out of the room, Takashi and Chiharu caught up with them.
"Hey! Who do you guys have next?" Sakura asked looking at the three.
"I have biology," Tomoyo replied with glum.
"History… oh the pain…" Takashi frowned.
"I have Home Ec." Chiharu smiled. Apparently, she liked the class.
"What do you have Sakura?" Tomoyo asked, taking Sakura's schedule from her hand. Tomoyo scanned it. "Wow, you got into the advanced math class! How'd that happen?"
"The lady at the office told me that they didn't have enough room in the regular classes, so she told me she'd put me in advance. If I did well, I'd stay, but if I didn't, she said she'd find room for me." Sakura shrugged.
"I see… well, good luck. None of us are in the class. But there's Syaoran. He's in advanced math, too. I'll ask if he'll take you to class because I have to go. I can't afford to be tardy again." Tomoyo smiled and quickly ran over to Syaoran who was, as usual, surrounded by a group of people. Tomoyo managed to squeeze past the people and talked to Syaoran for a couple of seconds. When she came back, Syaoran was at her heel. She turned to Sakura. "Sakura, this is the oh-so terribly hot Syaoran." She turned to Syaoran. "This is the oh-so terribly new girl, Sakura." Sakura smiled and shook hands with Syaoran.
It was lunch and Sakura had met up with Tomoyo and everyone in the cafeteria. Takashi was sitting next to Syaoran, joking and laughing. Naturally, Syaoran's table was full. Blaize and her crowd sat at their own little crowded table. All the girls sat at Blaize's table while all the guys sat at Syaoran's. It was obvious popular couples don't sit together. Tomoyo and the girls headed towards Blaize's table. Sakura stopped and turned to Tomoyo.
"Can you save me a seat? I need to go ask Takashi something about chemistry. I have the same class as him and he's my lab partner. Wait up, OK?"
"Sure. Hurry up! I want to introduce you to the others." Tomoyo smiled.
"Ok." Sakura gave Tomoyo her lunch and walked over to the group of boys.
She walked behind Takashi and tapped him on the shoulder. Takashi turned around to face her. He had French fries stuck up his nose. Sakura burst out laughing. Takashi quickly pulled them out and threw them on the table. The other guys laughed.
"Yeah?"
"Can I borrow your notes for class? I forgot to write down something. I'll give it back."
"Oh, ok, wait up." Takashi pulled out his bag from under the chair and rummaged through it. After a few minutes of struggle, he pulled out a piece of paper with scribbled writing. Sakura stared at it with a frown. "Uh… good luck?" Everyone cracked up.
"Thanks." Sakura stared at the paper. She took her eyes off the paper and put it in her red bag. She was about to walk away when Takashi invited her to sit down.
"Why don't you hang out here for a while?"
"Sorry, Tomoyo's saving a seat for me. Maybe next time."
"Come on, five minutes. It's not going to kill."
"Okay… but there's no room." Sakura stared at the full chairs.
"Oh, no problem." Takashi turned to Syaoran. "Would you get us a seat?"
"No prob." Syaoran smirked. He turned towards the isle and called to a girl. She was a freshman and blushed because the most popular senior called out to her.
"Hey, can she use you chair?" Syaoran flashed a smile.
"N-no. O-of c-course n-not." She pushed the chair towards Sakura.
The guys all laughed. Sakura just frowned at them. "That was mean." She turned towards the girl. "Here, take it back, you were sitting in it." The girl tried to refuse, but Sakura pushed the chair towards her.
"What?" Takashi asked innocently, laughing.
"You know what? You guys are so cruel." Sakura frowned at them. Everyone stared at the guy that was sitting in the corner, who was next to Sakura. His hands were reaching up towards her butt. Sakura snapped around and smacked him in the head. "Do it again and I start beating the crap out of you. Got it?" All the guys laughed at the guy who got smacked. Sakura turned on her heels and walked towards the other side of the room where Tomoyo was sitting.
She plopped down in an empty chair and crossed her arms. Tomoyo turned to her.
"What's wrong?"
"They're bunch of jerks." Sakura glared at them.
"What happened?"
Sakura explained what happened. By now, all the girls were listening. Sakura realized and stopped.
"Hoe! Sorry if I interrupted you guys. I didn't mean to."
"Yeah, next time talk quieter when I'm talking." Blaize eyed Sakura. "You're the new girl, right?"
"Uh… yeah…" Sakura didn't like the look this girl was giving.
"Well remember, when around me and my group, you stay quiet. Speak only when spoken to," Blaize spat with venom.
"What? That's stupid. You're not some queen. The last time I checked, this was a free country!" Sakura got up. She was mad. Blaize was standing too, glaring at her.
Everyone in the cafeteria turned silent and watched the little fight.
"I may not be queen of Japan, but I am top in this school so I suggest you listen up 'cause you don't want anything to happen to you."
"Are you threatening me?" Sakura asked, pointing to herself.
"This is my ground. Anything goes." Blaize glared at Sakura. Blaize turned to the girls at the table. "Who invited her?!"
"I did, Blaize," Tomoyo firmly stated.
"I'll be nice this time. But next time, teach her to shut up and not interrupt me again!" Blaize shouted at Tomoyo.
Tomoyo was about to shoot back when Chiharu got up first. "Damn! Just chill Blaize. It's no big deal!"
"Shut up! Sit back down! This isn't your fight!"
Across the room, Takashi was about to get up, but Syaoran stopped him.
"What the hell! I know she's your girlfriend and all, but I'm not going to let her bitch at mine!"
"Just stay calm! Let the new girl solve it."
Takashi sat back down and tried to calm himself down.
Back at the girls' table, Blaize was glaring at Chiharu. Breaking the intense glares, Sakura spoke up.
"I think you're supposed to glare this way." She pointed towards herself. Blaize was about to blow up in her face when Sakura tipped over Blaize's Coke. Blaize screamed and looked at Sakura.
"You did that on purpose! You little--"
"Cutie Pie?" Sakura smiled. Blaize got out of her chair.
"Come on girls!" Her usual followers got up and followed her to the door of the cafeteria. Blaize spun around and glared at the girls that hadn't followed.
Sakura looked at the group of girls. (Not Tomoyo and Co.) "You guys should just go. Her Royal Pain-in-the-Ass might get mad at you guys for no reason if you stay." The girls giggled. Sakura leaned in over the table. "Be nice to her. She doesn't have much longer to live, not while she's at war with Kinomoto Sakura." Sakura winked at them. They giggled again and went to Blaize and her group. Once the group had left, Sakura turned to everyone in the cafeteria with a smile and loudly stated. "I think she likes me." Everyone in the room cracked up. Tomoyo, Chiharu, Rika, and Naoko laughed.
The bell rang to announce that school was over. Sakura said good bye to Rika, Chiharu, and Naoko and was walking out the front gate with Tomoyo.
"So, tell me about this trip everyone's talking about."
"Oh, the Senior Ski Trip! It's a three night, four day trip. It's really fun. Basically, we go and hang out, ski, snowboard, and play games and stuff."
"Oh… sounds cool. So we're going the day after tomorrow?"
"Yup!" Tomoyo smiled.
"Snow," Sakura mumbled to herself.
"Do you ski, snowboard, or anything else?"
"I snowboard a bit. Very dangerous sport you know?"
"Yeah, well, when we go to the resort, watch out. Blaize is going to make such a fuss about how good she is on a snowboard." Tomoyo rolled her eyes. "She's been bragging since last month. Someone needs to shut her up."
Sakura smiled. "Don't worry, I'm sure someone will."
Tomoyo glanced at Sakura's smile. 'She must be hiding something,' Tomoyo thought.
***
The next day in homeroom, the teacher was handing out a list of things to bring and not to bring to the field trip. The teacher had left the room momentarily when the class broke out into a tête-à-tête. The class was buzzing about the ski trip.
"I am definitely bringing my snowboard. I just got a new one last week for this trip," Blaize proudly stated to everyone. "You guys should bring yours or rent some. I can show you guys A thing or two."
"What kind did you get?" Sakura broke in, looking up from her book.
"What do you mean? That's such an amateur thing to ask." Blaize flipped her hair back. "Well, if you must know, I got the one that just came out, the X-Glider." (Okay people, I know NOTHING about snowboarding… so lay off. Hehe.)
"Really?" Sakura turned towards Blaize and the large group of people. "Why would you do something like that?"
"What do you mean? It's top of the line!" Blaize defended with a bit of anger rising in her.
"It may be the most expensive, but didn't the salespeople tell you anything? Those kinds of boards are for the wannabe snowboarders who go down the bunny slopes! If you try coming down a mountain with it, I'm sure you'll turn up with a broken back." Sakura smiled.
"What do you know? I'm sure you can't even ride. Just talk," Blaize haughtily shot back.
Sakura stared at Blaize. "You haven't gone down a mountain before? Have you?" A slow smile formed on Sakura's lips.
Everyone turned to Blaize for an answer.
"What are you talking about? Of course, I have!"
"Yeah, I'm sure." Sakura turned back to her book.
Blaize was about to snap back when the teacher came in. Blaize just glared at Sakura.
Sakura had slogged through her classes. Blaize was throwing insults every corner. It was starting to get irritating, but she kept on thinking of tomorrow's trip. The white, fresh snow… How she missed the snow. It had been nearly a month without the cool crisp feeling of the pine trees and the smooth snow to glide across. 'Tomorrow,' thought Sakura through the whole day.
When Sakura got home, the furniture was all in place. There were still some boxes, but having a couch to plop down on was enough. Sakura had already told her father about the trip and gotten permission. He was kind of reluctant, but he knew how much Sakura needed snow. You'd think a girl would be led to the path of ballet, art, or musical instruments. But who would have thought she'd end up snowboarding? Fujitaka knew that Sakura had chosen the sport of rush and danger. After his wife had died, Sakura had changed. She was only 3 when his beloved wife had passed away. Sakura had been in a phase of denial, but quickly formed a mask. She always posed as if everything was all right, while inside, she was tearing up. Fujitaka soon learned that Sakura was most happy in the snow. Nadeshiko had taken Sakura to a ski resort before she died, and Sakura had fallen in love with the white powder. Being surrounded by white snow made her feel somehow closer to her mother. So naturally, Fujitaka couldn't keep Sakura from her source of happiness. Fujitaka smiled and looked up at his daughter.
"So, excited about the trip tomorrow?"
"Yup!" Sakura shouted with glee.
"But I'll be here all alone without you!" Fujitaka teased.
"Come on, Touya's coming, remember?"
"Well he'll be no fun." Fujitaka frowned, but soon smiled when Sakura laughed.
"Hehe… well I'm going to go to my room. I need to pack, you know. Oh, has my snowboard arrived yet?"
Fujitaka shook his head. "I'm sorry, honey, but I think it's been lost in the mail. It should have arrived yesterday."
"Oh." Sakura frowned. Quickly putting on a smile Sakura replied. "It's okay. I can probably rent one at the resort."
Sakura kissed her father and went upstairs.
That night, Sakura lay awake in her dark room. She stared up at the ceiling, thinking about the next day. She smiled at the thought of the white snow. 'Mom,' she thought ruefully. Soon, she closed her sleepy eyes and drifted to sleep, awaiting the new day.
***
The teachers were barking out orders at the students lined up in a long row. The teachers were checking off each student on a clipboard. Everybody's luggage was piled up next to the bus, waiting for the driver and a couple of helpers to put them in the trunk.
"Ok, keep it moving!" the teacher shouted to the students.
When everyone had gotten into the buses, the driver started up the engine and they were soon hitting the road. The teachers were busily explaining the rules at the resort, but naturally, no one was listening. The teachers gave up and sat down in their seats. They were soon talking as well. Scrunched up paper balls sailed through the air. Through all of the noise, Sakura sat quietly and stared out the window. 'Mom,' she thought over and over.
Blaize was sitting across the isle Sakura and Tomoyo were sitting in. She was next to Syaoran. She glanced over at Sakura and turned around.
"Why so quiet new girl?" Blaize mocked.
Sakura just ignored her. Even she knew that she acted quiet and distant whenever she was on her way to the snowy mountains.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Blaize was mad.
Sakura heard a noise and turned around. "Huh?"
"I'm talking to you!"
"Your point is?" Sakura was ever so close to losing it. Blaize had been on her nerves since day one. Not hearing an answer, she turned back to stare out the window.
Tomoyo turned to Sakura. "What's wrong? Are you all right? You're so quiet."
Sakura turned and gave a weak smile. "I'm fine." She turned back.
Tomoyo wanted to ask further, but thought better. Sakura was obviously thinking about something, and she didn't want to disturb.
In about two hours, Sakura finally snapped out of her trance when the bus came to a stop. Everyone cheered jubilantly. Tomoyo looked at Sakura.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
Deciding it was time to shed her pathetic face, she switched it with a confident and excited face. "Of course, I am! Why wouldn't I be?" Sakura smiled. Sakura got up and went into the isle with everyone else to get out of the bus.
Tomoyo just sat and stared. Sakura had been all quiet and moody, but all of the sudden she was alright. 'There has to be something there,' Tomoyo thought. But for now, she decided to enjoy the trip and brushed the concern away.
Outside, Sakura looked around the open hills. Fresh white snow was slowly covering the ground. She felt happy being here. 'I love snow,' Sakura thought. The students found their bags and were being led towards the hotel. Students and teachers walked up a small hill, leaving a trail of compacted ice behind. There were people skiing, sledding, snowboarding, and ice skating at the frozen pond. Sakura pushed all thoughts of her mother away and decided to have fun. 'It's been too long for me to keep being like this every time I see snow,' she thought solemnly.
Inside the warm lodge, the teachers assigned rooms to groups of 3. Sakura was paired with Tomoyo and Chiharu. When the teacher handed the schedule to everybody, Tomoyo, Sakura, and Chiharu giggled and made their way to the elevators. All three girls heaved their luggage onto the elevator. When Sakura got in, the elevator gave out a loud beeping noise. Everyone eyed Sakura, telling her to get off. Sakura just sighed and pulled out her luggage onto the hallway again.
"I'm not that heavy!" Sakura joked. Everyone laughed. "I'll meet you guys in the room, ok?"
Tomoyo and Chiharu nodded. The metal door slid shut and Sakura was alone in the hallway waiting for the next elevator. When she turned around, she saw an elevator about to leave. She ran towards it and stuck her hand before the doors slid shut. The doors opened again, and Sakura managed to shove all of her bags into the elevator. When she got on, she was about to press "7," but saw that the button was already pressed. She turned around to see who else was in the elevator. To her displeasure, it was Blaize and Syaoran. Blaize had her arms around Syaoran and was kissing his jaw line. Syaoran had his arms around her waist and was leaning against the metal wall. Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Can't you guys do that when you're in your room?" Sakura laughed.
Blaize glared. "You're just jealous because I have such a great guy to kiss."
"Riiiiiiiiiight," Sakura drawled in a mocking tone. Sakura laughed.
"What's so funny?" Blaize pulled away from Syaoran.
"Nothing… nothing at all." Just in time, the elevator had arrived at the seventh floor, and the doors slid open. She swiftly walked out of the elevator with her bags. She made her way down the hall to her assigned room. The door was open, so she pushed her way through the door and went in. Tomoyo and Chiharu were looking out the window at the beautiful view.
"Sakura! Look! It's so pretty!" Chiharu motioned for Sakura to come over.
Sakura dropped her bags and went over to the two girls. She looked out the large window and saw a beautiful sight. The view of the white snowy clearing was absolutely breathtaking. Sakura smiled.
"So, what do we do today?" Sakura asked walking towards the bed and plopping down on it.
Tomoyo checked her watch. "It's one-thirty right now. So…" Tomoyo checked the schedule. "We eat lunch… then it's free time until five. There's going to be a welcome party at the media center in the lodge from six to eight. We eat dinner at the party. And then after that, from eight to nine-thirty, we have free time to lounge around. Then after nine-thirty, it's bedtime."
Chiharu broke in. "Guys, we are not going to be able to sleep. I overheard Takashi and the guys talking about raiding the rooms."
Tomoyo and Sakura laughed.
"That's a great idea! Let's go raid some people!" Sakura suggested.
"Who?" Tomoyo asked.
"Well, we just HAVE TO raid her Royal Ugliness and her royal subjects. And… I think that's it," Sakura replied.
"Are you sure? What if they find out?" Chiharu asked.
"Well, I'm not scared. Are you?" Sakura smirked.
"No! I hate her anyways!" Chiharu shouted with pride.
"Good! What about you Tomoyo?"
Tomoyo was silent, but smiled. "I'm in."
All three girls giggled and laughed.
Downstairs in the large dining room, everyone was busily eating and talking. The room was noisy with students hustling around with plates of food. Sakura sat with Tomoyo, Chiharu, Naoko, Rika, Takashi, Syaoran… and unfortunately, Blaize, and a group of other people.
"After we eat, let's go out to the slopes and snowboard or something," Takashi suggested. Everyone nodded in silence as they ate their food.
"That's a wonderful idea! I can test out my new board!" Blaize proudly commented.
"Yeah! You can show us some tips!" One of Blaize's friends replied, trying to suck up to Blaize.
"What a great idea!" Blaize was bouncing with joy. She turned to Syaoran. "I don't need to teach you anything. I'm sure you're great at snowboarding already." Blaize smiled at him.
Everyone finished eating and gathered outside in front of the gear rental shop. They rented their snowboards and goggles except Tomoyo, who was busy video-taping everyone with her newest camera. Sakura was wearing her white beanie with white goggles. She was dressed in a pair of thick black sports pants with a white strip going down the sides and a white Hurley over her thick fluffy white turtleneck. She was wearing a black wooly scarf around her neck, with the ends neatly tucked under her sweatshirt. She was about to rent her snowboard when the speakers in the shop boomed:
"Kinomoto Sakura, please report to the front desk of the lodge. Kinomoto Sakura, please report to the front desk of the lodge. Thank you."
"Hoe." Sakura was surprised. She ran outside to where everyone was waiting. "Can you guys wait? I'll be right back." Everyone nodded. Sakura ran back towards the lodge.
Inside, she made her way towards the front desk. Standing with a familiar piece of plastic, a man turned around. It was Sakura's dad.
"Dad! What are you doing here?" Sakura asked in surprise as she came closer.
Fujitaka smiled. "I thought you'd like this?" He pointed towards Sakura's snowboard and boots.
"WOW! Thank you soooooo much!" Sakura hugged her dad tightly. She let go and smiled at him. "But aren't you supposed to be with Touya right now?"
"Oh, well, he called and said his flight was delayed and that he'd be coming tomorrow. And when your board arrived, I decided to drop by. I knew you wanted your board." Fujitaka smiled.
"THANK YOU SO MUCH! I LOVE YOU!" Sakura shouted once more with glee.
Fujitaka checked his watch. "Oh, I have to get going, honey. I have some guests coming over from the university. Have fun! I'll see you at home in two days." He kissed her forehead.
"Okay, drive safely, Daddy! Thanks so much again." She kissed him good-bye and he left.
Sakura looked down at her board and hugged it. She smiled and carried her board to a lounging chair and sat down. She quickly took off her shoes and put on her white waterproof sneakers. She walked back to the desk.
"I'm sorry, but do you think you could hold my shoes while I'm out?"
"I guess so." The man took her shoes and put it under the counter.
"Thank you so much! I'm kind of in a hurry. Thanks." Sakura turned around and picked up her board. She ran out of the lodge towards where everyone was waiting.
"Finally!" Blaize rolled her eyes. "We've all been waiting!" she snapped impatiently.
"What did they want?" Tomoyo asked.
"Oh, I was just getting my board!" Sakura exclaimed excitedly.
Sakura bent over and stepped onto the board and locked her boots with the latch.
"I'm ready," Sakura declared. "What now?"
Sakura wanted to go sliding down the mountain so much, but held herself. She had to see how well Blaize could ride.
"Show us!" Blaize's friend ushered.
"Alright." Blaize went up the small slope on a lift and slid down with random tricks to show off. Everyone clapped. Soon they were trying to slide smoothly down the small slope, but kept tripping and bumping into each other.
"Why aren't you doing anything, Sakura?" Blaize asked with a challenging glint in her eyes. "Scared?"
"Not really. I was just wondering, are you going to go down that trail?" Sakura asked pointing to the dangerous looking high grade path off to the side. Sakura smiled.
"No, I know I'm not that good. But I'm sure you don't want to. It's for riders with experience. And from the amount of action I've seen so far, you are not going anywhere near that slope. You might trip and kill yourself." Blaize laughed. "Then again, it'd be fun to watch you tumble all the way down."
Sakura just smiled.
"Well, you do look cocky. So, let's have a little fun. I dare you to go down that mountain."
"Is that a challenge?" Sakura asked amused.
"Yes, I dare you. And remember there are bumps and ramps. We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself more than you already are, do we?" Blaize laughed.
Everyone had turned to the two of them and stared.
"Don't, Sakura, it's too dangerous." Tomoyo tried to reason.
Sakura looked at Tomoyo, but turned back to Blaize. "I admit. School's your court. But here, in the snow, you're on my turf. Do you seriously think I can't come down that mountain?" Sakura looked at Blaize with burning fire in her eyes.
"You're always talk. Prove it. I doubt you can even stand on a snowboard."
"Alright, I accept your challenge." Sakura unlocked the latch on her boots. She picked up her board and turned around. She was heading towards the area where only the experienced rode.
Tomoyo tried to stop her, but couldn't do anything. Everyone followed Sakura and Blaize.
When they arrived, lots of people were standing behind the barriers that kept the people in line separated from the others. Sakura headed towards the end of the line and waited for her turn on the life. She slowly approached the ski lift and got on. She was soon taken to the top of the mountains.
From down below, Blaize was watching with eager eyes.
"I bet she'll come back down… scared." She smirked.
"I think she knows how to ride, Blaize," Naoko stated.
Blaize glared at Naoko.
Sakura was at the top waiting for her turn. The guy giving instructions on how to get off the lift blew the whistle as soon as Sakura got off.
"I'm sorry, young lady. I can't let you go down."
"What?! Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't ride!"
Down below, Teru pointed up.
"Hey, I think she's next."
"Ok, everyone. Get ready to call the ambulance!" Blaize joked.
Just then the speaker broke out.
"Girl, at the top of the mountain, please come down. We can't let you ride down."
The crowd blew up with "Why not?"s.
"What? That's not fair. They can't do that!" Takashi yelled.
Back up at the top.
"What the heck?! That's sexist!" Sakura shouted.
"This is for your own good. We can't afford you to get hurt! You don't even look like you can ride."
"This is against riding policy. I can ride if I chose to!" Sakura was angry.
Down below, the crowd was cheering, "Let her ride! Let her ride!"
Back up.
"See? They want me to ride!"
The employee was about to grab her, but Sakura took a leap. She turned her board on its side and was on her way down the mountain. The crowd below cheered. Sakura rushed down the mountain. When she saw a little ramp, she took the chance and leaped into the air. She did a perfect 360 and landed with style. The crowd cheered. She was half way down the trail when she went over another large bulge of ice. She was shot into the air. She spun one and a half times and landed gracefully. When she had made it to the bottom of the mountain, she made a sharp turn, throwing snow at whoever was closest. Everyone cheered. Sakura took off the board and carried it towards Tomoyo who was carrying a camcorder.
"That was awesome!" Tomoyo and everyone cheered. Blaize just stood there and pouted. She turned around and walked back towards the hotel.
We can watch the ride all over again!" Tomoyo shouted pointing to her camera with a big smile.
When one of the workers came up to her, Sakura glared at them.
"I CAN ride you bimbos. And don't discriminate. That was such a sexist thing to do. You owe me and every other girl here an apology!" Sakura stated bitterly at the tenant.
They glared at her. "Sorry," they mumbled.
"What? I can't here you." Sakura stuck her ear towards them.
"Sorry!" they yelled and went the other direction.
Sakura smiled. "What a bunch of losers."
Sakura and everyone walked back towards the hotel.
***
Everyone ate their dinner and enjoyed themselves at the little welcome party. Somehow, Sakura managed to slip out of the party.
Outside, she walked into the dark towards a cliff. There was a bench for couples to sit and watch the sunset. The sun had been long gone. Sakura sat down on the bench and looked out at the night sky under the fresh pine trees. As she gazed out, the thought of her mother floated across her mind. She pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged her legs. A cold breeze ran through her hair. She picked up her shoes and left it in her room along with her goggles, gloves, and beanie. Her long silky hair was loose and lightly washed up in front of her face. She didn't want to, but she couldn't help but feel the tears on her cheeks. She buried her face in her knees and tried to stop thinking about her mother. She was quietly sobbing when she heard someone's feet in the snow. She wiped her tears away and looked up and craned her neck around. She saw a tall man with flashing amber eyes.
"Syaoran?"
Syaoran quietly moved over to the bench and sat down next to her.
"What are you doing here all alone?" He was staring straight out into the night sky with its twinkling stars.
"What are you doing out here? I thought you'd be inside with Blaize."
"I just needed some fresh air," Syaoran stated in a soft tone. "So why are you crying? I thought you'd be happy about bugging Blaize."
"I'm not crying," Sakura protested as she tried to dry her face.
"Yes, you are." Syaoran turned to face Sakura. He reached up and wiped her tears away with his thumb.
"No, I'm not!" Sakura pouted.
"Then why is your face wet?" Syaoran asked looking at her beautiful face.
"Because," Sakura stated.
"'Because' is not an answer," Syaoran challenged.
"Why do you care, anyway?" Sakura asked bluntly.
"I don't. I just wanted to know. Is it so wrong to ask?"
"I guess not." Sakura looked down at the ground. She gathered her hands in front of her mouth and blew. Hot air touched her hands, warming her hands for a little while.
Syaoran shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out his gloves. He stared out over the cliff, handing his gloves to Sakura.
"What's this?" Sakura asked.
"They're called gloves. You wear them on your hands," Syaoran stated without the slightest bit of emotion.
"I know what it is. But aren't you cold?"
When Sakura turned to look at Syaoran, his seat was empty. She weakly smiled and saw the pair of forest green gloves. She gently picked it up and put them on. They were so warm on her hands. They were a bit too large, but no matter. She brought her hands to her face and cupped her pink cheeks. She just smiled and sighed. She didn't know what, but she felt something warm and tingly inside her heart when she held her gloved hands over her heart. She smiled and looked up at the night sky.
***
That night, she lay awake in bed. She stared at the ceiling and thought of Syaoran. She didn't understand why he kept popping up in her head, but she didn't care. She liked it.
Syaoran, Takashi, Teru, and a bunch of guys were dressed in black and were gathered in Syaoran's room.
Takashi held up a stack of cards. "These are the keys to the rooms. They open any door. I got it from the maids." Takashi smiled dangerously. "Ok, boys, time for some fun," Takashi stated rubbing his hands together menacingly.
"Alright!" everyone cheered quietly.
Teru held up black markers, toilet paper, duck tape, and shaving cream. All the guys grinned evilly. Each guy had been given a card and was assigned a room to raid. The boys had split up and were ready for action.
Syaoran was assigned to room 314. He swiped the card through the scanner and instantly, the door unlocked. He slowly pushed through and shut the door behind him. He slowly walked into the bedroom and found that it was Tomoyo, Chiharu, and… Sakura's room.
Syaoran had gone through Tomoyo and Chiharu. He didn't want to be too mean so all he did was draw whiskers and a mustache on Tomoyo, while he put shaving cream all over Chiharu's face to make a Santa beard and drew an extra line of eyebrows. When he moved to the last bed, he saw Sakura sleeping. He looked harder and found that she was curled up under her blanket with his gloved clutched in her hands. He smiled down at her sleeping form.
An hour later, the guys met in Syaoran's room again.
"Are we done?" Teru asked.
"Yup!" Takashi smiled and replied.
Tired from their night adventure, the guys all scattered back to their rooms and went to bed. Tomorrow would be a very loud morning.
***
It was 7:45 am. A shrill rang though the halls of the 7th floor. All the girls woke up and ran outside into the hall. They all stared at each other with scowls. They all screamed and ran back inside to their bathrooms.
Sakura was woken by Tomoyo and Chiharu's loud bickering. She opened her eyes. She looked down at her gloves and saw a note attached to it.
'Consider yourself lucky.'
She wondered what the person meant. When she got up and walked into the bathroom, she burst out laughing. Tomoyo looked ridiculous in her little whiskers and mustache while Chiharu looked even more ridiculous in her beard. Both girls were trying to wash their face. They looked up with water dripping from their faces.
"How come you didn't get raided?" Tomoyo asked.
"Raid? Oh yeah! There was going to be a raid last night!" Sakura had completely forgotten.
"Yeah! Duh! Look at us and the rest of the girls!" Chiharu stated flatly.
"Hehe… sorry… but you guys look so funny." Sakura giggled.
"Easy for you to say," Chiharu mumbled.
"But I wonder why you didn't get raided Sakura… were you part of the raiders?" Tomoyo suspiciously eyed Sakura with a smile.
"No! Honest! I completely forgot they were doing it. But yeah… I wonder why I didn't get raided. There was a note though." Sakura showed the two the little note that was attached to her glove. Of course, she didn't mention about the gloves.
"That's strange. Well, anyway, you should change and go downstairs. You need to eat breakfast, Sakura," Chiharu stated.
"What? Aren't you guys going to eat?"
"We are NOT going down stairs!" the two yelled.
"But what are you going to eat?"
Tomoyo went out of the bathroom and came back in with a small book. She smiled and held up the book.
"Room service. Oh, thank the lord for room service!" Tomoyo smiled. "It's alright, go down. We'll meet up with you once we get these off."
"Then I'll kill Takashi," Chiharu stated plainly. The two girls agreed. They all laughed.
"Ok, I'm really sorry. Wait, do you want me to stay with you?"
"No, no. It's ok. SOMEONE'S going to have to yell at those jerks. Come on. Go tell Takashi that I'm super mad and that I'm on the verge of breaking up." Chiharu smiled evilly.
"Ok." Sakura smiled.
She waved good bye to the girls and went out of the room. She walked down the hall and into the elevator.
Sakura was dressed in a pair of tight, low-rise jeans, a pair of Adidas, and her cream turtleneck sweater. Her long hair was loosely braided down her back and swished side-to-side as she walked. When she walked into the dining room, several people were seated on the side. The boys were all sitting and eating in the center of the room, loudly talking and laughing. She noticed that not a single girl was downstairs. When Teru turned and saw Sakura, he elbowed Takashi.
"Takashi, you owe me 10 bucks. A girl did show up," Teru stated with a big smile.
"Man!" Takashi grunted as he handed Teru 10 bucks. He turned to Sakura and realized that Sakura's face was perfectly fine. "Hey! You're face is fine."
Sakura smiled and looked around at the table of boys. "Thank you to whoever graciously skipped me." Sakura turned her attention back to Takashi. "I would get rid of that smug smile Takashi. I don't think you know how much Chiharu's mad at you. This morning, she was going on and on about how much she had enough with your pranks. I think she's even thinking of breaking up with you." Sakura shook her head with pity. "Should have thought of that before you did anything." Sakura smiled at him.
"Shit!" Takashi jumped up and dashed out of the room. All the guys laughed. "Well, I'll just get a bite and be on my way." Sakura smugly smiled and turned around. She walked towards the counter where a breakfast buffet was set up and got a toast. She took a bite and walked towards the large doorway. She turned around to face the staring boys. "I wouldn't go to sleep so early tonight if I were you." Sakura winked and turned back around and walked out of the room.
"Damn. I have GOT TO ask her out," Teru stated out loud.
Syaoran stared at the empty doorway. Was he having second thoughts about his girlfriend when he didn't raid Sakura? He didn't know.
Sakura was outside and walking across the white blanket of snow. She had Syaoran's gloves in her pocket. She didn't know where she was going, but she needed some air. No one was outside. Only a few kids were sledding down small hills. She looked to her right and saw a little 3-year-old girl with tiny pigtails tugging on her mom's sleeve. Sakura smiled ruefully and kept on walking. After about a half an hour of walking, Sakura headed back towards the lodge. She knew they had some event planned for the afternoon.
When Sakura came back into the main lobby, she checked her watch and went to the front counter.
"Excuse me, sir? You know the group that came from Seujio High? Do you by any chance know what they're doing next?" Sakura asked politely.
"Oh, wait a second." The man got out a list and scanned it over. "It's 11 right now. So you would be having… Ah, here it is. From 11 to 2, you eat lunch and have free time. And then from 2 to 4, I believe your teachers have planned games."
"Oh, thank you very much." Sakura smiled and bowed. She left the front desk and made her way again to the dining area.
Everyone was seated and eating. Even the girls were there. Blaize was sitting next to Syaoran and the usual group. Sakura made her way to the empty chair. She didn't want to sit down, but the other seats were all taken. Why did the seat have to be next to Blaize? Sakura wondered. Anyhow, she was about to sit down when Blaize glared at Sakura. Blaize took the slice of bread that was on her sandwich and plopped it on the chair.
"Oops?" Blaize replied with a sweet smile on her face. Everyone was laughing, except for Tomoyo, Chiharu and the co.
Sakura ignored it and took a napkin. She picked up the slice of bread that was smeared in mayonnaise. She wiped the mayonnaise from the seat and sat down. She threw the piece of bread onto Blaize's sandwich.
"Oops?" Sakura smiled.
Blaize was mad. She shot up and glared down at Sakura who was in a conversation with Tomoyo and everyone. Sakura looked up when Tomoyo and Chiharu stopped talking and looked at Blaize. Sakura turned around.
"Yes?" Sakura asked.
Blaize had enough with the mockery Sakura had made of her. Blaize's hand sailed though the air and slapped Sakura in the cheek.
"Don't you ever again dare to mock me like that!" Blaize glared down breathing heavily.
Sakura fingered her hot cheek. Blaize's nail had scratched her, causing 2 thin red lines. When Sakura brought back her hands to look at it, there was a little bit of blood. Sakura looked up at Blaize. Blaize's eyes were wide and she was breathing rapidly. Syaoran, who was scolding her for doing that, was holding her down. Sakura slowly got up and looked straight into Blaize's eyes.
"No one ever slapped me. Not even my father. What makes you think you have the right to? You're nothing but a spoiled brat who just can't take the fact that someone else is beating you at your own sick and twisted game. I'm new at this school and I admit there are lots of things I don't know. And you're not exactly helping the matter by insulting me, trying to piss me off every turn. I suggest you get your pathetic life in order and stop looking down on people and treating them like crap. You're not any better. And just because I let you pass this time, doesn't mean you can EVER hit me again. But if you do, I swear I'll break every bone in your disgusting body." Sakura kicked the chair she was sitting on out of the way and walked out of the dining room.
Blaize just stood there stunned. Everyone was quiet and stared at Blaize. She snapped back and glared at everyone.
"What are you looking at?!" She screamed.
Everyone went back to eating. When Blaize stormed out of the room, whispers spread through the room like wild fire.
Sakura had run outside to where she had sat last night. She plopped down on the bench and stared out over the cliff into the open blue sky. She pulled up her legs to her chest and hugged it. She closed her eyes and buried her face in her knees. When Sakura looked back up, she saw Syaoran standing in front of her.
"Why is it that I always catch you crying?" Syaoran asked with a smile.
"I'm not crying this time. I'm just… stressed. That's all," Sakura replied.
Syaoran sat next to her and stared out at the sky. "I'm sorry for what she did to you in there. Does it hurt?"
"I'm fine, and you shouldn't be apologizing." Sakura was silent for a moment.
"Don't be so hard on her. We all have our stories. Hers is bitter," Syaoran stated.
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked looking at Syaoran.
"Her dad left her and her mother when she was only 3. She grew up with her mom who was always too busy for her."
"Oh." Sakura looked down.
"I was wondering… why were you crying last night?"
"It's the snow," Sakura replied shortly.
"Hmm? The snow?" Syaoran looked at her.
"You're right. We all have our stories." Sakura felt tears welling up in her eyes. "When I was 3, my family came to the mountains for a vacation. My mom was the first one to dare to put me on a snowboard. Of course, I was terrible, but I liked it because she was there. But shortly after we got back, her illness got worse until she—Anyway, looking at the snow reminds me of her. I don't know why. It's weird. I love being around it because it reminds me of her, but at the same time, it hurts." Sakura looked up and tried to wipe away her tears. She tried to hide her pain behind a false smile.
"Don't smile if you don't mean it," Syaoran replied. He wasn't even looking at her, but he knew.
"Right…" Sakura agreed in guilt. "Anyway, do you have a story?"
"It's not complicated. My dad died and that's it," Syaoran replied bitterly.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I've learned to accept it. He's not coming back. But I know he'll want me to move on with my life. He wouldn't want me to mope around and waste my life. If there's one thing I learned from my father, it's to grasp life and not let it slip away. And you should too." Syaoran turned to Sakura.
"You're right… My dad thinks I don't know, but I know that he sees the mask I have. I don't want to depress him anymore." Sakura turned to meet Syaoran's eyes. "And thank you."
"For what?" Syaoran softly asked.
"For showing me that I should move on and…" Sakura trailed off.
"And?"
"For not raiding me." Sakura smiled and pulled out the gloves and got up, turning towards him. "If you don't mind, I'll be keeping this for now," Sakura replied with a genuine smile. She turned and walked away from the bench.
Syaoran watched Sakura walk away. Her hair swished side-to-side as she walked. Syaoran smiled at himself. He was starting to find her more and more interesting with their every meeting.
It was 2 and everyone gathered in front of the lodge. The crowd of seniors was laughing and talking. The teachers were in front of them, discussing the plans with each other. Sakura was smiling and talking to Tomoyo and everyone. When Sakura looked around, she saw Blaize with Syaoran and his friends. She was unusually quiet. Sakura turned to Tomoyo and everyone.
"Guys, I'll be right back. Ok?"
Everyone nodded. Sakura made her way through the group of people and tapped on Blaize's shoulder. Blaize turned around. She didn't have her glare.
"What?"
"Can I talk to you?"
There was silence then she agreed. The two girls walked a couple of yards from the noisy group.
"Yeah?" Blaize asked bitterly.
"I'm sorry."
"What?"
"I'm sorry for assuming you were always like this. Everyone deserves to explain. Just that Syaoran was the one who explained." Sakura looked at Blaize.
"You don't have to feel sorry for me or anything. I'm fine." Blaize was still bitter.
"No. If you need anyone to talk to, I'm all ears. I understand what it's like for someone you love to leave." Sakura's voice was sincere.
"What happened?" Blaize's voice was calm and soft.
"My mom died when I was 3. So I know what it's like to put on a mask. I've decided to shed my false face. I wanna move on," Sakura admitted.
"I know what that's like." Blaize smiled. "Anyway, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." Blaize looked down with guilt.
"It's alright. Everyone gets mad." Sakura smiled, reassuring Blaize. She stuck out her hand. "Truce?"
Blaize looked up with a broad smile. "Truce." She shook her hand.
"No more trying to be really mean to others?" Sakura asked jokingly.
"I'll try, but it'll be hard though." The two laughed.
"Come on, the teachers might yell at us again," Sakura joked. Blaize laughed.
"You know what? Kinomoto, you're alright." Blaize smiled at Sakura.
"You aren't so bad either."
Both girls laughed. They walked back with smiled on their face. Everyone was staring at them with confused eyes. Syaoran was smiling.
***
It was 12:30 at night (or morning). The girls gathered around in Sakura's room. They were all dressed in black pants and shirts.
"Are we gonna let them get away with what they did?!" Sakura whispered.
"NO!" the girls whispered back.
"Ladies, Mission Payback is underway." Sakura turned to Chiharu. "Agent Chiharu, the keys?"
"Right here!" Chiharu held up the stacks of cards. "When Takashi came upstairs to say sorry," she smiled evilly, "I led him back to his room and let's just say I got the cards." All the girls giggled. Chiharu started passing around the cards to everyone.
"Remember girls, duck-tape first, then markers, then shaving cream." Sakura reminded. She smiled evilly. "Let's have fun."
The girls stuck their hands into the middle and did a cheer.
Sakura had chosen Syaoran's room to raid. She slid the card through the scanner. She walked in. She saw Teru and Takashi sleeping. Takashi was upside down in his bed. Sakura stifled a giggle. She quickly got to work, using duck tape to tie them to their beds. Once they were secure, Sakura drew stupid designs and squiggly lines on their faces. Then, to finish the job, she used shaving cream to draw bikinis over their T-shirts. Sakura smiled at her work and proceeded to Syaoran's bed. To her disappointment, his bed was empty. She figured he'd be back so she quickly scribbled a note.
'Thank you.'
She quickly set it on his bed and got up. She turned around and was about to run out of the room when she bumped into Syaoran. She gasped.
"Syao--" Sakura was cut off by Syaoran's hand on her mouth.
"Go. Before they wake up." He stared into her eyes. She looked up at his amber ones with her emerald eyes.
Syaoran didn't know what it was, but something was pulling him closer to her. When he was close enough, he felt warmth radiating from her cheeks. His arms wrapped around her thin waist.
Sakura was flushed. She felt his breath tickle her face.
When Syaoran's lips fell on hers, Sakura closed her eyes and felt his warm body against hers. But when she realized whom she was kissing, her eyes fluttered open and pulled away.
"This is wrong. You have a girlfriend."
Sakura pulled away from his arms and ran to the door. She looked back with sorrowful eyes. Then she turned back and ran out of the room. Syaoran just stared out into the hallway. He shook his head with anger. What was he thinking?
***
Next morning, all the girls were downstairs eating breakfast and laughing at the fact that no boys were downstairs.
"Sakura, I think our mission was a success." Blaize smiled and commented.
Everyone didn't understand what had happened, but they liked this new Blaize.
"Yes, it has. So girls, when do you think they'll get down here by? It's 9:20 right now. At least by 10, right?"
"Hmm… It depends… I know Takashi's not gonna get down here any time soon." Chiharu smiled. All the girls laughed.
Sakura gave everyone a serious look. "You know, they might do something back at us tonight. We should prepare just in case."
Everyone nodded. Just then, Syaoran walked into the room. He was dress in a forest green long-sleeve shirt, a pair of baggy jeans, a black Nike cap, and a pair of Nike sneakers. (I love Nike!) All the girls gasped. Sakura was silent. She tried to not look at him.
"Hello, ladies." Syaoran smiled, but quickly turned to a thin line when his eyes fell on Sakura.
"Syaoran! You're not marked on!" Blaize jumped up and hugged him.
"I guess I got lucky," Syaoran replied.
Blaize just smiled and kissed his cheek. "Come on, sit down with us and eat. You have got to tell us how the other guys are doing."
Blaize sat back down. Syaoran pulled up a chair and sat down next to Blaize.
"Well, Takashi is still sleeping. Teru woke up around 8:30 and is still trying to free himself. And he's probably thinking of killing me when he frees himself because I didn't help him. That is IF he frees himself. You girls must have taped them down real well."
Everyone laughed.
"Anyway, I didn't go into the other rooms, but I heard LOTS of cursing in the hallways. That pretty much explains how they're doing." Syaoran gave a boyish smile.
Everyone was laughing and talking with Syaoran except for Sakura. She just looked down at her food and ate. Tomoyo finally couldn't take it and turned around to say something. but Sakura stood up.
"Guys, I'm gonna get some air. I'll see you guys at…" Sakura looked at her watch. "Lunch time, okay?" Before anyone could say anything, she walked out of the dining and climbed back upstairs.
She was on the seventh floor, walking to her room to get her board, boots, beanie, and goggles. She really needed to see the snow and feel it. Sakura felt so choked up about last night that whenever she saw Syaoran, she felt so guilty, especially towards Blaize. She had finally befriended her and now the kiss was going to ruin it if she ever found out. Sakura was almost to the door when a door down the hall flung open with a bang. She snapped towards where the sound had come from. Her eyes widened with panic when she saw a mob of boys coming down the hall. They were still in their pajama pants and T-shirts. They still had some tape stuck on them and had black squiggled drawn on their faces. They all directed their attention to Sakura. Sakura was about to run to the elevator that was in between her and the group. She made a dash and frantically pressed the down button. But to her dismay, Teru had run up to her and grabbed her around the waist. She kicked and screamed.
"Ahhhhhh! Let go!" Sakura wailed.
"You and the girls are going to pay for what you did!" Teru warned. "Now stay still."
Downstairs, the girls and Syaoran were still talking when the speakers in the dining room rang to life. It was Teru's voice.
"This announcement is solely directed to Syaoran and the senior girls from Seujio High. Syaoran, you traitor. Girls, this means war. We have Sakura hostage. So, listen to my directions. Send up a representative and we'll tell the rep. the list of things you girls and Syaoran have to do. I expect someone to be up here within 20 minutes. Better hurry. Sakura's not going to be able to hold up much longer."
The speakers turned off. Syaoran and the girls started talking wildly.
"Now what?!" Tomoyo asked in panic.
"What are they doing to poor Sakura?" Chiharu asked.
"We need a plan," Blaize replied. Everyone nodded. "Syaoran, you better help us."
"Of course. The guys officially kicked me out. I'm a traitor." He smiled. "Ok, let's get to business." The group leaned in over the table and began discussing the plans.
Sakura was tied down on a chair with duck tape. Teru and everyone were in the room sitting around and waiting for someone to come up. They were all joking and laughing. Teru looked over at Sakura who just sat quietly. Sakura was quiet. She would be having a fit if only her mind wasn't so crowded with the thoughts of last night. Maybe if she didn't say anything, the kiss would never get mentioned. Sakura looked up and saw Teru pulling up a chair and sitting in front of her.
"Why are you so quiet? I thought you'd be screaming and all," Teru asked.
"Oh. Hehe… I just have lots of things on my mind that's all. But if you'd like, I can scream." Sakura grinned.
"Nah, it's ok. Do you want me to get you anything. I know you're a hostage and all but it's not for real or anything."
"Actually, I'm craving her cheesecake right now. And cookies too. Oh don't forget the pastry puffs. Oh and I'd like to be free," Sakura replied with sarcasm and smiled at Teru.
"Right…" Teru trailed off giving her a look. He looked at her up and down. She was dressed in a pair of tight faded jeans and a pink sweater. She looked at him
"What are you staring at? Is there something wrong?" Sakura asked concerned.
"Nah, nothing. Anyway, I know you're like the hostage and stuff, but when you're free, do you think you would consider going on a--" Teru was cut off when the door flung open. Syaoran stood there grinning with his hands behind his back. Teru turned and walked up to Syaoran. "So, finally you guys decided to come. Ok, here's the lis--" He was cut off again when Syaoran threw a snow ball at Teru and a couple of other guys.
The boys were about to grab a pillow when all the girls jumped out from hiding and rushed into the room with hands full of snowballs. They started attacking the boys. Through all the confusion, Syaoran ran through the crowd towards Sakura. Seeing that the girls were running out of supplies, Syaoran didn't have time to free Sakura properly. So he did the next best thing. He just grabbed the entire chair and ran out of the room. Seeing him leave with Sakura, the girls all stuck out their tongues and ran out after Syaoran.
They were in Sakura's room. Syaoran set the chair down on the floor and sat at the edge of the bed, looking at her. The other girls came running in laughing and giggling.
"God, I'm thirsty." Blaize said, still trying to breathe.
"Yeah…" Everyone agreed in a pant.
Blaize turned to Syaoran. "We're all gonna go down and get some drinks. You can stay here with Sakura just in case they come back. We'll bring something back for you. Okay?" Blaize asked, smiling.
"Alright," Syaoran agreed. He needed time alone with Sakura to talk.
The girls filed out of the room. Sakura could hear them laughing and talking about how the boys looked when they attacked them.
Syaoran turned back to look at Sakura who was still tied down.
"Syaoran, can you cut the tape off?"
"No, not yet. We need to talk about last night."
"I don't want to." Sakura looked away from Syaoran's gaze.
"We have to and we will." Syaoran looked at her hard. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean for it to happen like that," Syaoran apologized.
"Yeah, well I know your types. All you do is play around with different girls and discard them when you get bored or you see someone else. And let me tell you something else. I've come this far and actually become friends with Blaize. I thank you for the advice. But I'm not going to sabotage that for a guy who's just going to play me. You know what? It doesn't matter. I don't care so just untie me," Sakura snapped back with bitterness in her tone.
"What? You think I'm that kind of person! What do you know? How could you just categorize me? You don't even know me at all." Syaoran's voice was rising with anger.
"Okay, whatever. I'm sorry, okay? Just untie me. It really doesn't matter anymore." Sakura glared up at him.
"Yes, it does!" Syaoran shouted.
"And why would it?!" Sakura yelled back.
"Because I like you!" Syaoran was breathing heavily.
"Gee, I'm flattered," Sakura replied sarcastically.
Syaoran knelt down in front of her and spoke in a calm tone. "I don't mean it like that. I mean LIKE you as in can't stop thinking about you. As in I don't know why I feel all weird when I'm around you. As in I want to kiss you and hug you and…" Syaoran trailed off.
Sakura stared at him speechless. She couldn't say anything.
Silently, Syaoran started peeling off the duck tape. There was silence. When Syaoran was done, Sakura still sat there speechless.
"Syaor--" She was cut off when Syaoran began
"Don't… I know… I shouldn't be thinking about this. I have Blaize. Let's just pretend this conversation never happened and that last night never happened too," Syaoran replied, his voice back to a calm state.
After a couple of minutes of awkward silence, the girls came back in with drinks. Blaize walked up to Syaoran and handed him a bottle of water and gave Sakura a bottle also.
"You'll never guess what the guys said when we met them in the hallway," Tomoyo said excitedly. "They said sorry and that they were willing to grant us one wish! Of course, we'll make them do something stupid when we get back to school, but whatever. Haha… can you imagine that? Anyway, we're all going back downstairs to meet up with the guys. Let's go." Tomoyo pulled up Sakura.
"Yeah… sure," Sakura replied barely over a whisper.
The girls walked out of the room including Syaoran. Tomoyo was the last one out. She had told them she'd be down shortly after she got her purse. When everyone was out and down the hallway, Tomoyo turned when she heard a beeping noise. She looked towards the bed. Next to her bed was a small drawer where the lamp was. On it was her video camera.
"Silly me! I forgot to take the camera with me when we attacked the boys. Hehe." Tomoyo smacked her head and told herself with a smile.
When she walked over and picked it up, she saw that the tape was full.
"Sheesh! I'm such a klutz these days. I left the record button on!" Tomoyo smiled.
She rewound the tape back until she saw Sakura and Syaoran come on. She pressed play. She watched them talking. Her smiled faded when heard what Syaoran had just said. She gasped. She quickly shut her camcorder and looked towards the door.
"Sa…kura…" She whispered.
Everyone was downstairs. The boys and the girls had made up and now were chatting away, complimenting each other on their tactics. When Tomoyo came downstairs and entered the dining room, she looked for Sakura. Sakura got up and waved at her. Tomoyo quietly walked up to Sakura.
"Um… can I talk to you for a minute in private?" Tomoyo asked in a serious tone.
"Uh… sure." Sakura was a bit surprised by Tomoyo's seriousness.
The two girls moved out into the lobby where the others couldn't hear them. Tomoyo brought out her camcorder and held it up to Sakura. She opened the screen up so Sakura could see. She rewound the tape and played it. By the end of it, Sakura was horrified.
"W-when did y-you get that?" Sakura looked up at Tomoyo.
"I'll ask the questions. What's this about?" Tomoyo looked at Sakura who looked away.
"It's nothing, really!" Sakura tried to convince Tomoyo.
"No, it's not. Syaoran just confessed to you that he liked you more than a friend. That really wouldn't matter but the thing is he has a GIRLFRIEND! What would Blaize think?" Tomoyo asked gently but firmly.
"I-I know." Sakura looked down. "That's why nothing's going to happen. Can you please not tell Blaize? I finally got through to her and now this might ruin everything. Please?" Sakura pleaded.
"Fine, but tell me what happened. What caused this talk in the first place?" Tomoyo replied pointing to the screen.
"It happened when we were raiding the boys. I was raiding Syaoran's room. I did everything to Teru and Takashi, but when I got to his bed he wasn't there. It didn't matter because I was gonna let him off because he didn't raid me when the boys were doing it. So I thought I'd repay him back by letting him off. And then when I turned to go out of the room, I bumped into him. And… it just… happened. We were just standing there and the next minute he's kissing me. I don't want to admit it, but I liked it. But I pulled away 'cause I knew it was wrong." Sakura looked down at the lobby floor.
"It's okay," Tomoyo reassured her. "Just… let's not let this happen again. And I think you're right. It's best if Blaize doesn't know this."
Tomoyo and Sakura turned around and were about to head to the dining room when they saw Blaize standing there with tears in her eyes. Tomoyo was about to put away her camera when Blaize ran up to them and snatched it from her hands. Tomoyo and Sakura tried to get it back, but Blaize managed to defend herself. She rewound the clip and watched it, her eyes widening and watering.
"So this is why you were so nice to me yesterday. You were using me to get to Syaoran. And I won't forgive you or Syaoran for this!" Blaize screamed at Sakura.
Blaize spun around towards the dining room and tore off.
Inside, everyone turned towards the door when Blaize walked in slamming the door out of the way. She turned her glare towards Syaoran. Blaize walked up to Syaoran's and glared down at him. She rewound the tape back and threw the camcorder in front of him.
"Press play." Blaize commanded. Syaoran just obeyed and pressed play. Everyone moved in to watch.
When the tape showed Sakura and him on the screen he knew what it was. He looked up at Blaize who had stopped crying.
"So… did you like the kiss? Was it nice?" Blaize began with anger in her voice. Syaoran tried to break in, but she stopped him. "Were you ever planning on telling? Huh? Tell me, Syaoran. Were you doing this the whole time we were going out or what?!" Blaize screamed in his face.
"Blaize." Syaoran stood up and tried to calm her down.
Tomoyo and Sakura ran in. Tomoyo stopped and just stared at what was happening. Sakura ran to Blaize and grabbed her arm.
"Please, Blaize, calm down. We're really sorry. We didn't know what we were doing. Please…" Sakura pleaded.
Blaize snatched her arm away from Sakura. "No! Get away from me! You're not my friend. You're just a backstabber. How could you?!" Blaize yelled and stormed out of the room.
Sakura was left standing there, alone. Sakura turned and glared at Syaoran. "All of this is your fault!" Sakura ran out of the room after Blaize. Everyone was silent and staring at Syaoran.
Blaize was in her room. Sakura gently knocked on the door and pushed through. Blaize was sitting on the edge of the bed and staring at the wall in front of her. Blaize turned to Sakura. Sakura expected her to be mad and blow up at her but she didn't.
"Hi." Blaize gave a sad smile.
"Are you ok? I'm really sorry that Syao--" Sakura was silenced by Blaize.
"It's not your fault. I knew this was going to happen. The first day you came in, I saw how Syaoran looked at you. It's not your fault." Blaize looked down at her hands. "Come sit down, I wanna tell you something."
Sakura came closer and say down next to Blaize.
"Syaoran thinks I don't know that he went out with me in the first place because he felt sorry for me. But I do know. I met him two years ago. You know how teenagers are… I was doing drugs and failing every class I had. All of this was happening because I hated my so-called father. He was never there. But when I met Syaoran, he was so nice to me. He helped me get off of drugs and bring my grades back up. It started with friendship, but I kept liking him more and more until I finally asked him out. He said 'yes,' but you and I know why he agreed. Who'd deny a girl who's just been so depressed for the last 8 years and turned to drugs, but finally quit? I know I wouldn't. He did it out of pity. I should have stopped it before it went further, but I liked him too much. Well, what happened today isn't a big surprise. I knew he'd find someone else. And I'm okay with that. I kept him long enough." Blaize smiled and turned to Sakura. "I was going to have to leave him sooner or later. He helped me get over my anger." There was a pause. "I'm going to America to meet my father after I get back to school."
"That's wonderful!" Sakura hugged Blaize.
"Thanks." Blaize was crying but tried to hide it.
"Are you crying?" Sakura pulled away and looked worried.
"No." Blaize wiped her eyes dry. She smiled. "You better take care of him. Okay? Or I'll come back looking for you!"
Sakura smiled and hugged Blaize again. When they pulled apart, Blaize looked at Sakura.
"Do you like him?"
"W-what? Of course I do. He's a great friend."
"Not like that. You know what I mean." Blaize looked at Sakura.
"I don't know what you mea--" Blaize gave her a look. "Yeah… I do."
Blaize smiled. "Good. Come on, let's go downstairs. I believe I left a devastated Tomoyo hanging."
"Alright."
They both went out of the door and went downstairs to the dining room.
Downstairs, Tomoyo was sitting down and had her face buried in her hands. Everyone was quiet. Syaoran wasn't there. When they walked in, everyone turned towards them, including Tomoyo. Sakura and Blaize walked up to them and sat down next to Tomoyo.
"You okay?" Blaize asked a stunned Tomoyo.
"A-are you okay?" Tomoyo stuttered.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? Oh… right… the whole cheating-on-me thing. I'm fine." Blaize smiled. Everyone looked shocked.
"What?"
There was a slow smile on her face. "For your information, I'm fine. Sakura, here, set me straight." Sakura smiled at Blaize. "So, Tomoyo, you can stop moping. I'm fine. Anyway, I have something to tell everyone. I'm going to miss you. I'm going to America after we get back to school." Everyone stared.
Then, the 'I will miss you' s burst in the room.
"I'm sorry for all those times I have been cruel." Everyone smiled and gave her a pat in the back. Blaize turned back to Sakura. "We should find Syaoran." Sakura nodded and both of them got up.
Syaoran was outside where the bench was. Blaize walked up to him. Sakura just stood away from them to give them room. When Syaoran saw Blaize, he was about to get up, but sat back down when Blaize stopped him.
"Syaoran, I just wanted to let you know that I'm grateful for the friendship we had… I was lost and confused 2 years ago, but you saved me. Thank you. And I know you never liked me the way I felt for you, but it's okay. Just being there was enough. Anyway, I'm going to America after we get back. I'm finally going to see me father after all these years." Blaize smiled. Syaoran hugged her.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be any better for you."
"Don't say that. You were enough. You were perfect." There was silence. "Anyway, thank you. I'll never forget you."
"Promise you'll call?" Syaoran pulled away and looked at her.
"Everyday of my life." Blaize smiled. "Well, I'm going to go back in. I think someone else is here for you." Blaize turned her gaze towards Sakura. Blaize walked back towards the hotel. She stopped next to Sakura, smiled, and walked away again. Sakura looked at Syaoran and walked towards him.
"Hi." Sakura smiled at Syaoran.
"Hi."
Sakura sat down next to him on the bench. There was silence. Suddenly, Sakura turned to look at him.
"Can I kiss you?"
"What?!" Syaoran looked at Sakura with confusion.
"Just wanted to say something to start up the conversation. I knew that would get your attention." Sakura smiled. Syaoran just looked blank. "Anyway, I heard about what you did for Blaize. That was really nice of you. And you know what? I'm going to put you in a different category, ok? You'll be in the extremely nice, great advice giving, a great friend, and not to mention really cute category. Isn't it much better than the one I put you in last time?"
"Yeah." Syaoran smiled at her.
"Anyway, come on, let's go in. I think everyone's waiting for us or something." Sakura got up and was about to walk away when Syaoran grabbed her hand. Sakura turned her head to look at him.
Instead of seeing him sitting down, he was standing and his face was in front of hers. He was about to kiss her when she ducked. She grabbed a hand full of snow and came back up, smashing it in his face.
"Gaaaah!" Syaoran yelled in surprised. Sakura rolled on the ground laughing. But she stopped when she saw Syaoran over her with a snowball. "Prepare to eat snow," Syaoran warned dangerously.
Sakura rolled out of the way before the snow struck her. She quickly got to her feet and grabbed some snow. She threw it at Syaoran. He ducked and threw a ball at her. Sakura tried to dodge and slipped. She fell back into the snow. She just lay there staring up at the bright blue sky. Syaoran leaned over her and smiled.
"Had enough?"
"Yes." Sakura closed her eyes and smiled. "I love snow."
Syaoran bent down forward, kissed her soft lips briefly, pulled away. Sakura stared up at him with a warm smile.
"Don't you love snow?"
"Yes, I do. It reminds me of you." Syaoran smiled and helped Sakura up.
They both walked back to the lodge hand in hand leaving a trail of footprints. The sun was high in the sky, beaming down gentle rays. The pine trees rustled in the gentle breeze. Sakura leaned her head on his shoulder and whispered.
"I love snow."
SourPop1004: Hehe…did you guys like it? Well, please let me know by reviewing. Thank you to all my loyal readers. I'll do my best to get my next story done so I don't have to keep you guys waiting. ~3 Ja ne.