Cherish, I will by Cherry's Love

Summary: At age 17, Syaoran was on top of the game. He could have everything – any girl he wanted… Believe in vampires? How about falling in love with one? Syaoran just did.

Disclaimer: CCS belongs to CLAMP, not me, sadly…

My beta DEVILZ CHIK, thank you for being so awesome!

►Once upon a time◄

Two girls had just entered a bookstore, one of them obviously excited to purchase a new book. She walked towards one of the employees of the store.

"Excuse me, sir," she said politely. "Do you have a book called Cherish, I will?"

The employee smiled at her. "Yes, of course. This way, miss," he walked towards a shelf and the girl eagerly followed him. He took the book from its shelf and handed it to her. "You have a very good taste in books. This novel is really touching."

"Is it? No wonder everyone is so crazy about it," the girl said, studying the book in her hand.

"Well, duh! Syaoran Li wrote it!" her friend said from behind her. "Don't tell me you've never heard of him!"

"Seven years have passed since that day and I'm still here waiting for you…"

A guy was walking around the bookstore at the same time and he was chuckling as he listened to the two friends' conversation.

He was glad that no one has recognized him yet. It was difficult to be out in public as a famous novelist, you can't even get a book in peace. He looked around once again before turning to the door. Suddenly, he suddenly saw a girl not older than five, crying.

"I want my mommy…" the child cried.

Syaoran kneeled down to her. "Hey, little girl… Don't cry," he tried to comfort her as he wiped away her tears. "Are you lost? Do you want to stay here and wait for your mommy?"

The girl slowly nodded and hiccupped, trying to stop herself from crying. "Okay… Would you tell me a story while we wait?" she asked him. "You look like a really nice onii-chan."

They settled on a nearby bench outside the store so the child will be seen by her mother if ever she comes along and Syaoran was more than happy to tell the little girl a story.

"Once upon a time…"

--

Syaoran's Point of View

"Oh my god! He is so cute!" a girl whispered (well, maybe it was not a whisper since I clearly heard it) to a friend beside her as I walked by. They giggled when I glanced at their direction.

I shook my head and just sighed. Girls. I looked up at the huge sign that said: "Tomoeda High". This would be my last year here.

"Syaoran!" I saw my best friend running towards me. Eriol Hirigazawa -- the ladies' man. He was the guy I could always count on to get me out of trouble even if he was the main cause of the trouble.

"Hey!" I greeted him back and we walked together to our lockers to get our books.

We then walked to class and sat at the back of the class next to each other.

"So… what's the theme of the party this year, Eriol?" Meiling asked Eriol.

Eriol smirked. "Anything the pretty lady over there would like," he pointed at Tomoyo – the raven-haired beauty, who had a voice of an angel.

Tomoyo instantly blushed at his statement.

I sighed. Everyone knew that Tomoyo and Eriol had feelings for each other but none of them wants to make the first move.

"Isn't that sweet?" Meiling teased Tomoyo and Tomoyo became even redder. "Everyone's expecting this year's party to be better than the last. How are you going to top the masquerade party I threw last year?"

Ever since eighth grade, Eriol and Meiling would host parties and try to beat each other's party. Almost everyone would be invited and the themes had gone crazier and crazier – from "unbelievable" to "spooky" to beach parties. There was probably nothing that anyone could think of that the two have not done yet.

"You don't have to worry about anything, Meiling," Eriol said confidently. "It's our last year so I'm not planning to disappoint anyone. Are you going to host a party this year as well?"

"Of course!" Meiling replied and laughed evilly. For all we know, she was already forming a scheme to make Eriol's party forgettable.

In the midst of our conversation, the class was in a fuss about something (or someone)…

"Wow! Who's that?"

"I don't know but dang! She's hot!"

"She's more than hot! She's… amazingly hot!"

The guys were wolf-whistling and the girls were gasping. The moment I looked up, the girl who was the cause of the commotion, immediately caught my breath. She was way beyond beautiful. Her medium length auburn hair was flowing as she walked gracefully across the room. A ballerina would cry in envy with her poise. Her emerald eyes were shining in the sunlight.

Rare. Almost too rare for a Japanese to have eyes like hers…

She took the seat next to mine since it was the only available place. I felt her eyes looking around the room and the guys' glares towards my direction.

"Syaoran, don't you know that it's rude to stare?" Eriol said in a sing-song voice.

I did not even realize that I was staring at the beauty next to me. I think she heard it because she turned to us. I tore my eyes quickly away from her and glared at Eriol before flashing my famous smile at her.

"Li Syaoran," I introduced myself and held out my hand towards her.

She smiled slightly but hesitated to shake my hand. "…Cherry."

Her hand was smooth, smoother than Tomoyo's, and a little cold.

Her voice was melody in my ears. "The name's pretty but not as pretty as the one with it… are you this pretty every day?"

"Are you always this flirtatious?" she asked.

Before I could reply, the teacher walked in and started the class.

--

Later that day, I decided to look for Cherry. She dashed out of the room after our first class with incredible speed that I did not have a chance to talk to her more. Luckily for me, I found her leaning against her locker. Unluckily for me, she was already surrounded by guys. Ignoring the fact that they were there, I still made my way towards her.

"Hey, Cherry," I greeted her sweetly as I put my arm around her shoulders and glared at the guys who were making pathetic attempts to introduce themselves to her. I then raised my eyebrow and they eventually got the message and walked away. Some cursed under their breaths as they left and I could not care less.

"Ahem," she coughed. I quickly pulled myself away from her.

"What was that about?" she asked.

I did not really know myself. "Let's just forget about it."

She blinked. "O-okay…?"

"I was wondering if you would like to grab a bite after school," I said casually.

She looked at me for a moment before replying a simple "no".

I, Li Syaoran, had just been rejected. No one ever rejected me before, not until now…

"Why not?" I asked, trying to hide the disappointment in my voice.

She smiled a little. "Because I don't really know you and maybe because I don't want to."

I ignored the last part of her sentence.

"You'll know me better when you go out with me."

She thought about it a little but shook her head "no".

"C'mon, just once," I gave her my helpless puppy look that every girl falls for. I was sure that she will fall for it, too.

She rolled her eyes and said, "maybe next time" then walked away.

She did not fall for it. I took a deep breath to let the information slowly register in my mind.

"So there will be a next time?" I asked.

I saw her stop and turned back to look at me. "Who knows," she shrugged.

And I stood there and watched her walk away from me and disappear from the hallway.

To be continued…

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