Clique

Disclaimer: See my profile page.

Summary: In the world of elite private prep schools, the harsh division line of a clique is inevitable. Too bad Sakura, a girl in the middle of the social hierarchy, likes Syaoran, a member of the grade's most exclusive and popular clique. Will she be destroyed?

Chapter One

The carpet muffled the click of her high-heeled shoes. A pale hand skimmed the railing.

Tomoyo Daidouji walked down the hall, turning heads and attracting eyes. Some of her violet hair lay tamely on her shoulders while the rest of it hung down her back. Small white crystal earrings twinkled modestly against her raven hair. She was dressed simply in a tailored blouse and a black skirt, yet she still managed to capture everyone's attention. Besides the obvious physical allure, Tomoyo Daidouji possessed a static attraction—the scent of self-confidence and social prominence.

A few people smiled and attempted to make eye contact with her, but she deigned to return the favors and settled on a simple nod, her violet eyes staring straight ahead.

A member of the cleaning personnel held the door open for her, and she smiled slightly, the corners of her mouth turning upwards. He continued to stare at her, even after she had passed.

Her heels made sharp clicking sounds on the linoleum. She walked into the cafeteria and selected her usual, a cup of steaming black coffee and a plain bagel without cream cheese. Then she paid for her food and began walking to the table where she and her bosom buddies always sat.

"Good morning, Dr. Tamahome," Tomoyo said pleasantly as she passed her English teacher. "I have the article I wrote on the history of the women's suffrage movement. Would you like to see it now?"

Her voice was quiet and musical, yet her teacher and everyone else passing by them managed to catch her every word.

"Why yes, Tomoyo. I'm glad you have that ready," Dr. Tamahome said, staring closely at her.

Tomoyo smiled politely and reached into the pocket of her skirt, holding out a folded sheet of paper. Dr. Tamahome took it and unfolded it.

"Very good, Tomoyo," he said, after scanning it briefly. "I'll send this right away to the editor of the school newspaper. He'll be delighted to receive another one of your opinionated editorials."

Tomoyo smiled again. Then she nodded to her teacher and turned away, ready to go eat with her friends.

"Hey, Tomoyo."

" 'Moyo! Come help me with my Geometry homework!"

"Like Oh-Em-Gee!! Tomoyo's here!"

Tomoyo smiled at all of them and sat down at the table, smoothing her skirt and crossing her legs.

"Hand me that Geometry, Takashi."

Takashi complied, giving the paper to her.

"Sit next to me."

For the next fifteen minutes, Tomoyo waxed eloquent on the various postulates and theorems needed to prove the statement.

"...and then you write CPCTC. Yes, that's right, Takashi. There you go. You're finished now."

"Thanks, 'Moyo!" Takashi moved away to sit at his seat.

Tomoyo took off the lid of her coffee cup and sipped delicately.

"God, Tomoyo, you're so smart. I can never get all of this math crap."

Meiling Li slid into the seat next to her and stabbed a lettuce leaf with her fork.

"Salad? In the morning?" Tomoyo asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Meiling nodded, through a mouthful of leafy greenery. "It'll clear up my skin."

"You really don't need it," Tomoyo responded, raising a sardonic eyebrow even higher.

"Whafefer," said Meiling thickly, speaking through another mouthful.

Tomoyo sat back and listened to her friends talk around her. She opened her Saint Yves bag and took out a makeup compact. She checked her reflection in the small mirror and made sure her mascara hadn't melted yet.

"Eww...oh my god...look at Naoko's shirt," Chiharu Mihara whispered to Tomoyo.

Tomoyo snapped her compact shut and looked at Naoko Yanagisawa, a bespectacled, thin girl.

"Look at that...you can see the price tag still hanging off the collar! How can she not notice that?"

Meiling, Yuni, and Liz all turned to stare. Giggling, Meiling said, "What, is Naoko trying to advertise that she got the shirt at Old Navy?"

Liz rolled her eyes and flipped her blond hair, smacking her gum loudly. "Old Navy is so middle class. Typical Naoko." She turned away and began flirting vivaciously with Kenneth, who was her unofficial favorite plaything.

Tomoyo raised her eyebrows and sighed, blocking out Meiling's and Yuni's voices as they began to attack Naoko viciously.

Tomoyo had just about had enough when, fortunately, a distraction saved Naoko's already ravaged pride from further attacks by Meiling and Yuni.

"Omg, Syaoran!!!!"

Meiling got up from her chair and drew out another one. "Sit right here, Syaoran."

Yuni smiled at him, also getting up from her chair. "Hey Syaoran," she said, sauntering over to him and embracing him.

"Yo, dude! Look, there's Eriol."

Tomoyo turned her head away from Syaoran and stared hard at Eriol. He was listening to his iPod and carrying a large sports bag.

"What's up, Tomoyo," he said smiling at her as everyone got up to slap him on the back and/or hug him.

Tomoyo eyed his bag. "Practice starts today?"

Eriol waved his hand. "Nah, it started back in August."

Tomoyo looked down at her empty coffee cup. "Oh."

Eriol sensed her consternation. "There's a game against Junoi today. Come if you'd like. It's on the main field."

Tomoyo smiled and shook her head. "Nope, sorry. I have a volleyball game today. Come if you'd like. It's in the main gym."

They laughed, and Tomoyo savored the sound of his voice joining with hers.

"Hello, Tomoyo."

Syaoran sat down next to her and thumped his sports bag down. He pulled his headphones out of his ears and turned off his iPod. Tomoyo heard the last strains of "Golddigger" by Kanye West fade away.

"Aghs! I didn't get enough sleep last night," Syaoran said, pushing his rumpled chestnut locks away from his eyes, "I had to stay up late to finish Johnston's essay. Bastard. He had assigned it just two weeks before. That's not nearly enough time to do a ten page paper, what with soccer practice, JSA, Model UN, and martial arts training after school."

Tomoyo patted his shoulder. "Johnston sucks," she said sympathetically. "If you had Yen, like me, you could get an extension."

Syaoran rolled his amber eyes. "Yen hits on all the guys, as the illustrious Hiiragizawa tells me," he said, nodding in Eriol's direction. Eriol was currently blasting his iPod full volume and had his arm around Chika, poking and prodding her arm. "You're only safe from Yen's advances if you're a girl, or a really ugly guy. Like Matowitz over there." Syaoran pointed at the unfortunate young man.

Tomoyo hit his arm. "Stop that, you beast! Apologize."

Syaoran rubbed his arm ruefully. "All right, I'm sorry. It's just that I've been really stressed out. And it's only the third fuckin' week of school."

Tomoyo rubbed his arm reassuringly. "Things will get better, you'll see. Besides, it's our first year of high school. You'll need some time to get used to it."

"Why Tomoyo...how come you won't rub my arm when I get hurt?"

Tomoyo turned around and nearly gasped. "Touya! Don't scare me like that!"

Touya Kinomoto was leaning on the back Tomoyo's chair, grinning his (in)famous grin. He ruffled his wet hair. Droplets of water sprayed Tomoyo in the face. "Come watch our soccer game, 'Moyo. It's against Junoi today, on the main field."

Tomoyo rolled her eyes. "Hiiragizawa here already told me. Besides, I have a volleyball game today, so I can't."

Touya sighed disappointedly. "I was hoping that you'd join my fan base of adoring cheerleaders, but you just dashed my dreams."

Tomoyo flipped her hair dismissively. A strand caught Touya in the face. "Whatever," she said, ignoring her pounding heart.

She turned around, but stopped short when Touya brushed her hair lightly with his fingers. Syaoran, who had been watching their exchange distastefully, noticed her stiffen. "Watch it, Kinomoto. Don't mess with Tomoyo." His voice was dangerous.

Touya, who had been smirking, narrowed his eyes. "She's not your property, Li."

Sensing an impending face-off, Tomoyo quickly said, "Okay! Leave now, Touya, unless you've got more to say." She then turned away from him and pulled in her chair. Touya stood up and walked away, casting a contemptuous look at Syaoran.

Syaoran touched her shoulder. "Hey...are you all right?" It was very important, in times like those, to touch Tomoyo's shoulder.

Tomoyo swallowed and nodded, keeping her composure smooth and her face blank. She never displayed her emotions in the open.

Syaoran glared at Touya, who was now joking and laughing with his friends. "That pig. I can't believe you hooked up with him--" He was suddenly silenced when Tomoyo's hand clapped over his mouth.

Syaoran's amber eyes were shocked and apologetic. Tomoyo removed her hand, shooting him a death glare while looking around casually, checking to see if anyone had heard him.

Syaoran gulped. "I'm sorry, Tomoyo. It just--it just kind of slipped out. The heat of the moment, you know."

Tomoyo raised her eyebrows and unwrapped her bagel, biting into it. She chewed, swallowed, and coughed slightly.

Syaoran grinned when the cough sounded suspiciously like, "Youbastard."

-----

Sonomi and Yelan were two of Tokyo's most renowned and wealthy socialites. Sonomi was a rich fashion designer and businesswoman, while Yelan was a connoisseur in the matters of ceramics--her factories made some of the world's most coveted earthenware. The two were best friends and sometime business partners, bonded by their grief over the loss of their husbands.

It was natural, then, that their children had grown up together. Syaoran Li, Tomoyo Daidouji, and several other children had grown up together, their parents the wealthiest of Tokyo's affluent. There was Chiharu Mihara, whose father owned a chain of restaurants specializing in Japanese cuisine. There was Eriol Hiiragizawa, whose great-grandparents had been fabulously wealthy English imperialists, and whose wealth had been passed down to Eriol's grandparents. There was also Meiling Li, a scion of the Li Clan, whose parents were also wealthy, but not as wealthy as Yelan. They owned a chain of successful bakeries.

Then there were seven other children, whose families were slightly less wealthy than the Daidoujis, the Lis, the Hiiragizawas, and the Miharas. Chika, Yuni, Takashi, Liz, Kenneth, Yoji, and Momo were all friends with Tomoyo, Eriol, Chiharu, Syaoran and Meiling, but they were considered the lesser people of the elitist clique.

The twelve of them had gone to the same school since Pre-Kindergarten, Seijou Preparatory School. With its exorbitant tuition and star studded teaching staff, Seijou was the ultimate choice for those who wanted their children to have superb educations.

There was a strict social hierarchy at Seijou. The Twelve, as the elitist clique of tenth grade became known as, was obviously at the top. Then there were the ones who were between the middle and high. Then there were those in the middle, and then those between middle and the low, and then those of the low.

And, of course, there was also the lowest of the low, a group containing only two people: the unfortunate Matowitz, and the skinny, unremarkable Mansho, who knew all the names of the Japanese emperors and shoguns, dating back to 1500.

Strictly speaking, the cliques did not intermingle, but there were always those who wanted to climb the ladder by following The Twelve around. Those nuisances were quickly gotten rid of, whether by force or by deceit.

There were some who hated The Twelve, but most of the grade looked up to them in admiration or fear.

-----

Touya looked down at the picture of the girl with dark emerald eyes and light brown hair. He frowned and flipped the photo over. His father had written, Sakura:age eight.

Touya's scowl deepened. This picture was taken over seven years ago. How the hell am I supposed to find her in a high school of 546 people? She could be that punk girl over there...Touya looked briefly at the girl, who blew a kiss at him. He winked at her and she giggled, pulling on the sleeves of her friends.

"Hey Touya, what's up? Are you pumped for the game?"

Eriol slid easily into the seat next to him.

Touya rolled his eyes. "Stop blasting 'Golddigger'! God, how I hate that song."

Eriol smiled and turned the volume up even louder.

Touya growled and flattened his head on the desk, the photo fluttering to the floor.

Eriol picked up the photo while turning his music down. "'Sakura:age eight'," he read aloud. Then he looked at Touya, a frown marring his brow. "How'd you get hold of this?"

Touya's head flopped up. "You know her?"

Eriol raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, you're talking about Sakura Amamiya, right? She's in my Chemistry class. She's new this year and really quiet. Good kid, I think. Relatively intelligent. Certainly more so than most of these baboons you hang out with," he said, gesturing towards Touya's friends, who were stuffing ice cream down a pretty girl's shirt.

Touya frowned again. "Don't call them that. Anyway, can you tell me when she has a free period?"

Eriol shrugged. "I don't talk to her. Why? Is she your new target, Casanova? She seems like an innocent lamb. Don't corrupt her innocence."

Touya went purple in the face. "I'm your soccer captain, Hiiragizawa. Speak to me with respect at all times, both on and off the field."

Eriol grinned. "Hey, am I right or not? Are you trying to get with her already?"

Touya brought his livid face close to Eriol's. "Hiiragizawa, she's my sister."

-----

Sakura slammed the door of her locker and began walking to the couches. Her new friends were laughing and giggling over something on the laptop resting in Daine's lap.

"Hey Sakura, babe, check this out." Daine waved at her and patted the seat next to him.

Sakura sat down and looked at the screen. She laughed along with the rest when Meiling Li, the captain of the gymnastics squad, tripped on a roll in the carpet and fell, her books scattering everywhere. Her laughter began to die away in her throat, however, when Syaoran Li, the new sensation of the Boys' Varsity Soccer team, hurriedly ran to her and helped her up. Meiling clung to him and pretended to sob while Syaoran held her close to him.

Kaori pressed the stop button and, still giggling, turned to Sakura. "Wasn't that just hilarious, Sakura?"

Sakura laughed hollowly. Anger burned through her as she said, "Yeah. Meiling is such a klutz. Why the hell is she on the gymnastics team anyway? I bet she falls flat on her ass every time she tries to do a cartwheel."

That set them off into another round of giggles. Rika slapped Sakura a high five. "You're a valuable asset to our clique, Sakura. It's amazing how you're so prim and proper all the time, but you still manage to surprise us with your dashing sense of humor." She winked, her eyelashes fluttering against the dark hair that fell over her eye.

Sakura smiled again. "How'd you guys get the video?"

Kitty grinned. "Daine stole it from the Computer Lab's archives. I think this was from last year. I wonder who filmed it..."

Masao shrugged. "Probably Chika Dae. You know how she's always filming."

"Yeah, it was probably Chika. She's always going on about how she's going to become a movie director one day, like her loser father," Kitty said in a snotty voice.

Daine wrapped an arm around Sakura's shoulders. "Kaori and I are going to the cafeteria for some food. You wanna come?"

Sakura noticed Kaori frown slightly. She quickly shook her head and moved away towards Kitty, Masao, and Rika, saying, "No thanks. I want to see the video again."

Daine looked disappointed. "Okay, then I'll get you something, all right?"

"No--"

"It's okay. I'll get you some cherry stuff. See ya, Sakura."

Sakura sat back and sighed.

Rika giggled and nudged Sakura in the ribs. "Hey, hey, hey, Sakura. Daine's got a thing for you."

"Shut up." Sakura elbowed Rika, her cheeks flaming.

Masao shot her a raised eyebrow look. "You've been here for only three weeks, but you've already caught the eye of several individuals, Sakura. Daine is just one of your many victims."

Sakura felt more heat rise to her cheeks. "You're making me sound like a vampire."

-----

"This is your classroom, right?"

Eriol nodded. "Yeah, this is where Tubby teaches."

Touya's jaw dropped. "Dude, you have Tubby? I feel for you."

Tubby, or Mr. Tubs, was the school's hardest and largest teacher. No one had ever gotten anything above a 95 in his class, not even Tomoyo, who had the highest GPA in the entire tenth grade.

Eriol grinned dashingly. "Don't worry, Toya. (Touya cringed at the casual use of his nickname.) Tubsy loooovvves me."

"Yes he does, Mr. Hiiragizawa."

Eriol froze, an almost comical look of fright on his face.

"Class is about to begin, Mr. Hiiragizawa, so I'd appreciate it if you stepped inside. Hello, Mr. Kinomoto."

Touya smiled weakly. Although Tubby had taught him two years ago, he still struck not a small amount of fear into Touya's bones.

"Well, time's being wasted. Come, Mr. Hiiragizawa. Chemistry is far more important than idle chitchat."

Eriol walked past Touya, mouthing, She's not here yet. Wait for her here.

Touya nodded, hoping Tubby hadn't seen.

Too bad. He had.

"If you're about to charm a lady into your bed, I suggest you wait until after her Chemistry class, Mr. Kinomoto."

Touya stood red-faced as Tubby and Eriol filed into the room, Eriol sniggering foolishly. Tubby rapped his knuckles smartly on Eriol's head. "Don't laugh at your friend. I'm sure you're a womanizing demon as well."

The last thing Touya saw before the door slammed was Eriol's shocked, white face. Touya smirked a bit. Serves him right.

He sighed and sat down to wait, not caring that he was going to be late for his first period class. I just want to see her...just once. She was only three years old when Mom moved away...Touya swallowed, banishing the painful memory of his parents' divorce.

He had been waiting for several minutes when two people came running down the hall.

Touya looked up.

"Come on, Daine, we're late!" A dark-haired boy and a red-haired girl forcefully opened the door, stumbling in. Touya heard their muttered apologies.

Touya waited another few moments.

Quiet footsteps came down the hallway.

"Hey...are you okay?"

Touya looked up into dark green eyes.

"You don't have class here, do you?"

The girl had auburn hair now, possibly because of henna dye. But there was no mistaking the gentle, pensive expression.

He had found his sister.