Falling exhaustedly back onto his bed, a certain amber-eyed, brown haired ten-year-old boy sighs in deep frustration. Lately, thoughts of another nameless person had been flooding his head, pushing away all logical and rational thoughts, such as the fact that they had always been rivals, or the fact that they were barely getting to know one another. How her honey colored hair curved around her face, how just hearing her voice made him smile, how everything she did had it's own completely irritating and quirky way of being cute is frightening and at the same time, strangely fascinating. There had never been another born able to make him feel this way. And though he is intrigued with it and fascinated by the affect she ahs on him, he is still afraid of the new feeling, not fully understanding why exactly he carries such feelings for this girl.
Sakura Kinomoto has the biggest mouth in the universe and she likes to use it. She always has something to say about everything and while being initially annoying, if you listen long enough you will come to find her overzealous personality charming. Her green eyes are so expressive and manage to be the one place he can find happiness, even when things are at their very worst, even when it feels like the job of finding and collecting all of the magical Clow Cards is way too much. Her warmth is contagious and radiates from her like light off the sun. There's not a thing in the world you can do to keep yourself from feeling that kindness.
I've become completely insane…Syaoran rubs his hand back and forth over his sweat-covered forehead, breathing deeply in the intense fall heat. For some strange reason, this month has been an uncommonly warm month this year, with its temperatures reaching into the nineties the last few days. But he knows it's not the heat that's doing this to him. In fact he's not really sure what it is that's causing him to behave this way. I'm just all but gone…like I'm standing at the edge of a huge canyon and one shove will send me over the edge. I'm nearly completely batty.
The phone rings. Since he doesn't generally look at the caller ID before picking up, he just clicks 'send', and then consequently blushes when he hears it's her on the other end of the line. "Hello, Li-kun?" Too shocked to respond to her for all of a few seconds, he had elicited her curiosity by remaining silent.
"Um…" She makes an attempt at being polite. "Li-kun, are you there? Did I accidentally dial the wrong number?" He hears her begin to panic on the other end of the phone line, thinking amusedly to himself how trademark-Sakura this moment is. But he knows he must answer when he hears her begin to apologize.
"I'm sorry for calling a stranger. I'll hang up right away and I'll try again!"
His heart catches in his throat for a moment and he springs into a sitting position, shaking his head as if that will accomplish something. "No!" He shouts, realizing only after how stupid he sounds in doing so. "I…I mean, you don't have to do that," His face fills with such a bright red and he looks down at his covers. "It's me. You don't have a wrong number."
He hears a relived little giggle and a confirmation sound. "Right…well I apologize for freaking out on you like that…but when you didn't answer right away I just assumed…"
He sighs, nodding to himself in a scolding way. He knows how easily she panics. "Yeah…I was just a little surprised to hear from you," Now thinking that he might have given something away and turning an even darker red, he continues. "But…that wasn't why…I mean…I was…preoccupied at the moment I picked up…"
She laughs again. He smiles, feeling relief flood into him knowing that she hadn't thought he was trying to say something weird.
"Well that's all right Li-kun. It's just good to know it was you and not some stranger."
Now feeling completely stupid and wanting to wrap this up, he urges her to get to the point. "What did you need?"
"Oh," She responds. "Yeah…well, see it's kinda spur of the moment but…I was wondering if you might want to go swimming with me today?"
His heart begins to beat a little faster, something about the thought of being alone with her all day in swimming apparel being slightly flustering. "Um…how come?" Her voice squeaks a bit when she speaks this time.
"It's all right if you can't or don't want to, I just thought you would like to go, since you're a really good swimmer and you seem to like it a lot."
The idea of her complimenting him makes him happy. The thought that she had called him up and wanted to go do something that he likes only means she had been thinking about him too. It's refreshing to know that he's not the only one who has sporadic, spontaneous thoughts about her. He gets to his feet, going and opening a drawer yanking out his swimming trunks and some money and then shoving them into a bag.
His caretaker had stepped out so Syaoran decides upon simply leaving a note saying where he went, for how long he plans to be gone and when he should be expecting him back. Just for extra caution, Syaoran quickly scribbles his cell phone number on the paper and places a magnet over it on the fridge.
"Don't worry, I'm coming. So I'll meet you where in how much time?" He rushes to the front door and yanks it open, rushing out just in time to collide with Sakura, knocking her to the ground.
He is still trying to figure out his situation while she begins to playfully giggle at him. "It's good to see you too Li-kun!"
His face goes red when his eyes meet with the big, green orbs. He finds himself jumping away so fast that he trips and falls back into the door, hitting his head roughly. He then also falls to the ground, rubbing his sore head and looking over at Sakura, who is on her feet without fail now, looking at him, concerned. He knows the very thing she is going to say next. It always follows one of these moments where he has tripped or fallen or stupidly injured himself in some other way while he was bust paying attention to Sakura.
"Are you all right, Li-kun?"
He nods, standing. "Yeah. Let's just get going."
The walk over is only just bearable and carried out in a blissfully unaware Sakura silence. She doesn't seem to know what this lack of conversation is doing to him. Poor Syaoran has always been one to get worked up over being with the one he likes. Suddenly he feels her hand grasp his and something in the pit of his stomach goes strangely cold and scalding at the same moment. Her little fingers lace through his. His eyes timidly dart to hers and consequently turn away again when he sees her smiling in a slightly apprehensive manner up at him.
Trying to cope with the feeling of her hand in his while at the same time not wanting to give away how much this affects him, he lowers his head shyly and begins to speak. "W-what?"
"Oh," Regrettably, her hand leaves his and he knows that he won't be able to work up the courage to reach over and take it back into his grasp, no matter how much he'll kick himself for making her feel like she's done something wrong. "Well you were so quiet that I got worried about you. Are you okay?"
He looks over at her and smiles, trying to be comforting. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
When they look away from one another, they realize they are standing at the door to the indoor pool and Syaoran clears his throat meaningfully. "Um…we're here…"
She glances at the door and then for some reason Syaoran can't quite understand, places her hand nervously on the back of her head. "Oh, I guess we are here. Well, lets go in then."
Sakura steps out of the changing room and despite himself, Syaoran finds that he can't help looking at the girl. It's a two-piece swimming suit, sport cut top and bottom and is, true to Sakura's nature, pink and white. She walks over to him, clasping her hands behind her back cutely as he swallows and tries to keep himself from reacting just yet.
She smiles, her head tilting a little to the side. "How does it look Li-kun?"
His throat closes up for a moment, but he does manage to nod. "It looks…good."
Her blush deepens, making his heart speed up a bit. "Really? Thank you!"
His mouth falls a bit and he finally just turns away. "Let's just go swim."
She heads off to the deep end, Syaoran following less excitedly behind her. He watches as she dives in, smiling as she resurfaces, She waves to him. "Come on! The water's great!"
Syaoran walks over to her when she makes her way to his side of the pool and leans down to her, giving her a huge smile. She cups her hands under the water, bringing them up and splashing it in his face, up his nose and drenching his hair. He looks surprised for all of a moment before standing and then jumps over her in the pool, coming back up and pushing his brown mop out of his face.
She stares at him for a moment, making the boy raise an eyebrow before he makes his way over to her, looking mischievous. Sakura is her usual curious self, watching him happily for a moment until he reaches out, dunking her under.
When she comes back up she just looks confused. Syaoran has never been one to play around, so the rare moments when he is being playful are strange to her. He gives her a lop-sided grin, instigating a huge water fight. He laughs as he splashes her and she pushes him away, turning and trying to swim away, knowing full well how much faster than her he is. He catches her, turning her in his arms to face him. She is somehow moving closer and his arms are somehow tightening around her. His mouth falls open as she comes closer and closer.
In one moment where neither of them are thinking clearly, he leans in and places his lips over hers. When he pulls back a moment later and they both realize what he has just done, they both just panic, Syaoran wanting to escape in any way he can and Sakura just confused as hell.
"Li-kun!" Her face goes red, her arms waving frantically in the air. "You…you just…why did you just…um…" She can't finish, pausing here and screeching aloud.
"I-I wasn't…I mean I didn't think…um, well…"
She cuts him off here, saying something surprisingly random. "You know what, why don't we go and get some ice cream sodas?"
His brow arches in confusion, his mouth set in a surprised "huh." After he had just kissed her and she had completely freaked and he had completely panicked now she wanted to know if he wanted ice cream?
They just shrug and head to the concession stand, getting the sodas and taking a seat at the nearest table. She looks up at him, her face still a deep shade of red. "So…um, why did you kiss me?"
His face reddens and his grip tightens a bit on the Styrofoam cup as he shakily lifts it from the table to take a drink before answering. But, as his luck would have it, his grip slips and it goes all over his lap instead of in his mouth and he jumps to his feet, dropping the rest of the drink all over the floor. "Jeez!" He yells, extremely cold and more than uncomfortable. Sakura is on her feet as well now, looking around desperately for some way to help him.
She spots some showers close to them and pushes him inside of one, not knowing how to get the water to go hot or cold. She simply pulls on the one lever and he cries out as scalding hot water stings all over his body. Jumping, Sakura doesn't know what else to go and just lets go of the lever as he continues to cry out, backing away and bringing a hand up to her mouth.
"I'm sorry Li-kun!"
He turns to her, trying to back out from under the water in the small cubical. "Turn it off!" He jumps from one foot to the other frantically as the water burns. "Turn it off!"
She makes a jump for it, smacking the lever as she tumbles into Syaoran, who is looking more than a little annoyed. The full weight of her body presses into his and that is enough to make however annoyed he may be disappear all together. His arms support her, keeping her from falling any further. Because she is who she is, she can fall even when she's all ready on the ground.
Her eyes meet with his, startled. "I'm so sorry Li-kun!" She picks herself up to her hands and knees over him, smiling nervously.
He shakes his head, blushing deeply. "It's fine."
They both scramble to their feet, embarrassed and rubbing sore spots that will soon enough turn to bruises. He holds an icepack softly against the back of his head when they sit at the table again and she looks at him, feeling bad. "I think this is the most times I've ever seen you hit your head, Li-kun."
He nods. "I think it is too."
She clears her throat.
He glances at her. "What?"
Her eyes dart off to the left, her face flushing a bit. "Do you think if I ask again you'll be injured in some other way?"
His one eyebrow arches a bit, confused. "Ask what?"
Sakura nervously bites down on her lip. "Why did you kiss me?"
His face looses all color for a moment before turning beat red and he quickly looks at the floor. She lowers her gaze to try and see what he might be thinking about right now.
"Isn't it obvious?" He mumbles, only just loud enough for her to hear him.
She tilts her head to one side a bit, still utterly confused. "What are you talking about, Li-kun?"
His gaze snaps to hers, the blush on his face all but gone and his mouth set in a frown. "Sakura, I like you."
Her eyes widen more, but only for a few seconds until they soften once more and she gives him a nod. "Me too, Li-kun. You're a very good friend. But that still doesn't explain the kiss."
His mouth falls open a bit, shocked that she could have really misunderstood something so blatant as that. "No," His eyes never break contact. "I didn't mean it like that. I mean I..." Her eyes widen again, this time more shocked than the last. "I mean...I really like you."
Her mouth about hits the floor as her whole face goes completely red. He looks at her for only another second before lowering his gaze to the floor agian. He's sorry he had to do it, but she had wanted to know and so, looking at her right now, he couldn't have lied to her, had he even wanted to.
"Oh," Ages and ages have passed since the last time anything was said. Syaoran had lost all confidence. "I..." She's hesitant, but since he had said it right to her, she owed him the same. "I like you too. Or, at least, I think I do..."
His heart about stops as he looks up at her once more. "What are you saying?" He asks, not really understanding how someone could be unsure of such a thing.
She reaches out and places her hand over his, giving a loving smile. "I need some time to think it over..." She states. "Is...that okay?"
Syaoran looks at her for another moment and then nods. "That's fine. Whatever you need to do."
She grins. "But I have to ask a favor." She tells him and he nods again.
"What is that?"
"Could I call you Syaoran-kun, you know, instead of Li-kun?"
For a moment it is a little strange for him to hear this from her. But that doesn't matter. "Sure."
She smiles wider. "Will you call me Sakura as well?"
Looking down and blushing madly, Syaoran nods at her once more. "I will...Sakura."
Ridiculously out of character toward the end but I hope it's at least ok. Enjoy everyone, since it's been revised as to avoid confusion as to who is speaking.
Well, that's the end of the first chapter, however, to anyone reading this story I would like to introduce two new stories of mine for Shugo Chara! Please review them if you do read:)
"Lonely No More" - This is a story of Amu and Ikuto from "Shugo Chara!" over 14 years into the future from where the story leaves off. (Also, in this story I figure them to be a little closer to the same age. If she's 24 in the story, that puts him at 29. Just was the feeling I got while writing it.) Ikuto is finally back after traveling the world in search of his father and Amu is in college now. When she wakes up in the middle of the night, she finds Ikuto laying beside her and they get to talking. He finds out that she's been quite lonely after all of her friends from school began to move on and she learns about what happened on his long search for his father. It's hurt/comfort/romance and strictly AMUTO. Anyone who wants to see a more mature Amu teasing Ikuto a little will like this. It's still in progress, so read, enjoy and always, always, ALWAYS REVIEW!
"Ikuto Tsukiyomi's 100 Good Deeds" - This story is a crossover with a show from the 90's, "100 Good Deeds for Eddie Mcdowd." Basically- like in the aforementioned show -Ikuto likes to pick on girls and is turned into a cat who must perform one hundred acts of kindness toward any girl of his choice to return to being human. When he is found on the street, he is taken to a pet shop and gives up all hope of ever being human again since he's been forced to live as a cat for several months. After a chance encounter, he ends up living with Amu Hinamori, a girl from his school that he's interested in and chaos ensues! Now Ikuto has to not only deal with how to perform his 100 good deeds and return to being human, but he must also face his affection for Amu. Plenty of sweet moments and hilarious incidents make this story a humor/romance.
