WARNING: Before continuing, this story does contain emphasis on sexual abuse(molestation) and betrayal! It is rated T, so there won't be any details on the acts, just the mentioning from the past. Read at your own risk!


Bitter is a word that you can almost taste when it rolls off your tongue, no matter the context you use it in. Or maybe that's what I've always thought.

"Lemons have a bitter taste."

"Her emotions for another was very bitter."

You can taste the word no matter how you use it…

Bitter…

Why did this matter, though? It was never a word to describe me, or maybe that was what I always liked to think.

Perhaps the word boring described me in a nutshell. The moment I came from my mother's womb, I think there was a sign that was stamped onto my bottom that read, 'Queen of Boredom.'

Smiling at that silly thought, I sat up on the bed. This was a problem that could be fixed easily though, considering I had no job, bills, or anything that could interfere with my life. Oh, except school, of course. I was in my last year of high school, so it wasn't like that would last for long until I began university.

As a high schooler, there seemed to be this endless cycle that occurred in most teenager lives. This cycle consisted of school, homework, sleep, friends, drama, and repeat. Drama was never my forte, but if I were involved in it, it wasn't my doing.

None of that would matter in a few weeks, thanks to graduation rolling around the corner. Everything would change. New school, new studies, less sleep, more friends, and maybe less drama?

I've always thought that you wouldn't have time for drama in college, considering all the studying that you would have to do. Who said I was the expert though?

I reached over to the table by my bed and picked up my phone, speed dialing my best friend's number.

Daidouji Tomoyo was my other half. We had been best friends since diaper days and we had never been apart for too long from each other. By too long, I mean more than 48 hours.

"Konnichiwa, Tomoyo-chan," I said after the phone rang three times.

She normally picked up the phone after the first ring, so I could only make one bet; she was with Hiiragizawa Eriol, her boyfriend.

"Hey Sakura-chan! What's up?" I heard her say through the phone excitedly.

I smiled to myself, wondering how she could always brighten my day with her voice. She did have a beautiful, soft voice, so that may have been the reason behind that.

"Nothing, I was just calling to see if we were still going to hang out today?"

"I'm with Eriol right now, but—"

"Eriol-kun can come, if you'll still be with him later. I mean, if you guys are busy, then there is no need to stop what you're doing. Just make sure you kids are being safe," I teased with a silly grin on my face, even though she couldn't see it.

"Sakura!"

I could just see the blush on her face even though I wasn't there with her. I knew her like the back of my hands.

I started laughing, not able to contain it any longer.

"We are not busy right now so we can, right Eriol?"

I almost started laughing again, hearing straight through her bluff. I heard his response on the background loud and clear, though it was a bit gruff.

It was obvious that they were laying down being very intimate. It was always easy to tell with these two. Besides, they were always at it like rabbits.

"Really? Are you sure?"

I didn't like to be a cock-blocker, but I didn't know what else to do at this point, hence my thoughts on the boredom tattooed on my butt as a baby. Cock-blocking was an exception sometimes in our friendship anyway.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"We can meet at Penguin Park at six? Oh! Wear one of my outfits!"

I could just picture her with stars in her eyes, if it was realistic. She was always like this. I had the weirdest best friend in the world. She loved to make me outfits to model for her, which was fine. But that wasn't even the weird part. Her walking around with her camcorder recording me all the time was.

I had a love-hate relationship with that camera, but I was always willing to push through with it because I loved her to death. Also, simply because she was my best friend.

"Alright, Penguin Park is fine with me."

"Also, Sakura, I don't want you to feel like a third wheeler."

I could hear the hint of concern in her voice. Ever since she and Eriol became a couple and he tagged along with us, Tomoyo always reminded me of this.

I always gave her the same response with, "No Tomo-chan, I never have and I never will. It'll be like any other hangout, like I always say."

She was always worried over any and every thing.

We had hung out countless of times together, without me feeling that way. For crying out loud, we'd all been best friends since kindergarten!

"Oh! Perfect idea."

"What's a perfect idea?"

"Sakura-chan, Eriol's cousin can tag along."

Eriol had cousins that lived down here?

Eriol was originally from England, but he often travelled back and forth from here to there. There was a lot that went on with his family, so it wasn't common for him to stay in one or the other place for too long.

"Cousin? What cousin? I haven't heard of Eriol having a cousin that lives here. What's his name?"

I was sure if he had a cousin here, I would know by now who it was. Tomoeda was a small town in Japan and almost everyone knew each other, so I was sure I'd at least probably heard of him before.

"You'll be surprised." She started laughing.

I squinted, wondering who it could be.

"Tomo-chan, stop playing games and just tell me what's his—"

Click.

Had she really hung up on me? After all the baggage that I put up with this girl, she returned the favor by being rude.

I sighed and looked at my watch to see it was 5:55pm already.

I walked to my closet and grabbed a pair of skinny jeans and a v shirt that fit comfortably against my skin. I put half of my hair up, and put on my yellow flats.

I made my way downstairs to see Otou-san and Onii-chan sitting at the table eating dinner without me. It was a routine to inform the others when dinner was done, so I was a little offended that they hadn't called me down.

"So, I see how you guys can't call me down to eat with you guys anymore," I said in a playful voice, walking over to my dad, kissing his cheek.

"Well kaijuu, I did like ten times, but you seemed to be ignoring me, so I gave up," Touya, my big, fat, mean brother said, munching on a piece of steak.

"I am not a kaijuu!" I yelled, hitting the back of his head with my hand.

My brother was so mean to me. He lived to torture me by calling me names, but his favorite thing to call me was kaijuu. I hated it so much.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. We thought you'd been sleeping since you didn't answer your brother," my dad said, apologetically.

This was why I loved him so much; he was very caring and gentle. I honestly didn't know where Touya came from because there was no way they were related. I heard that my mom was the sweetest woman in town, so maybe he was adopted or something.

I smiled at him, laying a hand on his shoulder to show I was not mad or hurt. "Is it alright if I go out with Tomoyo and Eriol to see a movie?"

"Yes, that's fine sweetheart. Just don't come back too late since you have school tomorrow."

"There better not be any other guys, besides Hiiragizawa. It's a wonder how he can tolerate your monstrosity."

I glared at him, hitting the back of his head again, hard.

"Itai. That hurt!"

I smiled triumphantly, not able to keep my happiness hidden.

"I could do worse." I laughed and walked out the house, closing the door behind me after bidding my dad goodbye.

When I arrived at Penguin Park, the first thing that l noticed was the boy with chestnut hair and amber eyes that could destroy any soul if they looked in them for too long.

He had on a green T-shirt that slightly showed off his toned body, and blue jeans that showed how nice his lower half was.

Even after 13 years of knowing the boy, my heart rate still increased in his presence. Then again, whose heart didn't?

I hated him, though. I hated Li Syaoran and there wasn't a thing that could change that. His presence alone made me hate him, but no one seemed to understand that.

After mentally preparing myself, I walked in the direction that he was in.

"What is he doing here?" I attempted to ask in a calm tone.

And then it hit me.

The nerve of these two! They knew how I felt about Li. His name even infuriated me—made my blood boil.

Eriol and Li had been distant cousins from Li's side of the family. When Tomoyo said cousin, I didn't think that she was referring to him.


(Syaoran's Pov)

I knew from the moment Eriol suggested I tag along with them, it was a bad idea. In fact, I knew it was a terrible idea, but I went along with it anyway.

The reaction that Kinomoto was giving me was almost priceless that it made going along with this terrible idea worth it.

Whenever I came around, she was always angry. It was terrible to say, but I couldn't help but be amused by her behavior.

If I were being honest with myself, it really turned me on. It was never something that anyone wanted to miss.

I could barely wait to see what her next outburst would be, because it was always something new with her. I believe that was what drew me into her. Then again, it could have just been her eyes.

Too bad she hated me, though.

I didn't even know why she or anyone, in fact, would hate me. There was nothing to hate. My personality was great and my looks were fairly attractive.

Everyone admired me, except her, even though she was the one I wanted to be admired by. It was very irritating.

She was extremely attractive and on the list of 'wanting to get in her pants' as bad as that sounded.

My eyes unconsciously scanned her petite body, something they always did when she was around.

She had a nice ass and a nice, handful of breasts that I wanted to do so much to.

I looked away after realizing my body was reacting to the lewd thoughts of her. I would hate to be spotted in public with a hard-on, especially in front of Kinomoto. Just her name could—no!

Puppies' eating their mother's shit. Puppies' eating their mother's shit. I tried to think of anything disgusting, until I calmed down. That always did the trick.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan... I figured that you remembered," Daidouji said nervously.

It was quite funny, considering how small Kinomoto was compared to everyone and how intimidating she could seem.

It was not like she was going to do anything to her. Daidouji, of all people in the entire world, had nothing to worry about.

They had been best friends even before I met them. So, of course Kinomoto didn't have the heart to hurt her. In fact, she wouldn't hurt anyone because of her kind nature even though she put up a facade like she was tough and hard.

She groaned. "I hate you guys, but not as much as I hate you!" she yelled, pointing at me.

I couldn't help the smirk that crept to my lips.


(Sakura's pov)

Whenever I saw that smirk, it did something to me. I didn't know what, but whatever it was, it infuriated me. Or maybe it was just him.

"Haven't your mother told you it's not polite to point at others?" he asked with mischief in his voice.

I couldn't stop the death glare I gave him. I knew it wouldn't affect him one bit, but a girl could dream.

I looked in Eriol's direction to see him watching the interaction, and he shrugged.

I already knew that I couldn't be mad at Eriol or Tomoyo for too long. I understood to a certain extent why they didn't tell me while I was on the phone with her. That didn't mean that I couldn't be mad right now because they tricked me into this.

I let out a groan and took a deep breath before speaking. "Let's just go."

I took the lead, while they followed up behind me talking about the movies they had in mind.

When we arrived at the movies, I spotted another one of my favorite people. I did my best trying to avoid her, even though I knew from the start that I would fail.

"Kinomoto-san?" It was Amy.

Amy had blue eyes, blonde hair, and a body every girl would dream of having. To me, she was the typical girl that almost every guy ran after to get into her pants. Or dress, in her case.

Her importance in my life was...well, hatred. She hated me. It was for one reason only though.

Li Syaoran.

She walked over to us in no time. There was a guy who followed closely behind her.

"What—"

"If it's him you're over here for, then take him," I interrupted her before she could strike up an argument, and pointed at Li.

"Oh…L-Li-sama! I didn't even see you there. How are you? I mean, why are you here with Kinomoto?" she asked with a blush on her cheeks and then she sent me a disgusted look.

I just rolled my eyes, ignoring her rude remark. Did she not see Tomoyo and Eriol standing behind us?

Li looked over at me and smirked before saying, "Couldn't be any better now. And yourself?"

He grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it lightly before throwing her one of his charming smiles.

I almost gagged. He was the most clichést guys I had ever met, yet these foolish girls fell for the overly-used lines all the time.

"G-Good," she stuttered, turning redder.

"Are you guys done?" I gave them a pointed look then turned to the unacknowledged guy beside Amy.

"Who is your friend here?"

"Oh, he's my boy—I mean, friend...Daichi," she said his name nonchalantly.

Had people always been this rude?

"Well last time I heard, it was boyfriend, but whatever," Daichi said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

How could she just disrespect him like that? Her boyfriend was standing beside her and she completely disowned him. How did she even deserve him?

I smiled at him kindly, holding out my hand to shake his. "It's nice to meet you. I'm surprised I haven't seen you around," I said.

He grabbed my hand, surprising me by planting a similar kiss on the back of it.

If the endearment act didn't cause my heart to flutter, and cheeks warm a bit, I would have cringed.

I knew that he was only using me to make her jealous, though I believe she didn't care much.

"Well, we are going to go get the tickets," Li said, grabbing my wrist suddenly, pulling me with him to the counter.

When we got there, I pulled back, blood boiling in my body. His touch made my skin tingle every time he made any contact with me.

"You should've just asked me to come with you instead of pulling me like I'm some rag doll. Gosh, you're such an asshole."

I turned away and folded my arms. It was childish, but he had always pushed and pulled me around like he owned me or something.

"Four tickets for…" Li stopped and looked at me, before a smirk crept on his delicious looking lips.

I paused.

I did not just think that about his—

"Before the Dawn."

My breath caught in my throat at the mention of the movie.

I knew it was a scary movie that everyone had wanted to see, except me.

"Before the Dawn? Why that movie?" I asked, trying to feign my fears in front of him.

"What? Don't tell me…you're…scared?" Li smirked, seeing straight through my façade.

I hated him so much.

"What? Of course, I'm not scared. Where did you get that from?" I tried to glare at him.

He gave me a pointed look. "Yes, you are."

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"Why do you assume that I'm scared?"

He was starting to piss me off. He lived to make my life a living hell, even by trying to force answers out of me.

"Look at you," he said, looking at me.

At that, I noticed my fingers were fidgeting with one another.

"Just shut up," I said, walking towards Tomoyo and Eriol, ignoring his laughter behind me.

"What movie are we seeing?" Tomoyo asked.

"Before the Dawn," Li said behind me.

I turned to him and glared.

"Oh, I've wanted to see that movie for a while now!" Tomoyo turned to me. "Are you sure, Sakura?" She looked at me worriedly, and I couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

I hated how everyone treated me like I was a baby.

"Why does everyone assume that I'm still a scaredy-cat?"

We hadn't seen anything scary in ages now, so there was no need for them to still assume that about me.

"Because you are scared," Li said and I couldn't help but scowl at him.

"I am not scared," I said irritated, which to my surprise, made him laugh.

"Oh, you're just too cute when you get angry." He grabbed my cheek and pinched it lightly.

Like always, a blush crept onto my cheeks and my skin tingled under his fingers.

I think I hissed at him, and then swatted his hand away. "Don't ever put your dirty hands on me again."

"You sure have a lot of fire in you for such a little girl. You should calm down before you blow up with that temper of yours, little one."

He knew that nickname would infuriate me, but I politely proved him wrong.

"No, I just don't like being the presence of boys who think with their dicks."

I deserved a pat on the back, because I think I earned it.

"I'll try to keep that in mind," Li said as if he were really thinking about it.

"C'mon, the movie's about to start in five minutes."

He handed us the tickets and we started walking into the movie theater.

I grabbed Tomoyo's arm and we started to look for seats when we were in the theater room.

We sat down in the middle of the theater and somehow, Li maneuvered his way to the seat beside me.

I inwardly groaned when I saw him lift the armrest because I already knew what was coming next.

"It would make me feel more comfortable if you kept something between us."

It wouldn't hurt to suggest that and that was the least he could do. I already knew what the answer to that would be, though.

To my surprise, he pulled me from Tomoyo's grasp and into his arms.

I tried to pull away, but his grasp only tightened around my arm. I couldn't stop the blush that spread across my cheeks and wanted to slap myself for it. My body was reacting in ways that I didn't want it to because of him.

I sighed in defeat and unconsciously began to relax in his hold. "Don't even try to get the wrong idea about this."

I was glad that the theater was dark because he couldn't see my flushed face.

Logically, I was only allowing him to touch me this one time because I would hate to break any of Tomoyo's bones. The thought of crushing Li's bones did seem pleasant.

He gave me his signature smirk before I felt his fingers caress my arms lightly.

I couldn't stop the shivers from gliding through my entire body, but I ignored it. Because I hated him.

Throughout the rest of the movie, I couldn't even focus fully on it because my mind was too occupied with the way his fingers on my body stirred something in me.

I did jump and scream on the occasional parts of the movie because of the dramatic music and sound effects, but that was all I could remember about it.

The movie ended with me almost breaking Li's arm. That would have been fine with me, but sadly I didn't.

When we were out of the theater, I wiped the tear that was on the side of my eye.

Li scoffed. "Remind me to never go to a scary movie with Kinomoto again. She screams the whole time, even if it's not a scary part. I'm surprised I still have an arm."

I moved my arm from his and glared. "Like I said before, I hope you haven't got any ideas in that head of yours."

I heard Tomoyo laughing quietly as she whispered something to Eriol. I tried ignoring it, but I couldn't help but be curious what she had said to him because he had a glint in his eyes after that.

"Well, I'll take Tomoyo home. Syaoran, make sure Sakura gets home safe," Eriol said, grabbing Tomoyo by the waist, and walking away before I even had the chance to object.

"Wait, no! Don't leave me... with this devil," I murmured the last part, knowing exactly what they were trying to do now.

"What was that?"

I could just see the smirk on his face, even though I wasn't looking at him. I began walking, to get a head start.

I heard Li's footsteps behind me, not too long after as we walked in silence. That didn't last long because he started talking again.

"So, uh, you and Rio still go out?"

"What? Go out? You actually believed that rumor?" I asked, annoyed a little because it was a stupid rumor that Amy and her group had started.

High School was the only time that people in their lives had a right to act immature.

I had nothing against Rio, but I just didn't want to think about being with anyone at this point.

"Does it annoy you to hear me talking?" he asked, noticing the annoyance in my tone.

"A little, because it does something to me," was what I wanted to say, but I refused to say such a thing to him, of all people.

I sighed and shook my head. "No, it doesn't, but you just get on my nerves a lot."

"So... you do have feelings."

He was suddenly behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me against his frame.

My first response should have been to push him off, but I thought twice about it before my senses came to me.

I grabbed his arms around my waist, trying to un-wrap them around me.

To my surprise, his grip tightened around me.

He was only trying to get a reaction out of me. I knew him by now.

I closed my eyes. "Not for you."

"Really?" he whispered huskily in my ear, which made me get goose bumps all over her body.

Damn my body for reacting to everything he did to me.

"Let go."

I weakly struggled in his grasp, a part of me hoping he would let go, while another part was hoping he didn't.

He let me go after placing a wet kiss on my neck that left my skin burning where he had.

I hated his guts, but I couldn't deny how my body felt whenever he was this close to me.

We walked in silence the rest of the way to my house, which I was thankful for.

I reached in my pocket to get the key, but realized it wasn't there.

Turning to the door, I knocked one time, but he suddenly grabbed my wrist gently from the door and turned me towards him.

"Don't you give goodnight kisses to your favorite guy?"

Before I even had the chance to respond, I could feel his hot breath brushing against my lips. I couldn't stop the blush from staining my cheeks again. I was feeling hot suddenly and I didn't know what to do about it.

"No," was the only response that I managed to get out at that moment and I quickly turned my head to the side to avoid his lips.

He pinned my hands above my head with one hand against the door and gently turned my face towards his. Before I had the chance to blink, his lips were pressed softly against mine.

His lips were full and soft with a slight roughness to them, just as I remembered them. I had almost moaned when they met mine.

Almost.

Coming to my senses, I began to weakly struggle against him to get free, but his grip only tightened around my wrist. He pressed his body fully against mine and an accidental, quiet moan slipped past my lips.

I thought I heard him moan too, but it might've just been my imagination.

I wished that I didn't like the way his lips felt against mine, the way his body pressed into mine, but I couldn't help it. It had always felt so right.

When his body pressed against mine harder, my back accidentally pressed the doorbell.

That didn't stop Li from kissing me though, because soon, the door opened and I knew that all hell was about to break loose


This is my first fic, so please be nice!