Teddy Bears
by Chiharu (girl@chiharu.nu)
Disclaimer: ._.
Author's Notes: I didn't know what to call this story... so just live with the title I gave it. This is a slight au, so Chiharu didn't give Yamazaki her bear yet. =P Also, no flames... though criticisms are welcomed. Yes, there is a difference between, "You work needs a bit more work-" and "I HATE THIS PIECE OF CRAP!" Eh, I would consider this fluffy... but bleh. Hope you like it anyway. Although it didn't turn out as good as I wanted it to be, I still tried my best. (I'm sad, I know.) Maybe I'll revise this later.
*
"Mou!" Chiharu squealed, turning around. She sighed in relief as she saw none other than Yamazaki Takashi himself standing before her with a grin plastered on his face. "Yamazaki-kun! Don't scare me like that!" She scolded, her fingers itching to strangle him.
"Aa. Gomen, Chiharu-chan." He apologized politely, making Chiharu give him a suspicious stare.
Chiharu nodded, reaching into her backpack. She was just about to pull out the bear she made for him when another girl screeched out his name.
"Yamazaki-kun! Good morning!"
Yamazaki turned around promptly, flashing the girl one of his smiles. "Good morning, Yuki-chan."
Chiharu stared at them both, feeling her heart slowly twist inside. She looked down at the crimson bear she made for him and tucked it away. Maybe another time, she thought. When Yamazaki-kun isn't around Yuki-chan... she sighed. But Yuki-chan is awfully pretty... does... could... could it be that Yamazaki-kun likes her? Swallowing the lump in her throat, she called out to him.
"Yamazaki-kun?"
The instant his name escaped her lips, Yamazaki appeared right in front of her. "Hai? Needed something, Chiharu-chan?"
She felt her cheeks getting hot, but slowly looked up at him, smiling. "Ne, want to go to the park with me afterschool? I have something I want to talk to you about..."
"Sure."
"Yamazaki-kun! Can you help me?" Yuki called from the other side of the room.
Chiharu heard him sigh before excusing himself to help Yuki. "What is it, Yuki-chan?"
"I was just wondering..." she trailed off, making Yamazaki look at her oddly. "Well," she continued. "Would you like to get some icecream afterschool with me? And then... like... come over to my house? I need help with my Math homework..."
Yamazaki instantly jolted his head towards Chiharu, wondering what she would do if he cancelled the 'date' they had. "Hm... I'd love to, but I can't, Yuki-chan. I'm already doing something with Chiharu this afternoon."
"Oh," she said. "But Yamazaki-kun... I really need help with Math... can't you just help me this once? I'm sure Chiharu-chan will understand. She's really nice..."
Yamazaki thought about it for a moment before agreeing with her. "Alright. I'll go ask her. Be right back."
Walking towards Chiharu, he kneeled down beside her desk, staring at her. "Chiharu-chan..."
She blinked. "Nani?"
"I have to cancel what you had planned this afternoon. Yuki said she needed help with Math, and she asked me to help her today. How about we do what you wanted to do tomorrow? And after that, I'll bring you to the mall and buy something for you, okay?"
Chiharu felt her heart gradually shatter into pieces, wondering about the possibilities that might happen. No, Yamazaki-kun isn't like that... but this is Yuki-chan we're talking about here... "Alright, I understand."
Yamazaki stood up and smiled. "Arigatou, Chiharu-chan. I'm sorry about this."
She nodded and accepted his apology.
The bell rang, and everyone took their seats.
*
School was finally over, and Chiharu didn't feel any better than she did before. The whole day had been horrible, especially lunch.
She had decided that since she couldn't give Yamazaki the bear afterschool, that she would give it to him during lunch... but when she came looking for him, he was already sitting with Yuki, laughing and eating happily. Seeing this, she walked away, heartbroken, but luckily bumped into Sakura, whom she sat with at lunch along with Syaoran, Tomoyo, and Eriol.
Closing her locker, Chiharu sluggishly made her way out of the school. This sucks... I shouldn't be worried about Yamazaki-kun! He can take care of himself. He wouldn't do anything he didn't want to... even if Yuki-chan tries to make him...
A shout from Sakura pulled her out of her thoughts. "Chiharu-chan!"
Chiharu looked up, slowly turning around. She met a pair of warm emerald eyes, and then a pair of hard, brown ones. "Sakura-chan. Syaoran-kun."
"Chiharu-chan..." Sakura started. "Ne, I know that it isn't any of my business... but what's wrong? You've been gloomy all day long..."
"A-ano... it's nothing, really."
"Chiharu-chan, holding all of it in won't help. Telling someone might do you a lot of good. But if you don't want to, I understand..."
Chiharu sighed, knowing that Sakura was right. "It's Yamazaki-kun..."
"Ah... is this about Yuki? I heard that Yuki-chan has a pretty big crush on Yamazaki-kun..."
"Hai, I know... and that's what I'm scared of. Yamazaki-kun and I have been friends since we were in Kindergarten... and I used to be able to read him like a book... but not anymore, Sakura-chan. I'm afraid that I might lose him... I'm afraid that he doesn't like me anymore." Chiharu sobbed out.
"Nani!? How can you say that? Yamazaki will always like you! You will always have a special place in his heart. Remember, Chiharu-chan, we're 14 now, not 10. Things change... but I know that in the end, everything will be fine." Sakura glanced at Syaoran out of the corner of her eye, noting his faint flush. "Like Syaoran-kun... no matter what, there will always be a special place for him in my heart. You too, Chiharu-chan."
"Arigatou..." Chiharu thanked, wiping her tears away. She brushed a few loose bangs out of her eyes and smiled. "I feel a lot better now. Arigatou. But I must get going now... sayonara, Sakura-chan, Syaoran-kun!"
"Bye!"
With that, Chiharu ran away as fast as she could, trying her best to keep herself from crying. Suddenly hearing a faint sound of laughter, Chiharu peeked over the bushes to find Yamazaki and Yuki at an icecream parlor. What broke her heart was the fact that he seemed... happy. That is, with Yuki, and not her.
I haven't seen Yamazaki-kun that happy before...
She continued to observe them both, and gasped when she saw Yuki pull out a blue bear from her backpack and handed it to Yamazaki. He stared at her and then looked down at the bear, smiling.
Chiharu backed away, unable to see that any longer. She let out a cry of despair before running off.
*
Chiharu sat sadly on the swings in the park, watching the sun slowly set by herself. Looking down at the bear in her arms, she smiled gently at it, proud of all the hard work she went through to get it finished. She hugged it tightly to her chest, raising her head up to look at the sunset once again.
"Yamazaki-kun..." she sighed softly, leaning her head so that it could rest on the chain of the swing. "I hope you're having fun... with Yuki-chan..." The tiniest tear escaped from her eyes, and it fell onto the bear's head.
"I hope you're having fun too, Chiharu-chan." A voice spoke from behind her.
Chiharu froze, letting the voice slowly sink into her. "Y-yamazaki-kun!" She cried, turning around. "What are you doing here!?"
He frowned. "Disappointed to see me?"
"N-no! Of course not! I was just surprised, that's all..."
He smirked and took a seat on the swing next to her, gazing at the sunset.
"...It's beautiful, isn't it?" Yamazaki asked after a moment of silence.
"Hai," Chiharu answered, glancing at him for a mere second. Something yellow caught her eye, and she faced him fully. "Did Yuki-chan give you that bear?" She asked, gripping onto her bear, hoping that it would comfort her from his answer.
"Actually, no," he said softly. "Yuki's mad at me."
She looked at him confusingly. "Why's that?"
"Well... we first went to get some icecream, that's where she gave me her bear. She didn't say anything about it, so I assumed that it was a friendship kind of thing. We then went back to her place to study... I was helping her with her Math. When we were done, she asked me what I was going to name the bear... I glanced at it, and after a moment, I replied 'Blueberry'. She looked at me as if I was crazy. I mean, the bear she gave me was blue... and it reminded me of blueberries! I couldn't help it. She threw a tantrum at me and told me the story about exchanging bears- what it meant. After she was done with that, she told me to leave."
"Oh... I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's all good. I never liked her in that way to begin with. But after she told me about the bear story, it made me realize some things."
"Like what?"
"You."
She blinked. "Nani?"
"You." he repeated.
"Why me?"
"Because I like you... very much, Chiharu-chan." He stood up and stood in front of her. "And I want you to have this bear... to you from me."
She stared up at him with tears in her eyes, and gave him a genuine smile. "Arigatou." She took the bear from him. Yellow... my favorite color.
Yamazaki smiled and watched as she stood up, handing her bear over to him. "I... I wanted to give this to you today... but then-"
"I know. Gomen nasai, Chiharu-chan." He whispered softly, reaching out to grab her. He pulled her into a powerful embrace and kissed the top of her forehead. He heard her soft sniffles, and smiled. "Look, Chiharu-chan... there's another one of you."
She looked up at him, thinking that he was crazy until she realized that he meant the bear that she gave him. "Hai... and there's another one of you, too, Yamazaki-kun. Except this one doesn't tell lies."
"Hai, hai... isn't that just wonderful..."
*
Reviews, please? ^^;