DISCLAIMER:
I do not own Card Captor Sakura. All characters and anything affiliated with the series is owned by CLAMP.

Sakura slowly opened her eyes and scanned her surroundings. She abruptly sat up when she didn't at first realize that she was in Syaoran's bedroom.

"Oh yeah…" she said, when the day's events came back to her. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost 8 o'clock; she had been asleep for only an hour or so. She tiredly got out of bed and trudged her way out of the room. She followed the delicious smell of food cooking in the kitchen.

"Syao…ran…" she yawned, when she saw him standing by the stove. She rubbed her eye, trying to wake herself up.

Syaoran turned around, surprised that she was up already. "You're up."

She childishly nodded and walked over towards him. "Mmm… looks good," she said when she saw the pot of soup he was making.

"Your dad's recipe; I know it's one of your favorites," he replied as he turned off the stove. "I hope you're hungry."

"Mhm!" she chirped.

"Go sit down. I'll bring the food in just a sec."

"Hai, hai." She walked over to the table and sat in her usual seat. She looked at her surroundings; Syaoran's apartment had definitely changed over the years.

She remembered the first time she ever came over; it was to give him a present for White Day since he gave her chocolates on Valentine's Day (Yes, I know that the manga got it all backwards and crap). The apartment was absolutely spotless… but so dreadfully boring. Syaoran had eventually begun to redecorate the place by adding his own personal touches; but it wasn't a surprise that Tomoyo and Sakura decided to help out too. Now the place really looked like a teenager lived in it, despite it still being so neat.

"Here you go," Syaoran said as he placed a bowl of soup in front of her. He placed his bowl down in the chair across from hers.

Sakura tasted it and her eyes immediately lit up. "This is really good, Syao-kun!" she praised.

"A-arigatou," he stuttered. He felt his cheeks heat up and he immediately looked down.

"Hoe?" she said quietly, but decided to shrug it off and focus on eating… or at least, try to focus.

Truth was, she could not get her mind off of the amber eyed boy in front of her. She really admired how much he had grown over the years. He definitely got a lot taller; he was at least five-foot-eight by now. His years of training in martial arts definitely toned his body some… and then some. She blushed fiercely at the thought.

"Sakura? Are you alright?" Syaoran asked, worried. He leaned over the table and placed his forehead on hers. "You're still burning up."

She squeaked. "I'm fine!" she said hurriedly, and then bent her head back down, getting another spoonful of the soup in her mouth.

"Okay then…" he replied, unsure.

Sakura felt her heart racing at how close his face was near hers. As much as she enjoyed being near him, it scared her.

It scared her more than anything. Whenever he got close to her, she had to restrain herself from her urges to kiss him; to feel his lips against hers. She always found her heart racing whenever she came in close contact with him, especially his hugs. She loved the feeling of being in his arms; she always felt so secure… and at home.

He'd gotten even more mature over the years too, if that was really possible. But the biggest change would probably have to be how much friendlier he had gotten. He was very popular among the school now; valedictorian of their class and one of the star players on the soccer team. His good looks were another plus too, and girls always fawned over him.

Yet, Sakura couldn't understand why he didn't have a girlfriend.

Although she didn't want to see him with anyone else, she wanted him to be happy. As long as he was happy, she told herself that she would be too.

She cared for him. She hated to see him upset, and just seeing him happy made her the happiest person alive. To put it simply, she loved him.

Kinomoto Sakura loved Li Syaoran.

She first realized that she loved him after he almost moved back to Hong Kong after she had changed all of the Sakura Cards. She was on the verge of a breakdown when she heard the news that he had gone to the airport. She had dashed out of her room; her intentions on getting to the airport no matter what, even if she had to run there herself. She was surely shocked when she swung the front door open and found him standing on her front steps, with his hands in his pockets.

Flashback…

"What—I thought—Why?" she stammered, her eyes wide.

He looked down at the ground and replied quietly, "I couldn't leave."

She blinked. "Why not?"

"…You want me to leave?"

"Iie! It's not like that at all. I mean… what changed your mind?"

He shrugged and then looked at her. "I've grown accustom to this place and to everyone here…" 'especially you,' he added mentally, but she didn't know that. "My mother says I can stay here from now on."

"Really?" she asked in disbelief. She was practically jumping for joy inside.

"Really," he said with a slight smile.

She smiled back and ran to him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug, her tears falling freely. He was caught by surprise at first, but then returned the hug.

"You're crying," he said when he made her look at him in the eye.

"I'm just so happy that you're back," she said, still smiling. "You're my best friend, Syaoran-kun. I don't know what I'd do if you had left."

End of Flashback.

Sakura smiled when she remembered that day; that's when her feelings about him finally became clear to her. She wanted to tell him; her feelings needed release…

…but she couldn't.

She didn't want to get hurt if he rejected her, and she definitely didn't want their friendship to suffer because of it. Of course, she only got scolded by Tomoyo for a week after she told her.

A year ago, she had finally decided to confront him about her feelings… only to have her feelings for him come back and practically smack her in the face.

Flashback…

"I'm going to tell him, Tomoyo," a fifteen year old Sakura said.

The amethyst-eyed girl gasped. "You mean—"

Sakura nodded.

Tomoyo squealed. "Oh! Go! Go tell him!" she exclaimed, pushing her towards the school gates where Syaoran was talking to his other friends.

Sakura neared the gates and was about to speak up, but stopped when she heard someone say her name. She quickly hid behind a tree and listened. Eavesdropping usually wasn't something that she did, and she always felt guilty about it, but she wanted to know why they were talking about her.

"…you do," Sakura heard Eriol say as he finished his sentence. "Come on, admit it: You love her, Syaoran."

Sakura's eyes widened. 'He likes someone already?'

"No, I don't," said Syaoran.

"Yes, you do," said Takashi. "You love Sakura."

Sakura gasped.

"No, I don't. I don't love her like that," Syaoran replied.

She felt her heart breaking.

"She's only my friend."

"Best friend," Eriol corrected.

"Yes, best friend," Syaoran continued. "But we'll never be more than that."

"Sure, whatever you say," said Takashi, but he knew that his friend was lying, which was pretty ironic.

Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She silently ran from her hiding place, past a puzzled Tomoyo, back into the school building. She slumped against a wall and slid down to the floor, breaking into tears.

"I guess we aren't meant to be more than friends," she said, brokenly.

End of flashback.

If she only knew the truth.

Knowing that she couldn't cry over it forever, she wanted to move on as best as she could. She wasn't oblivious to the many guys that she caught the attention of; she'd already been asked out numerous times, all of them declined for her best friend. But now, she decided it was the perfect time to give them a chance.

She hoped that one of them could maybe help ease, if not, erase, the pain in her heart. After all, she deserved to be happy right?

Too bad she didn't know that each of those boys she gave a chance to would hurt her even more. She couldn't say that they broke her heart, for she did not love them. She began to grow a little closer to one or two of them, yes, but she could never bring herself to loving them.

She couldn't love anyone other than Li Syaoran.

"Well, I'm done!" she chirped as she stood up to wash her bowl. "Arigatou, Syaoran. It was delicious!"

Syaoran smiled as he stood up as well and helped her with the dishes. "Your uniform's all washed for tomorrow. Your father called and I told him you'd stay over."

"Oh dear, I can't believe I forgot to call him…" Sakura said, a little worried.

"He said it's fine. Just call him in the morning."

"Thanks for letting me stay over," she said.

"It's no problem… Anyway, I'll sleep on the couch. You can have my bed—"

"I don't want to be anymore of a burden, Syaoran—"

"Really, it's no trouble at all—"

"Syaorannn—" she whined.

"Sakura, it's fine," he reassured.

"No, it's not! You've already done so much for me."

"Sakura…" he said, getting a little impatient.

"Fine, but I'm not backing down… and it's obvious that you aren't either," Sakura said, matter-of-factly. "So… we'll share."

His eyes widened like saucers. "N-nani?!"

"I said, 'we'll share.' I don't want you losing a good night's sleep because of me." She poked his chest. "And I won't take 'no' for an answer," she added before skipping off to his room.

Syaoran stood there in the hallway, not believing what he was about to do.

Eh... boring chapter...

Things should pick up next chapter with the rest of the CCS gang. :D