Love Conquers All

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Fruits Basket! The anime and manga belong to their respective owners!

I stared at the small pastry shop for a few moments longer before I turned to Lee.

"This isn't my house!" I said. He looked at me, his expression dull.

"No kidding" he said bored "I always stop here after school to get a snack" I huffed.

"How long are you going to leave me sitting out here?" I asked irritably. He blinked.

"I thought you might want to come in with me." He said.

"No thanks." I said, still irritated. I had hoped this would be a short ride home. I didn't want to spend anymore time with him than was necessary.

"I'll be right back." He said, getting out and locking the car. I settled in the seat to wait for him, deciding I might as well make the wait as comfortable as possible. It wasn't even five minutes before he was back. I had focused my gaze at the windshield, only recognizing him by the beep of him unlocking the car and the gust of cold air that stirred the air when he opened the door. I was still staring at the windshield, only to have my monotony broken when he set something on my lap. I looked down to see two crème puffs in a container with a plastic spoon inside. I glared at the food before turning my glare on Lee.

"Did I say I was going to hold your food?" I asked, irate.

'That's not mine, it's yours." He said simply. I sputtered.

"I never told you to get me anything!" I exclaimed.

"You always wanted to try crème puffs if I remember correctly." He said. That brought me up short. I can't believe he had remembered that! I had only mentioned it in passing and only once. Granted I remember a lot about him, including stuff like that, but that was because I had gone over our time as friends. I can't believe he would have done the same. I opted to remain silent. I glanced over at him. He was holding a brownie a la mode. I was pretty sure what his intent was, and with the weather being the way it was, I had to stop him.

"You are not eating that while driving" I told him firmly. He looked at me disbelievingly. "The last thing I need is to be in a car crash." I informed him. He seemed to think for a minute. Finally he nodded. He set the food on the backseat of his car (he must have got the message about my not holding his food.) and carefully pulled out of the parking spot. He drove for a minute, than pulled into Tokyo Mall. He parked right in front of the square outside the mall itself, which was all lit up for New Years.

"Don't tell me this is your shopping day." I said sarcastically.

"I can't eat while driving, and I don't want my ice cream to melt." He explained as he started to eat. I followed suit and sighed. He was just trying to make this difficult wasn't he? A few minutes later he spoke.

"And while we eat" he said "why don't we use this time to talk?"

"No" I said.

"Come on Izumi. I just want to know why. What went wrong? Everything was fine one day, the next you come to class avoiding me. You still do." He said. I sighed. Maybe if I told him he'd leave me alone.

"I can't trust men like you." I said simply. He seemed confused.

"Men like me?" he asked. I nodded. "You're going to have to elaborate on that." He said.

"Rich men, Lee." I said , finishing my food at the same time he did. "Men in your position are womanizers."

"What did that have to do with you?" he asked cautiously. I had to take a deep breath to avoid the tears that wanted to fall from my eyes. I looked at him.

"You were starting to act differently around me Lee. I couldn't risk being hurt like that by the only person I trusted besides my parents."

"I won't deny I felt that way about you Izumi." He said. "I still do." He admitted, stroking my hair. I flinched away from his hand, and he drew it back. "And, honestly, the only way I can see you being hurt like that- not that I would ever do that to you- is if you felt the same way I did." He finished. I couldn't believe he had caught on to that just by the few words I had said. I couldn't lie to him. I never could. It would be futile to start now. I nodded, albeit reluctantly.

"Give me a chance Izumi." He pleaded. "I won't hurt you. I promise." I looked into his eyes. They were clearly begging me. I wanted to believe it. I really did. But I couldn't, not quite. So I gave him the only answer I could.

"Let me think about it." I said. He nodded, putting the car into Reverse, and pulling out of the mall. We rode in silence until we reached my house. I got out of the car, saying a quick good-bye to Lee before dropping my plastic container in the garbage and running into the house. If there was one anyone who could help me sort this out, it was my parents.

Authors Note: Yea so forgot the disclaimer last chapter. So this feels short. It took me a while though D: So its up like I promised. By the way, check out my profile regularly. I'll put up info about when the next chapters will be up for my stories. Kind of informative chapter. Next chapter we will meet her parents (Haru and Rin) and they will help her sort through her thoughts. Also we will see Izumi's answer to Takashi. . Oh and Sakura high, though not a private school, is still a very good one and hard to get into.

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