Author's Note-Okay, so the last chapter was a quickie, I
hope you liked it anyways. Well, I've
had some new revelations about the story so I'm in writing mode! Hope you enjoy
and as always R+R!
Disclaimer: No! I don't own CCS…I don't understand how anyone
could get that mixed up.
Chapter Seven: The Absence Of Nothing
Li woke up
in a daze. His head aching from the sleep, or lack thereof from the night
before. He tried to put his hand to his head to feel for a fever, but found
that his hand and his whole arm were stuck. The blankets that were covered up
to his chin were lifted with his free hand as he threw the covering over his
head so that he was inside a green tent. "Sakura,"he gasped as he saw her lying
next to him. And with that, all the memories came flowing back into his head…
He
remembered her crying in his bathroom with the possibility of bringing back her
mother. He remembered how he let her cry into his arms and how she poured her
heart out to him. He remembered how his stomach was a breeding ground for
little pink and green butterflies as he kissed her head. And he remembered how
he loved it.
After the
pizza had came, so did Kero, one very exhausted guardian beast. He had flown
all the way to Tokyo looking for Julian, but he wasn't there. Julian was
residing at Sakura's house with her brother Tori and so it was thought of that
last night would not be the best time to call forth Yue. That would have to
wait until after the game. The game, Li thought. Oh yeah, Sakura has a field
hockey game and I have a soccer one. But how did she end up in my arms? In my
bed? Her hand on my chest?
He took a
deep breath, and with it, her scent and the memory of the late last night. She
had been crying again about her mother and the new cards. She felt so helpless
and frustrated for some reason. Was it Selena? Or Megumi? He had rocked her to
sleep and soon enough he had to give way as well.
Li smiled
at her and kissed her forehead softly, not wanting to stir her. "You're so
adorable when you're sleeping, Sakura…Ying-fa…hmmm,"he hummed, smoothing away
the hair from her face and tracing her hairline. After becoming satisfied from
the feeling in his body, he lifted the covers slowly and looked out the window.
"What a beautiful day for a game,"he said to himself. Oh, right…the game. Hmmm,
I wonder what time it starts… "11:49…SHIT!"
Li jumped
out of bed, not thinking as he pulled his arm from under her like the
tablecloth trick. Unfortunately, the china fell on the floor. "Li?"Sakura
mumbled sleepily, "What's going on? Why am I…"
"Sakura! Grab
your gear and let's go! The bus leaves school in ten minutes!"
"What bus?
What are you…Shit! The game!"She practically screamed as she stood up from the
floor and ran out of the bedroom door to grab her bag with her uniform and
field hockey stick. "Why didn't you set your alarm?!"
"I don't
know! It wasn't the first thing on my mind last night!" He yelled to her…you
were, Sakura. You always are. "I guess sleeping with you just causes us both to
be late! I think you're cursed, Sakura!"
Li had been
listening to her feet running around his house trying to get all her stuff in
order, but it had stopped for a second and then started up again, coming
closer. "We slept together?"She asked. Her face bore the look of bewilderment,
but slowly it turned red. "Um…oh, that…right. It's okay, though. I mean, you're
my best friend. And a great one at that. Thanks for everything, Li. I mean
that."
"It's no
problem, Sakura. You know I'd do anything for you,"he said as he grabbed his
cleats and stuffed them into his bag before zipping it up and grabbing her
hand. "Now c'mon! We only have five minutes now!"
"Because
you didn't set your alarm!"She yelled as he opened the door for her.
"Yeah,
whatever, Sakura!" He yelled back as he shut the door, locked it and followed
her to his car. "You're just unlucky."
She stopped
in her tracks and waited for him to approach her. "I'm not unlucky!"Sakura
started to punch softly at his stomach, which was solid from his training, but
he just laughed at her attempts and wrapped his arm around her back.
"Of course
you're not unlucky,"he said sincerely, taking her bag from her hands and
throwing it into the car. "But if we don't leave now, our coaches are going to
say otherwise."
"Okay,"she
said, lingering in the comfort of his arm for another moment before stepping
away to her side of the car. He's right, though, she thought. I'm not unlucky.
I'm so grateful for him. He's so amazing…I just wish I would have realized it
sooner, before…before Selena. I think he still loves her.
"Why the long
face?"
"Huh? What?
Oh…um, no reason. Just really tired. I hope I can play to my best today,"she
said, covering her feelings up as well as she could. He didn't notice.
"You'll do
fine,"he reassured as he started the car and backed out of his driveway. "You're
the captain after all. Remember? Or did you forget?"
"I remember
just fine!"She said, shoving him playfully. Sakura laughed as she looked out
the window as Li speeded towards the school. Okay, let's change the subject,
she thought. "So what are you going to wear?"
"Um, my
soccer uniform,"he said, shifting gears. "Boy, I used to believe that there are
no such things as stupid questions but…"
"No! I
didn't mean to the game Li!"She said, shoving him again. "I meant to the Ball."
"Oh,"he
said uncomfortably. "Um…I rented a tux from the mall a few weeks ago with
Selena. I didn't remember it being so formal last time."
"And you
say I'm forgetful! You're the one that called me three hours before the Ball
last year and begged me to go tux shopping with you. Well at least you're
prepared this year."
"Yeah, I'm
great like that,"he said sarcastically, which caused a little laughter from the
both of them. "So, uh…are you going to go with anybody?"
"To the
ball? Um…"She looked in front of her and could see the school in the distance,
the Coach bus was being loaded with kids and their duffle bags. "I don't think
so. I think I'm just going to go stag, but you never know."
He wasn't
comfortable with Sakura going with anybody else. Anybody except for him. "Um,
Sakura?" She looked over to him, accepting his question without having to say a
word. She didn't need to. "Promise me that you'll save the last dance for me."
She smiled
and put her hand over his, just for a moment. "Of course, Li." It always was
vacant for you. All you had to do was ask. He took his hand off of hers and
smiled as he pulled into a parking space at the school, shoving his keys into
his pockets as he jumped out of his car. She did the same, grabbing both of
their bags on the way out.
"Sakura,"he
said as she approached him with his bag. "Thank you. I just wish it-."
"Hey you
two!"They turned to see Zachary yelling out the window. "Stop making out and
get on the bus! You may be the captains, but you're holding us behind!"
"Making
out?!"Sakura yelled back. "Why not?! Li is such a hottie!"
Li played
along, putting his arm around her shoulder and leaned in close to her as he
yelled to Zachary. "And Sakura is the sexiest woman alive! Be a good friend and
leave us be!" They all broke out into laughter, including most of the people on
the bus. Sakura and Li blushed a little as they walked onto the bus, Li placing
his hand on the small of her back to assist her. Both the soccer and field
hockey teams roared with laughter and comments as they made their way to the
back, their usual seat. It was the only one that Sakura could sit in the middle
of her two best friends. In front of them was Zachary and Chelsea and diagonal
from them was Nikki and Rita. Those three girls were only there for support and
Madison was recording for the video yearbook…among other reasons.
"It's about
time you guys got here,"Chelsea said, turning around in her seat to face them,
as did the rest of the gang. "We started to worry you wouldn't show."
"Li? Not
show? I doubt that! He's never missed one single practice! Well, before last
Friday anyways." Zachary said, nudging his friend. Li smiled and then continued
talking to his friend while Madison turned to her friend.
"So what's going on?"Madison
asked, smiling at her friend.
"What are
you talking about, Madison?"Sakura asked. They jolted slightly in their seats
as the bus took off for the three and a half hour drive to Tokyo, the place
where the championship games would be held. Only the Varsity Boys' Soccer and
Girl's Field Hockey teams had made it this far.
"Don't play
games with your best friend, Sakura." Upon receiving a quizzical look from her
'best friend', Madison implored further. "I called your house last night and
your brother said that you were at my house. Luckily it was right after you
left so I made some excuse up…asking if you were 'on your way'." Madison
smiled. "Now, remind me why I had to make up an excuse?"
Sakura
looked over to Li, who was now sitting next to Zachary. Chelsea had moved in
front of Nikki and Rita, talking about the upcoming Ball. "I slept over Li's
house last night."
"Again?
Ohohoho….really? So what were you guys doing? Researching about the new cards,
I'm sure,"Madison said sarcastically.
Sakura
rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "No, Madison. It's not what you
think,"she reassured, then scooted a little closer to her best friend. "I might
be able to bring my mom back."
"What?
But…how?"Madison asked, trying not to raise her voice.
"It's a
long story but…if I collect the rest of the cards and pass a test, then I can
bring her back…permanently." Madison smiled and hugged her friend.
"That's
absolutely wonderful, Sakura!" Madison exclaimed, but then released her. "How
many more cards do you have to capture?"
Sakura sat
back in her seat and thought about which ones she already had caught. She
already had The Libra, The Aquarius and The Sagittarius. "Nine more,"she said
sadly.
"Well it's
nothing compared to fifty-two."
"Fifty-three,
Madison. Don't forget about the Hope Card,"Sakura reminded her friend. Madison
nodded in agreement and sat back in her seat as well. "I can see my dad still
misses her. Especially during important dates like birthdays and such."
"You all
miss her, Sakura. I know it's been over a decade but…you all still love her very
much." Madison put her hand over her friends and smiled. "Plus I'm sure she'd
like to meet your best friend."
"Madison!
She already knows you. After all our moms are cousins so why…"
Madison
shook her head from side to side and looked to the seat in front of her. "I
meant Li, Sakura,"she said, turning her head back to look at her. "I'm sure
your mom would adore him."
Sakura
smiled and squeezed her friend's hand. "Yeah, I know she would. Li's a
wonderful guy. I don't know what I'd do without him." Madison smiled at the
look Sakura was getting on her face. She decided to change the subject.
"So, what
happened last night, Sakura? AND the night before? Don't skip the details
either! I know you better than that!"Madison chided, leaning in closer to
Sakura so that she could hear, but Li could not.
"Oh,
Madison,"Sakura sighed, but in a happy way, as she started to talk about the
events of the past two nights. It was over two hours later before Sakura
finished her story. Between Madison interrupting and the half an hour bathroom
break they took, it was taking forever to finish her story. Plus Madison wanted
all the details, as usual. "And that was when I woke up…"she added the next
part quietly, looking away to not make it a big deal… "in Li's bed…"
"Where, Sakura?
I can't hear you,"Madison stated, smiling as she cupped her ear.
"I said I
woke up in Li's bed, okay?"
"Ohohoho!"Madison
said, causing Sakura to blush a few shades. "And did Li happen to be in the bed
as well?"
"Um…yeah,"she
said, giving out the information hesitantly. She would never hear the end of it
but oh well. Madison would kill her if she never found out anyways. Better to
be safe then…well, it's just better to be safe.
"Really?
Oh, Sakura. You have got to be joking!"Madison said, turning away and facing
the window. Her arms crossing in the process.
"No,
Madison! I really did wake up…"
"That's not
what I meant Sakura,"she said, looking back at her friend. "You can't tell me
that story again without admitting that you don't have feelings for him. You
love him, don't you?"
"God,
Madison. That's really silly…"
"Sakura,
that's bullshit,"she said, lowering her voice and grabbing her friend's hand.
"With the conversations you told me about, the painting, the hugging, the 'I
love you's' for Chris sakes! You probably don't even realize he's been checking
back on you every fifteen minutes or so."
"He's
what?"Sakura asked. Nope, she didn't realize it.
"The point
is, you both love each other. It's so obvious. Everyone can see it, except for
the both of you,"Madison's face expression changed to one of almost annoyance
to that of love and caring. "Why haven't you told him?" Sakura's eyes started
to water slightly and she tried not to blink. No tears this time. No one could
fool Madison though. "Sakura…"
"He still
loves her, Madison,"she stated, her voice a little shaky.
"Who?
Selena?"Sakua nodded in response. "I really don't think so."
"Then why
isn't he going to the Ball with me? If he loves me so much?"Sakura slowly fell
into her best friend's arms. Madison hugged her friend as she tried to explain
the situation the best she could.
"You know
Li is a perfect gentlemen. Well, not perfect,"she laughed. Sakura did as well.
"But he's not going to break his promise.
He's not like that and you know it. I'm sure he'd rather be going with
you. And he promised you the last dance didn't he? That's the most important
one, Sakura. And he wants it with you." Madison smiled and then added something
else. "Besides, the way you both looked at each other outside of the bus this
morning. That flirting had hidden meanings, Sakura."
Sakura was
silent for a moment before she took a deep breath. "This changes everything
between us. Li and I. Nothing will ever be the same if we were to be…together."
"Things
won't change that much, Sakura. You'll still hang out all the time and be the
best of friends…just more kissing and the like,"Madison watched her friend
smile and curl up more into her arms. "But don't worry about that now. You love
him, right?"
"Yes,"Sakura
stared to the seat in front of her, watching Li and Zachary talk. "Very much."
"He feels
the same, Sakura. Just wait until after the Ball and he'll be free. And then
you can be together with your love." They both smiled as Sakura rose from her
friend's lap.
"Then I can't
wait." They hugged again as Li sat down next to Sakura, tapping her back. She
let go of Madison and turned to him. "Yes?"
"And
where's my hug?"He asked, trying to sound like he was jealous.
"Come
here,"Sakura said as they leaned in towards each other and embraced. Not even
noticing Madison sneaking out of her seat and going to sit next to Zachary.
After a few moments they released each other. "So what did you and Zach talk
about?"She asked, turning around in her seat so that her head was on his lap. They
always did this but it had more meaning than usual. More feeling in the pit of
her stomach. In his.
"Nothing
much,"he lied. He remembered their conversation…
"So,
what's with you and Sakura anyways?"Zachary asked, holding a soccer ball in his
hands, tossing it up to himself every once in a while.
"What do
you mean, Zach? You know she's my best friend." Li said smiling.
"Oh. And
you expect me to believe that story? I thought you could do better than that."
Zachary laughed to himself as he watched Li looking back to check on Sakura.
Zachary punched his friend in the arm. "Li, you're so full of it."
"What?"
"She
obviously has feelings for you. She has for a while ya know. I don't know what
you were thinking when you went with Selena."
"Well
maybe I didn't feel like waiting forever, Zach!" He lowered his voice to barely
a whisper. "Of course I love her. I love her more than anything but it's
like…Selena was there and she had just broken up with Laszlo. Sakura and I had
just gotten in a big fight and I kissed her. It's not like I didn't want to be
with Sakura but…I couldn't wait forever for her to realize that she did or
didn't love me. Ya know?"
"Yeah I
do,"Zachary said sadly, looking over to Chelsea. "But Chelsea…she's great for
me. I love her so much. You know that. You deserve to be happy, Li. For once in
your life take a chance and go for it. Just keep stepping it up a level, ya
know?"
"Like
what?"Li asked, moving in closer so Sakura and Madison couldn't hear them.
"I don't
know. Flirt with her more…spend more time together. Whatever. You'll know when
to tell her, I promise,"Zachary said and then smiled. "Just don't screw it up,
okay?"
"Yeah
well…I think I might have already,"Li said sadly.
"Oh
Jesus…what did you do, Li?"Zachary asked, crossing his arms and rolling his
eyes.
"Nothing
really…Sakura asked me to the Ball and I had to turn her down…"
"Yeah,
you are right. You did screw up you freakin' moron…"Zachary muttered.
"But
it's only because I promised Selena when we were still together. You know I
would much rather go with Sakura, Zach."
"Yeah,
well…that's one strike, man,"Zach said, showing him his index finger. "Hey,
wait…I have a great idea!" Zach leaned in to his friend's ear, whispering his
plan…
"Yeah,
we just talked about the game and whatnot,"Li said, getting back to reality.
"So, uh…what did you and Madison have to say."
"Not
much…just about the game. And I told her about my mother."Sakura said as Li
started to play with her hair. "Mmmm….that feels so nice, Li."
He smiled
to himself as the coach of the boys team stood up and quieted everyone down.
Sakura sat up to listen. "Alright everyone! Here's the plan for tonight,"he
started. "Now, we should arrive at the university in about fifteen minutes or
so. Once we get there, the boys will go and change 'cuz their game is first.
That's at 4:00. After that there will be a two hour break for dinner where you
can roam around the campus grounds and walk around near there, BUT…you must be
back by 8:00 when the girls will play their game under the lights at 8:30. We
should probably be heading back around 10, 10:30 and get home around 1:30, 2.
Is that understood?"A bunch of yeses and nods were seen and heard as the coach
waited to move on. "Good. Now I want you on your best behavior tonight. It's
the championship game and we are their guests. Now with that said…good luck."
Sakura
turned back to Li to lie down on his lap again, his hands automatically going
to her hair. "Yeah, you better keep touching my hair, Li,"she said
sarcastically with a smile.
"Oh! And
what if I don't? Are you going to beat me, babe?"
"Maybe,
hon,"she said, using a pet name for him. Why did he call me babe? She wondered.
It was a little odd but she didn't mind. It was nice…made her feel like she was
his girlfriend…maybe Madison was right. Maybe he wanted to be with her as much
as she wanted to be with him. Maybe.
He laughed
a little and then let it subside into a smile, now massaging her scalp slowly.
She called me hon, he said to himself. I hope Zachary's right about this, he
told himself as he spoke to her. "Sakura?"
"Yes…hon?"They
both smiled a little as he continued.
"Well,
since coach gave us two hours for dinner…I was wondering if you would like to
come with me. I know this great little Italian restaurant that you would
absolutely love."
She opened
her eyes and looked into his, looking at her. "I would love to, Li,"she said,
starting to sit up. "Do you want to ask the rest of the gang if they want to
go?"
"No,"he
said, pulling her back down to his lap so he could continue massaging her
scalp. "Just us."
"Okay,"she
said, smiling. "So, what's the special occasion?"
"Well,"he
started, smirking. "No reason, I guess. But we can celebrate my team winning."
"You sound
confident,"she remarked, turning over so he could massage her back and
shoulders now. He laughed at their need of no communication. They knew exactly
what was going to happen next. Sometimes, words were never needed.
"Well, I
would like to win. It would be nice. But, no matter what, we're still going out…okay?"He
said, kneading her lower back, his eyes trailing to look over her whole body.
She's absolutely beautiful, he thought. How I would like to touch every inch of
her.
The bus
pulled into the university parking lot just then and Sakura got up in response.
No, Li thought. His body ached to be close to hers again and unconsciously he
pulled her close to him. He just couldn't help it. She melted into his arms and
then slowly pulled back, their faces only about an inch apart. Nervously and
not really sure what she was doing, she leaned in and gave him a soft, gentle
but quick kiss on the lips. Trying to make it seem like a friendly gesture,
even though it was out of the love she felt for him.
"What was
that for?"He whispered to her.
"I just
wanted to thank you, I guess. I really don't know." They kept looking at each
other, so close that they could feel each other's breath on their faces. The
two were unaware of the commotion going on as people got up from their seats
and grabbed their bags from the overhead compartments. They just continued to
sit there, in each other's arms, searching each other's faces for an answer of
why she just kissed him. "Li…"
"Sakura…God
I don't know…are you feeling this?"He said in a voice barely above a whisper.
She nodded
slowly and went to lean in closer but was interrupted by the coach yelling at
everyone to get off the bus. They forced the separation and got their stuff,
never once keeping their eyes off of each other. Everyone was so busy doing
their own thing that no one noticed them wrapped up in each other.
The two
teams and other people on the bus got off and started to split boys and girls.
The boys started to leave for the locker room and the girls went to sit in the
stands. Sakura and Li met each other again as soon as they got off the bus and
they dropped their bags, embracing each other. "I'll be watching you, Li. Good
luck."
He held her
close, rocking her, as if he was seeing her for the last time…for the first
time. "Thank you, Sakura because this game is for you. And I'll…I don't know
why…but I'm gonna miss you."
She smiled
in his arms, "I'm gonna miss you too,"she said, releasing him slowly. "You
better catch up before your coach gets mad."
"Yeah,
okay,"he said agreeing. He kissed her softly on the forehead, then rested his head
against hers, embracing her one more time. Everything seemed to be moving
quickly. Feelings were being understood finally. They both knew that the other
was experiencing more than just friendship. But so many doubts were running
through their minds. What if it was just a kiss and only that? "We need to talk
afterwards."
She pulled
away and nodded slowly to him. After a moment she heard Madison calling her
name. She left him and he left her, parting their separate ways: Sakura to
Madison and the rest of the girls to get a good seat in the stands and Li with
his team off to the locker room.
Both of
them were smiling furiously as they made their way to their respected areas.
Zachary seemed quite interested. "What happened to you?" He asked, smiling as
well.
Li opened
his mouth but was interrupted by the coach. "Okay boys, listen up! I'm going to
the field now and until I see you again, your captain is in charge.
Understood?" The boys nodded their heads and responded verbally as well. "Okay,
then. I'll see you on the field." The coach left and everyone started pouring
into the boys changing room.
"Okay!"Li
started, getting their attention. "You got fifteen minutes to get everything
together. Let's go!" He commanded to them as the boys started to unzip their
bags and undress. Li picked a bench near the back of the room as he started to
change out of his clothing and put on his soccer uniform. He heard a sound next
to him and turned to see Zach putting his stuff next to Li's. He too started to
change, but had a strange smile on his face.
"You don't
have to say anything,"Zach started, putting on his soccer jersey. "I saw what
happened between the two of you, Li. You may have thought that no one was
watching, but I was." Li looked at him and smiled, not saying anything. "So
what now? Are you going to tell her? C'mon, man! Don't leave me hanging!"
Li put on
his socks and shin guards, "Do you always have to ask so many questions, Zach?"
"Li, I've
been your best friend since the third grade so don't give me that bullshit. So
tell me, what's going on?"
Sakura sat
next to Madison on the bleachers, sitting on the second section up. It was the
best seats they could get but they were good enough, she could still see her
guy play. She started to move her legs impatiently. She wanted to see him play
because this game was for HER. "Sakura? Hey, Sakura!"
"What?"She
said, turning her face towards her friend, not stopping her legs until Madison
forced her to stop. "Oh, I'm sorry. I guess that must have been a little
annoying,"she said, blushing.
"No, that's
not it. What happened between you and Li? And don't think I didn't see that
kiss." Sakura started to shrug her shoulders and was about to say something to
the extent of 'I don't know what you mean,' or 'whatever are you talking about?'
but that was all stopped. "And don't think you can get out of this one because
I got it all on tape,"she said, pulling out her camcorder. "So how about
telling me what happened?"
"Madison,
it's not that easy because I don't really know,"she said, pulling on her
sweatshirt with Reedington High School scrawled on the back with the words,
'Field Hockey' and two crossed field hockey sticks. Her name was on one sleeve
and her number, 25 underneath it. Li had given it to her for Christmas and she
had given him an identical one for soccer but with his number, 38 on it. She
put her hands in her pouch and smiled softly. "Whatever it is though, I think
he feels the same. Madison,"she said, turning to her best friend. "You don't
kiss your friends like that. This was…different. He says he wants to talk to me
about it afterwards. But I think…"Sakura's words were cut off my screams and
people standing up all around her. She quickly jumped onto the bench and looked
out onto the field to see the West Tokyo High team come out onto the field.
She scanned
the field for Li and his team but couldn't find anything until she looked to
the left, "There he is! LI!" She called, hoping he would hear her. Even though
he did not, he looked up into the stands and saw her waving to catch his
attention. He waved back shyly and blew her a kiss. Madison grabbed her camera
and started recording the whole thing.
"Li is such
a great guy, Sakura. I hope you guys finally get together. He would be an
absolutely wonderful boyfriend."
Sakura
smiled to herself as everyone started to sit down, as the game was about to
begin any moment. "He sure would,"she replied.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~
The game
had been running smoothly, each team had not scored a goal even though Li had
come so close. The game was tied and the players were already in the second
half with only about ten minutes left on the clock. Overtime was not an option
for Li. That would mean less time with Sakura. Less time to tell her the things
he had been longing to say. And tonight was no exception. After that kiss, his
energy level had skyrocketed and he had been in for most of the game and didn't
seem winded at all. He just couldn't wait to finish the game. Of course winning
it for Sakura as well.
They were
walking back onto the field after calling a time. "So, Mr.Ball Of
Energy,"Zachary started walking next to his friend. "Can you be any more
wanting to end this game?"
Li looked
to his friend and sighed, walking to his position on the field. "It's not like
that, Zach. I just want to see her so badly."
"I
understand, man. I've been with Chelsea forever and I still get like that,"he
said and then left Li to get to his position in the back.
Sakura
watched in the stands as the other team juggled with the ball, trying to get
past the hard defense her school was putting up. "This is so
nerve-wrecking,"she said. "There's less than three minutes on the clock before
we go into overtime."
"Oh look at
that! Did you see that! Zachary just blocked that with his head! He's so
talented!"Chelsea said from behind Madison and Sakura. They all averted their
attention to the field and sure enough Zachary was certainly happy yet very
concentrated as he passed the ball off to another player.
"So what's
going on?"Sakura perked up at that voice. She could feel the tone in it waver
around her trying to sting her. She turned slowly. "Megumi,"she said under her
breath.
"I hope I
didn't miss much,"she said, sitting next to Chelsea.
"You're
finally here!"Chelsea said, hugging her. "This game's been so intense!" Chelsea
started the introductions to the rest of her friends but Sakura couldn't stop
looking at Megumi. Something wasn't right about her. She definitely had felt
some sort of strong energy the last time. She still couldn't tell if it was positive
or not, but it definitely was overwhelming.
Madison
tapped her friend on the shoulder and leaned in to whisper. "So that's the girl
you told me about?"Madison asked. Sakura nodded slowly. "She seems normal to
me. Maybe she's just got a really strong aura. She could be like your brother
after all. Ya know, be able to see spirits or something."
"That's not
it, Madison,"Sakura said, turning around back to the game, just in time to see
Li score the first goal. The crowd went wild and as the ball was put back into
play, the crowd started to count down the seconds.
"Five,
four, three, two, one!" Sakura and Madison hugged in excitement as the rest of
her team and everyone else that came along were screaming and yelling for Li's
team. Sakura released her friend and watched as Li, Zach and the rest of the
team were huddled in one large ball, hugging and pumped with energy of the
final victory.
"I'll meet
up with you later, okay Madison?"Sakura said, looking towards her friend for
approvement.
"Sure. The
rest of us are going to this pizza place down the street. So, I'll probably see
you in the locker room around eight or so,"Madison said putting away her
camera. "Go, Sakura! Congratulate him!"
Sakura
smiled happily and hugged her friend one more time before she ran down the
stands as fast as she could, which wasn't very fast because the crowd was so
thick. Once she got down to the grass, most of the people in the stands were
there too, so finding Li was proving to be a difficult task. Where is he? She
wondered, looking around and jumping in the air to try to see him in his soccer
uniform. He looked so attractive in his uniform.
"I told you
I'd win." She turned around to see Li standing with his hands on his hips. His
hair was drenched with sweat and he had that cute smile on his face. Sakura ran
into his arms, not wanting to be apart from him any longer.
"Congratulations,
Li! You did so well!" She said, holding him close. He was sweaty but still
smelled okay, even though he was so dirty. Even his face had traces of mud on
it. "How does it feel like to be a champion?"
He released
her slightly, just looking at her. "Great,"he replied. "I'm a little dirty
though."
"Yeah, more
like a lot,"she muttered sarcastically.
He smiled,
"Okay! Okay! A lot,"he agreed. "So, I'm just going to go shower and change
quickly and then we'll be off. Alright?"
"Yep. Just
don't take too long. I might start to miss you again,"she said. Sakura had no
idea where all these lines were coming from. She would never do this normally,
but in this case she didn't even think twice, just letting her heart talk for
her.
"Don't
worry,"he said, holding her hand. "I'll be super quick,"he promised, kissing
her softly on the lips, but a little longer than before, unsure of how long he
should linger. Once they broke, still holding hands and definitely smiling.
"We'll talk about this soon, I promise."
"Okay,"she
said, still a little dazed from the kiss.
They both just stood there in the midst of the crowd.
He slowly
released her of his hand and she frowned slightly but smiled as soon as he
offered her his arm. "Walk with me to the locker room?"He asked.
"Such a
gentlemen,"she commented, slipping her right hand around his left arm, then
walked towards the locker room, ignoring everyone else.
Author's Note: Okay! They finally have some understanding!
It's about time! I should have the next chapter in about a week or so because I'm
on a roll of creativity here! So anyways, the next chapter: The dinner, the
field hockey game and a little bit of trouble (with a capital T that rhymes
with P that stands for Pool! Does anyone get that? Probably not…) Please R+R!!!
