A/N: I don't own CCS.

The Lake

Friday had finally arrived, and Sakura was once again running late. Syaoran would arrive at her house any minute, and she wanted to make sure she got to the door first. Because their father had gone to work early Touya was there to make sure Sakura didn't sleep in, and Sakura didn't want another argument between the two of them. After Sakura got all her stuff together, she ran down the stairs and grabbed some toast. Touya was sitting at the table reading a newspaper.
"Hey Kaiju," he muttered.
Sakura threw a piece of toast at him and said, "Don't call me that!"
Touya smirked. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Touya stood to answer it, but Sakura raced passed him.
"I'll get it!" she called.
But Touya followed her anyways. Sakura flung the door open and greeted Syaoran, who received a cold glare from Touya.
"What are you doing here?" he asked bitterly. Sakura closed the door behind Syaoran and gave Touya a warning look.
"We're walking to school together… calm down!" Sakura hissed at him.
Touya shook his head in anger and said, "I can't believe that dad is letting you go on a trip with that little brat!"
Syaoran squeezed his hands into fists.
"Sakura, you're not going up to some cabin in the woods with this little prick!" Touya yelled.
"THAT'S IT!" Syaoran screamed. "I've put up with so much shit from you, but not anymore! I've had it!"
"Listen you little punk! I've had enough of you filling Sakura's head with lies! You're a no good, self-centered, punk-ass little…" Touya started.
But Syaoran cut him off by leaping toward Touya and punching him in the face. He stumbled backward in shock.
"Syaoran!" Sakura yelled, trying to calm him.
But Touya had recovered from his shock and had moved to retaliate. Syaoran dodged him and pushed Touya backwards. He stumbled into the kitchen and smacked into the table. Touya came toward him again and managed to punch Syaoran in the face. He was stunned for a moment, and then he leaped at Touya, slamming him against the wall.
"Stop it! Both of you!" Sakura yelled desperately.
Touya ignored her and grabbed the front of Syaoran's shirt. He then spun him around and pressed him against the wall. He brought his arm back, preparing to hit Syaoran again, but Sakura grabbed his hand and pulled him off of Syaoran. She moved between them.
"I said stop!" Sakura screamed, tears of frustration running down her face.
She had one hand against Syaoran's chest, pressing him against the wall, and the other was still grasping Touya's wrist. She could feel Syaoran breathing heavily. They were still glaring daggers at each other.
"Touya, why do you have to be such a jerk! You have no idea what you're talking about!" Sakura yelled at him.
Touya just stared at her. Sakura let him go and grabbed Syaoran's hand, and then pulled him toward the door. They gathered up their stuff and left the house, Sakura slamming the door behind them.

XXXX

Tomoyo and Meiling greeted Sakura and Syaoran with frowns.
"What happened?" Tomoyo asked.
"I don't want to talk about it right now," Sakura said with a sigh.
Tomoyo and Meiling exchanged worried glances, but shrugged it off for the time being. The four of them headed toward the bus and filed in one by one. Sakura sat beside Tomoyo with her arms crossed, staring out the window for nearly the entire trip. Syaoran and Meiling sat behind them, and he spent the whole trip with his head leaned back against the seat and his eyes closed, deep in thought. Three hours later, they arrived at the cabin, which was located by a lake and surrounded by grassy fields and wooded trails. They could see a court with a net for tennis and volleyball, as well as a soccer field and a basketball court. There were also stables, which they assumed contained horses. There was a murmur of excitement as they pulled up to the main cabin. Even Sakura and Syaoran, who were in gloomy moods, seemed to perk up when they saw the rolling green fields and the crystal blue lake. The cabin itself was large, and four stories high. It looked more like a large, wooden hotel than a log cabin.
The students squeezed their way out of the bus and flocked towards the cabin. Yamahari sensei called for them to gather near the bus. As they did, Tomoyo grabbed Sakura's shoulder and said, "Hey, isn't that Kyra's sister?"
Sakura, Syaoran and Meiling turned and saw Arya shooing students towards the bus.
"Is she the girl's chaperone? I didn't realize she was that old…" Sakura said.
Suddenly, Chiharu piped up from behind them.
"Kyra lives with her sister. They moved here together last year… I don't know where their parents are though… Kyra wouldn't tell me." Chiharu said.
"Wow, you know everything about everyone, don't you?" Meiling said, laughing.
Chiharu shrugged and laughed, and then said, "Not really EVERYTHING…"
They all laughed as Yamahari sensei tried to silence everyone.
"I want you all to pair up and pick a room. Girls are on the first floor, and the boys are on the second. Please put your things away and assemble in the cafeteria for a quick lunch," Yamahari sensei said.
The students paired up and flocked inside to find their rooms. Sakura and Tomoyo were sharing a room, and Meiling had paired with Chiharu, leaving Naoko and Rika to share a room. Syaoran had asked Takashi to pair up immediately, to avoid being stuck with Darrien. Luckily, Darrien ended up sharing a room with Sebastian. After everyone put their stuff away, they all piled into the cafeteria. After they had a quick lunch, Yamahari sensei announced that they would be starting their nature study. They were to spit into three groups and take assigned trails through the woods. Each group had to identify 6 examples of animals, plants, and fungi, then sketch them in their notebooks and write a detailed description. Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, Meiling, Chiharu, Takashi, Rika and Naoko were all in one group. They headed up the trail and began looking.
"This is stupid…" Meiling complained.
"Come on Meiling… we'll get it all done now, and then we have free time until dinner!" Chiharu said.
"You guys! We have to put some effort into this!" Naoko scolded.
"But it's dumb! It's like, so 5th grade!" Rika said.
Sakura laughed and said, "Let's just get it done."
They all agreed, and started searching.

XXXX

The next day, they had free time until lunch, and then they had another assignment. Sakura, Tomoyo and Meiling dragged Syaoran down to the lake to go swimming. When they got there, the saw that nearly their entire class had the same idea. Meiling ran down the dock and dove off the end, followed closely by Kyra, who had been waiting for them. Tomoyo spread her towel out beside Rika, Chiharu, and Naoko and they sat there giggling. Syaoran and Takashi stood by the water talking, and Sakura walked down the dock, laughing at Meiling and Kyra. "Hey guys! Wait for me!" Sakura called, as they swam away from the dock.
Just as she was about to dive into the water, Sebastian approached her. He was blushing.
"Um… hey… it's uh, a nice day today, isn't it?" he stammered.
Sakura raised an eyebrow at him and said, "Uh, yea it is."
"Are you going swimming?" Sebastian asked.
"Well… yes." "I see… um… you… uh, look nice…" Sakura laughed.
"I'm wearing a bathing suit!" she said.
"Uh, well, I know…"
Sakura frowned at him, then said, "Look Sebastian…"
"I uh, gotta go. I'll talk to you later, ok?" Sebastian interrupted.
Before Sakura could reply, he had walked off in the opposite direction. Sakura shook her head, and then dove into the water with Meiling and Kyra. That evening after dinner, the whole class went outside and had a bonfire. Much to Sakura's dismay, Naoko and Kyra thought it would be a good idea to tell ghost stories. She spent the entire evening clutching Syaoran's sleeve and jumping at every noise. She was relieved when the class was finally sent up to bed. She said goodnight to her friends, and then she and Tomoyo crawled into their beds. Tomoyo drifted off to sleep quickly, but Sakura was still freaked out after all the ghost stories, and found herself lying awake with the blankets pulled up to her nose. Sakura decided that the only way she'd get to sleep was to clear her head, so she got up, put on her housecoat and slippers, and then snuck outside. She headed down the dock and stood at the end, staring out of the lake. It was a clear night, and the lake was reflecting the round moon and the twinkling stars. Sakura sighed. It was really peaceful. Meanwhile, Syaoran couldn't sleep either. He hadn't gotten the chance to talk to Sakura alone since he had fought with Touya, and he was afraid that she was angry. He got out of bed and slipped on his shoes. He needed to clear his head, so he snuck down the stairs and out the door. As he approached the dock, he saw someone already standing at the end. As he got closer, he realized it was Sakura. He walked up and stood beside her, staring out at the lake.
"Couldn't sleep?" she asked without turning.
"Yea," Syaoran replied.
They stood in silence for another moment, and then Syaoran said, "Are you angry?"
Sakura turned and raised an eyebrow at him.
"About what?" she asked
"About… the other day…"
Sakura turned back to the water. After a moment, she said, "Well, I think I'm more angry at Touya… I know you have tried really hard to put up with him, and I appriciate that… and he doesn't have to keep provoking you like he does."
"So you're not mad at me then?"
"No."
Syaoran smiled.
"It's a beautiful night," Sakura said.
"Yea it is," Syaoran replied.
He turned to Sakura and took a deep breath.
"Uh, Sakura?" he whispered.
"Mmhmm?"
"Um, I was thinking…"
Sakura stared at him as he trailed off. She gave him a questioning look. Suddenly, she felt something slither past her leg. She jumped, and turned to look. She saw what appeared to be a ribbon of water coming straight out of the lake. It wrapped itself around Sakura's waist before she could move. It pulled her over the dock and she screamed as she hit the water with a splash.
"SAKURA!" Syaoran yelled.
He drew his sword and dove in the water after Sakura. Whatever had taken her was pulling her down quickly. Syaoran swam as fast as he could, and finally he caught up with her. She was unconscious. Syaoran hacked at the thing pulling her down. He was running out of breath, but he wouldn't leave Sakura. He kept hacking at the thing that held her, but it kept re-forming. He cast a water spell, and it caused the water to break up, freeing Sakura. Syaoran grabbed her around the waist and swam furiously toward the surface. When he surfaced, he swam toward the dock, but found it difficult to lift Sakura up. Suddenly, someone reached over the dock and helped pull Sakura up. When Syaoran scrambled out of the water, he saw that it was Yamahari sensei. Sakura coughed, then spit up water. Her eyes opened, and Syaoran sighed in relief. Yamahari sensei lifted her up and told Syaoran to come inside. They went into the cabin and Yamahari sensei put Sakura in a chair by the fireplace. Syaoran could see curious students peering out of their rooms and hiding on the stairs. Tomoyo rushed forward to Sakura's side.
"All of you! Get back to your rooms!" Yamahari sensei said.
The students scattered and returned to their rooms. Tomoyo clung to Sakura's arm.
"Sensei, she's my best friend…" Tomoyo whimpered.
"Fine, you can stay." Yamahari sensei said.
He then turned to Syaoran and asked, "What happened?"
"Um, she slipped and fell in the water," Syaoran lied.
Yamahari sensei turned to Sakura, who nodded.
"I was just clumsy," Sakura added.
"Well, what were you doing out there in the first place?"
"Neither of us could sleep… we ran into each other outside," Sakura explained.
Yamahari sensei sighed, and then said, "Well, if you're ok, then you should get yourself into dry clothes."
Sakura nodded. Tomoyo helped her stand, and then they all headed towards their rooms. Sakura and Tomoyo said goodnight to Syaoran, then headed into their room. Syaoran headed up the stairs, followed closely by Yamahari sensei, and then he entered his room. Takashi was sitting on his bed waiting for him.
"What the heck happened out there?" he asked.
Syaoran shook his head. "Nothing…" he replied.
"Yea right."
"I'm sure you'll find out tomorrow anyway… I just want to get to bed," Syaoran muttered.
"Is something bothering you?" Takashi asked.
"No."
"Liar. Something is bugging you, I can tell."
"It's nothing, so never mind."
"Aha! So you admit that something IS bothering you!" Takashi said, waving his finger in the air.
Syaoran shook his head and grabbed his bag.
"Are you fighting with Sakura?" Takashi persisted.
"No! Now leave me alone!"
"Well, does it involve Sakura at least? I bet it does. Relationship problems are the worst."
"It's nothing!" Syaoran hissed, tugging at a clean shirt that was stuck in his bag.
"I don't believe you. You're lying."
"Will… you…drop… it?" Syaoran said angrily, still tugging on his shirt.Suddenly, his shirt was flung loose, causing the contents of Syaoran's bag to go flying onto the floor.
"Shit!" he muttered, bending to pick up his clothes.
Takashi hopped off his bed to help. He crawled along the floor, reaching under his bed to search for Syaoran's clothing, when suddenly his hand hit a small, hard object. He pulled it out and saw that it was a ring box.
"What's this?" he asked.
Syaoran turned and blushed when he saw what Takashi was holding. Syaoran snatched it away from him and stuffed it back in his bag. Takashi gave him a questioning look, then said, "That was a ring box. Is that… well, you know… an engagement ring? That's what's bothering you, isn't it?"
Syaoran sighed then nodded.
"But you can't tell ANYONE, do you understand? Not even Chiharu," he said.
"Yea yea, of course. It's our secret."
Syaoran rolled his eyes as he changed onto dry pajamas. Takashi crawled back into his bed.
"So, when you gunna do it?" he asked.
Syaoran sighed and said, "Don't even talk about it, kay?"
Takashi laughed, then said, "Yea yea… goodnight."

XXXX

The next morning, rumors were flying around about the events the previous night. Sakura just ignored everyone though; she was a bad liar and didn't want to mess up. Everyone soon forgot about it all though, because they were told that they had a free day. They were allowed to do anything they wanted, as long as they were ready to leave by 3:00.
"So what do you guys want to do today?" Meiling asked at breakfast. "Well, I'm staying away from the lake…" Sakura said, giggling.
"I dunno… I just want to relax today," Tomoyo said.
"That sounds like a good idea," Syaoran agreed.
"Well, we can't just sit around for seven hours…" Meiling complained.
Suddenly, Tomoyo smirked. "We should go horseback riding," she said.
"Hey, that sounds fun!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Ooh, that does sound like a good idea!" Meiling agreed.
So after breakfast, the four of them headed out to the stables. They had horses saddled up for them, and then they took off down one of the trails. Eventually, they came to fork in the path.
"Which trail should we take?" Sakura asked, stopping before the split.
Tomoyo and Meiling gave each other a sly look, then Meiling said, "Well, why don't you and Syaoran take one path, and Tomoyo and I will take the other… and we'll see where they go!"
Syaoran caught on to their little scheme and narrowed his eyes at them. Meiling shrugged and smiled.
"Come on Tomoyo, let's go!" Meiling said, winking at Syaoran.
They both took off down the right path before anyone else could say anything. Sakura looked at Syaoran with a raised eyebrow.
"Um, that was strange…" she said.
"Yea," Syaoran replied.
The two of them headed down the left trail in silence. They wandered on quietly for about ten minutes, when Sakura suddenly said, "Syaoran?"
"Yea?"
"Um, I just wanted to thank you for saving me… again..."
Syaoran smirked and said, "Well… I could… never live with myself if I let something happen to you…" Sakura smiled.
"How do you always know what to say?" she said, giggling.
Syaoran blushed and smiled.
"You know… I hate to bring it up… but… I dunno, what do you think we should do about Touya?" Sakura asked timidly.
Syaoran sighed and shrugged.
"I dunno… I don't think there's anything we can do…" he said.
"Well… I don't want this to get any worse…"
Syaoran sighed again and said, "I know."
The two of them rode along in silence for a while, and then Syaoran suddenly spoke up.
"Uh… I know this may not be the um… the perfect time for this… but I uh, was thinking…"
Before Syaoran could finish, Kyra came galloping toward them from further up the path. She was clutching the reins and as she zoomed past she called out for help. Syaoran and Sakura looked at each other, then turned their horses and chased after her. They caught up easily, and Sakura reached over and grabbed the runaway horse's reins. She managed to calm the horse and it slowed down, and then stopped. Kyra, nearly in tears, climbed off her horse and flopped onto the ground.
"Thank you so much! I thought I was gunna die or something!" she exclaimed.
Sakura dismounted and helped Kyra up.
"Are you ok?" Sakura asked.
"Yea… I am now… maybe I should have taken the lessons…" Kyra replied.
Sakura laughed, and then said, "Come on, let's bring you back to the cabin."
She helped Kyra back onto her horse, and then re-mounted hers. Sakura grabbed the reins of Kyra's horse and slowly the three of them made their way back to the stables. When they got back, they found Tomoyo and Meiling lounging outside the stables. After the horses were returned, Sakura started to question Tomoyo.
"What are you doing back here?" Sakura asked.
Tomoyo shrugged and said, "We got bored…"
Sakura gave her a suspicious look, and Tomoyo gave her a smile.
"Oookay then…" Sakura muttered.
"Hey, it's almost noon… why don't we go get lunch?" Meiling suggested.
They all agreed, and headed back up to the cabin. After lunch, they all returned to their rooms and packed up their stuff. When 3:00 rolled around, all the students piled into the bus. Tomoyo and Meiling sat behind Sakura and Syaoran, and they giggled and whispered the whole trip. Sakura fell asleep on Syaoran's shoulder half way, and he didn't want to wake her, so he sat in his seat blushing while Tomoyo and Meiling giggled and said, "Awwwww…."
When Sakura finally arrived home her father greeted her. He didn't mention Touya at all, so she figured that he hadn't said anything about his fight with Syaoran. This relieved Sakura, because she really didn't want to talk about it. Plus she was exhausted, so as soon as she finished dinner she climbed up to her room, greeted Kero, and went to bed.