"The New Teacher"

My heart beat against my chest hard and rapidly, uncontrollably. I could feel my palms growing hot and sweaty, though his eyes weren't on me.

Li Syaoran is the teacher everyone was just talking about. Li Syaoran.

Li.

Syaoran.

He's the 'hot' teacher that everyone was going on about!

I held my breath, fearing that he would notice me if I made a single move, even though I was in the back of the classroom.

How could he though? There were over thirty of us in this classroom and I was in the back of the classroom on the far end. Maybe he wouldn't notice that I'm here as long as I keep my mouth shut.

Yeah, that would be best to do.

"Are you okay, Sakura?" My ears registered Tomoyo asking, but my heart that was thundering in my chest drowned out everything around me.

Li Syaoran is the teacher of this new class that we were taking. He's the father of the kid I've been looking after. And he's the man who's taken my first kiss!

I could feel my head becoming dizzy, spinning in spirals until I realized that I was still holding my breath. Releasing it, I turned in the direction where I felt a hand grip my shoulder.

"I-I'm fine, Tomoyo," I whispered.

"Have you heard of him before?" she asked quietly.

I looked to the front of the classroom at him to see the familiar hard glare on his face as he sat his things on the desk and unzipped the brief case. Turning back to Tomoyo, I shook my head, no, not wanting to risk anything.

He already looked angry, so why add fuel to the fire if he found out that I had told someone about our current situation.

"No, but I may have," I said quietly.

Her eyes widened. "Are you serious?" she whisper-yelled.

I shriveled back from her tone, feeling like I answered the wrong answer.

"He's one of the most well-known businessmen in Asia, Sakura."

I opened my mouth to respond, but stopped the moment I heard a voice clearing its throat in the front of the classroom.

Everyone's whispering came to a stop, attentions becoming undivided to the teacher.

I tried to avoid looking in the front of the classroom in hopes of him not discovering me in the classroom.

There was the sound of chalk writing on the board before I looked to the front to see that he was writing something on it.

Once he finished, he turned to the classroom, which was my cue to look down again.

"My name is Li Syaoran. If it isn't palpable enough, I'm going to be your teacher for the rest of the school year." His voice sounded as it did when I first met him a month ago. Cold and distant.

I wanted to groan, already knowing that it was going to be a rough rest of the year with him. This side of him was mean, cold, and even rude.

There were more gasps and whispers in the class, which only confirmed my suspicions that everyone knew who he was. Was I really the only person who didn't know about him before we met?

He cleared his throat, silencing the classroom again. "I am not a difficult man, but I do expect a few things from you all," he said.

I bit my lip, holding myself back from saying what I suspected he would say. He had been so strict and stern with me that it was painfully obvious what he would say.

"I expect you all to act your ages because this is not a class that should be taken lightly. It is an advanced course beyond your minds, but you all should have the decency to act like people who are about to become adults," he said sternly.

I looked around the class to see if anyone had taken offense to his tone and accusations of us being children.

It was a little surprising to see that myself and only a few others had caught on to it because the others were still in awe of who he was.

When I heard the chalk on the board again, I looked to the front to see him writing something else down.

Respect.

Attention.

He picked up the ruler and pointed to the first word. "I expect you to show me respect, considering I am taking the time out of my day to enhance your knowledge. I will give you as much respect as you give me."

He waited to see how the class would react to his statement before he continued. "When I am speaking, I expect your attention to be directed to me, and me only. You don't speak unless you're instructed to. If either of you fail to do one or the other, you will automatically be terminated from the course."

I swallowed, looking down at my desk nervously. Why did I suddenly feel like I would be the example to get kicked out of the course?

Oh, right, because he always became infuriated with my attention span and my accidental slip of the tongue remarks.

My face began to grow hot at the thought of tongue, remembering his tongue in my mouth only thirty-six hours ago.

I took a deep breath, and then released it silently. I could do this. He had not noticed me yet, so maybe I could keep my mouth shut for the rest of this year and he wouldn't even look in this direction.

Yeah, that's exactly what I'll do.

A sheet of paper was placed on my desk, catching me off guard.

When I looked up, I was relieved to see that the person in front of me had only given me a stack of papers. I looked at it questioningly until I noticed that it was a syllabus. I took one and handed the stack to the person behind me.

"I want you all to read over the syllabus, and then I will go over it with you all in details."

Swallowing again, I looked down at the sheets of papers in front of me.

In bold letters, there was his full name, his office, and the hours that he would be available.

It was a little surprising to see that he had his own office, considering he wasn't really a teacher here…right? He was a businessman with his own job, so it wouldn't make sense that he teaches too…unless it was a side job?

What would he need with a side job, though? He was already busy as ever, so how did he even find the time to teach too?

Suddenly, I understood a lot of the things that he had told me almost two weeks ago. He had said that he would be a lot busy now, so he wouldn't be able to spend much time with Xing anymore. And now, I understood what he meant. But, if he knew that this would make him busier than normal, why would he take on the job as a teacher too?

I groaned internally, confused as ever about him now. I wanted to ask him questions, which would only let him know that I was in his class. What should I do?

A loud chiming sound in my bag knocked me out of my thoughts, causing me to jump and grab my bag to turn it down.

I took the phone out, turning the volume completely down before looking at the notification.

I froze, eyes widening after reading the text.

'Pay attention.'

I looked to the front of the classroom to see him looking down at something on the desk.

Did he know that I was here?

Of course, moron!

Why else would he text that?

Immediately, I put my phone away after switching it off with a blush on my face.

"First warning, considering I did not touch on this topic. No phones out, and if you have them on you, they are to be turned completely off. If another incident happens like this again, I will dismiss you from the class early, and it will be your loss for any work that is missed."

Everyone in the classroom nodded, and gave him a 'yes sir.'

However, I remained quiet and began to read through the rest of the syllabus quickly, embarrassed that I had to be the first example of some form of chastisement.

He stood from the chair at the desk with the papers in his hand. "Assuming that you all have had enough time reading through everything, I'm going to continue on with the class."

I looked around to see everyone staring at him determined, fearfully even. Everyone took what he said serious, and were scared…

I paused, taking in the emotions that I felt right now. It was surprising to see that fear wasn't present as odd as it sounded.

Maybe surprised was the only thing I felt, considering I have known him for a month now. He wasn't as scary as he was the first time I met him. I had seen a side of him that neither of them had, so maybe that's why I couldn't feel scared of him right now.

"My office hours are after this class and they end at 4:30. It isn't up for debate, as I do have a job that I must go to after this one. Don't think that you can show up at my office at 4:29 because I will dismiss you," he said taciturnly.

I looked at him now, just to see if he was glaring at the class since that's what he usually did with me. He wasn't.

He just had a stern look on his face that made people not want to argue with him. From there on out, he read the course description to us, and then he explained everything that we would learn in the class, and the book that was required. He broke down the grading scale to us, which things counted for more, and the basics.

"Are there any questions, so far?" he asked.

A few of my classmates asked a question, no doubts trying to come off as overly interested in the class.

After he explained the learning outcome, he dismissed class early. When he dismissed us, he placed emphasis on it being a one-time thing, considering he didn't come up with the lesson for the first day of class.

I waited for everyone to stand before I did so he couldn't see me.

"Sakura?" Tomoyo called, making me stand taut from my ducking position.

I turned to her and forced a smile on my face. "Yes?"

She chuckled, giving me a strange look. "What are you doing?" she asked.

My cheeks warmed, eyes looking around me nervously as I tried to come up with something to tell her.

"Uh…I don't want Mr. Li to notice me after my whole embarrassing accident with the phone," I said nervously.

Tomoyo shook her head with a smile on her face. "You're being silly, Sakura. He probably doesn't even know that it was your phone that went off."

Oh, but he does since he is the one who texted me!

My tight, forced smile widened as I shrugged my shoulders. "Maybe not, but can we just get out of here?" I asked, grabbing her arm to rush us to the area where everyone else was.

Just when the door was right in front of us, I heard him clear his throat from across the room, stopping me.

"Kinomoto."

I closed my eyes, praying to any and everything out there that I had only imagined his voice calling my name.

"Kinomoto," he called in a sterner tone.

"I guess he knew after all," Tomoyo murmured to me with a giggle.

Squeezing my eyes shut tighter, I released my tight grip on her arm. "Just kill me now," I said to her.

She smiled. "I'll wait for you outside by the school gate. Good luck," she said, slipping from my side.

I took a deep breath, and then turned to him, hesitating for a moment to walk over to his desk.

He didn't seem to say anything to me for a long while until the last student finished buttering him up with compliments, and their excitement for the school year in this class.

Once the door automatically slid shut behind the student, I could feel his eyes on me, though I didn't look in his direction. I just stared at the papers on his desk, hoping they would come to life and save me from this torture.

"Sakura," he called softer than I expected him to.

I looked up, eyes wide from shock at his change in demeanor towards me. "W-what is it? If it's the phone situation, I'm sorry. I swear I didn't leave it on, on purpose, and I—" I stopped, cheeks growing hotter by the seconds with his eyes locked on me.

He didn't say anything, but just stared at me, so my eyes averted from his, down to his lips.

I looked away just as fast as my eyes landed there when an image of them on me flashed my mind.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see him stand from the chair. My breath caught in my throat, body freezing in shock.

"Did you…"

I took a deep, shaky breath, not expecting him to be this close to me. I didn't say anything, waiting for him to say what he needed to say.

"You haven't told anyone about…?" he trailed off.

My mouth opened, ready to speak, but nothing came out.

"Living with me. Have you told anyone that you're under my care?" he asked.

I turned to him, shaking my head. "Of course not. You told me not t—"

"Good," he interrupted as his eyes dropped down to something on my face.

I swallowed, throwing my hands behind my back nervously to hide their fidgeting. "Uh…can I…" I stopped, realizing what I was about to ask.

I recall myself saying that I wouldn't treat him like my guardian, so I planned to stick by that.

"A couple of friends wanted to hang out today, so…" I trailed off awkwardly.

He stared at me for a moment before nodding his head. "Okay."

I blinked once, and then stared at him with squinted eyes. Was he being serious?

"Xing gets out at six, and Kenta will bring him home, so I need you to be home before then," he said.

I glanced at the clock on his desk to see that it was 3:02. Looking at him, I nodded. "O-okay."

"Who are they?" he asked suddenly, looking at me serious.

My brows scrunched together in confusion at the question. "What do you mean?"

"These friends you're associating yourself with."

I wanted to question why he wanted to know, but I didn't think of it as a problem.

"The same ones I was telling you about two weeks ago," I said.

He raised a brow. "And they are? Are they in this class?"

I nodded. "It's Tomoyo, Naoko, Rika, and Chiharu," I said, smiling. "That's all."

He nodded, moving closer to me.

This caused my body to stiffen at the sudden move and invasion of my privacy. I watched his hand move up to my hair, gently grabbing a few strands of it. "Okay," he said, leaning down.

My eyes widened, almost making me think that he would lean down to kiss me, but his lips met my hair. "Be careful," he whispered.

My eyes shot up to his that were staring at me intensely. My face felt like it could explode at any minute now. Nonetheless, I nodded slowly.

He released my hair, and moved away from me.

I let out the deep breath that I had been holding. "I-I'll see you later?" I asked, eyes remaining locked with his.

He looked away, face appearing deep in thought. "No. I won't be back until late tonight."

"Oh."

He reached his hand out towards me. "The phone. Let me see it," he said, rather than asking.

"Oh," I said, reaching into the bag to grab it out. I handed it to him.

He turned it on and pressed a few things on the screen. I was tempted to lean over and look at what he was doing, but knew better than to. Besides, it wasn't worth souring his mood.

"You keep it turned off in my class," he demanded sternly. "But, keep it turned on when I'm not around." He handed it back to me.

I took it at a loss for words to tell him. In the end, I just nodded.

"You can leave," he said.

I took a deep breath and pulled the bag to me tightly, and then nodded. "Yes, sir— I mean, Syaoran," I said, scrambling out of the classroom.

It could have just been my imagination, but I thought I heard him chuckle after closing the door behind me.

"Really?!" Chiharu exclaimed.

She had brown hair that was pushed back into two low pony tails with light brown eyes. I had met her in Elementary School too when I first moved to Tokyo with Touya.

I grinned, nodding my head. "Yes. It was so much fun! He bought us tickets so we didn't have to wait in those long lines too," I said.

"You're really lucky, Sakura. I haven't even been out of the country before," Naoko said in awe.

Naoko had short, brown hair with brown eyes. I met her in Elementary school too, and she loved to tell stories that creeped us all out.

Rika nodded. "I didn't even know that you had a rich uncle!"

Rika had short dark, chocolate hair that normally curled around her face with brown eyes.

I laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of my head nervously. "I didn't either…" I murmured, looking away.

"Tell them about the cousin you were talking about, Sakura. He sounds adorable, guys. I heard him over the phone the yesterday," Tomoyo said excited.

I smiled, thinking about Xing. He had run in my room when I was on the phone with Tomoyo yesterday and talked about everything he and his dad did on Saturday.

I couldn't come up with anything, so I just ended up telling Tomoyo that he was my cousin.

When had I become such a good liar?

"You have a cousin!?" Chiharu exclaimed, dropping her spoon of ice-cream.

"Yeah. He's a handful, but I love him already," I said truthfully. "He gets out at six, so I have to be back before then."

I could barely wait to get home to see him now. He would probably tell me everything about his first day of school, and I could barely wait to hear him.

"You babysit?" Naoko asked.

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Sometimes. My uncle's busy a lot since he owns his own businesses," I said. How was I getting good at this lying thing?

"Speaking of people and businesses, what do you guys think about Mr. Li?" Tomoyo asked, grinning.

"He's hot," Naoko said, smiling.

My cheeks warmed at the compliment for him. Perhaps everyone thinks he's attractive…

"Agreed. He seems like an asshole, though," Chiharu said, taking a scoop of her chocolate ice-cream to eat.

I smiled, nodding my head. "He does give off that vibe," I said, hoping I sounded convincing enough. I didn't need them to suspect anything right now, especially after he stressed enough to tell no one.

"Well, maybe he's only coming off like that so no one takes advantage of him," Tomoyo said, smiling.

"That could be true. Terada-sensei was very kind, though, and no one took advantage of him," Rika said with a blush.

I smiled at her, knowingly. She had a crush on him when we were younger, and even went as far to confess to him.

He had let her down so nicely that it seemed like he gave her the slightest bit of hope that they would be together one day.

Chiharu chuckled, shaking her head. "Well, I guess that just leaves him in the category as an asshole," she said.

I smiled. "That sounds a little rude," I said in a playful tone.

"How was it, Sakura?" Tomoyo asked.

"How was what?" I asked, confused.

"What did he say about your phone going off in class?" Tomoyo asked.

"Oh!" I said, blushing in embarrassment. "Uhh..."

"Did you get punished with that ruler he had?" Chiharu asked in a mischievous tone.

My cheeks burned even more at that question. "Chiharu!" I exclaimed, embarrassed out of my mind.

Everyone laughed at my reaction, to my disappointment.

How could they think this is funny?

"Well, did he?" Naoko asked, wiggling her eyebrows playfully.

I bit my lips nervously before releasing it. "No! I can't believe you guys would even ask me that," I said shyly.

"I don't know. He gives off the whole dominating vibe for some reason," Chiharu said, shrugging her shoulders.

"That's true. I mean, did you hear the things he told us? And the tone he used?" Naoko asked exasperatedly.

"Guys! Rika, do you hear this right now?" I asked, turning to the only other shy person in the group.

She giggled, shaking her dark brown hair comically. "I know it's embarrassing to say and think, but they have a point," she said softly.

I didn't want to think about Syaoran in situations like that, so I changed the subject. "Anyway, he only warned me not to let it happen again," I said, cheeks warming a bit.

"Are you sure, Sakura? I mean, you were gone for quite a while for him just to say that," Tomoyo said, smiling at me mischievously.

"Tomoyo!" I whined, burying my face in my hand, embarrassed.

Why were they doing this to me? I had to go back to his home and live with him for the next couple of months. Certainly, I didn't need them to keep giving me scenes to imagine with him.

Everyone burst out laughing and continued their teasing and taunting for the rest of our time at the ice cream shop.

Once we finished there, we went to the mall and walked around a bit and bought a few things from the stores.

As soon as 5:30 hit, I decided to call it a day so I could get back in enough time before Xing did. They all walked me back to the train station, and then bid me goodbye once I got on.

When I sat down in the train, I looked out the window with a grin on my face. I could barely contain this bubbling happiness in the bottom of my stomach at the thoughts of Xing being home.

I paused, realizing my thoughts. When had their house become my home?

Pushing the thought to the side, I reveled in the feeling of excitement to see him.

As soon as I got off the train, I rode the bus to the nearest stop to the house. I almost ran the rest of the way home when I saw Kenta's car parked on the side walk.

"Sakura!" Xing exclaimed, running to me half way to give me a 'bear' hug with his little arms.

I held onto him a little tightly, picking him up so I could walk us back to the house. Kenta was outside of the car with a warm smile on his face.

"Hey, Kenta-san," I said, smiling at him.

"Did you walk home?" he asked, looking at me a little worried.

I shook my head. "Of course not. I rode the train, and then the bus," I explained.

He looked thoughtful for a moment before he nodded his head. "How was school for you?" he asked.

"It was great. It's the first day, so I don't know how the outcome of the year will be. I'm going to say that it's going to be great though," I said.

He chuckled, nodding his head. "I'm glad you're positive about it," he said kindly.

Xing unburied his face from my neck and looked me in the face. "I missed you so much!" he yelled in my face.

I giggled, ruffling his hair before I sat him down on his feet.

He held on to me tightly. "No! I don't want you to put me down yet," he whined.

"Come on, Xing. We have to go inside," I said, prying his little arms away.

"Aww…" he said disappointed.

I ruffled his hair again and the pout left his face with a giggle.

He grabbed my hand, holding on to it tightly. "I have so much to tell you! I told Ken-kun everything, didn't I?" Xing said, turning to Kenta.

He chuckled, nodding his head. "You sure did, buddy."

"Would you like to come inside?" I asked Kenta.

He smiled at me kindly. "I would be more than happy to, but I have to get back to the office to give some paperwork to Xiao Lang."

"Oh…" I said a little disappointed. "Alright. Maybe next time then."

He nodded and ruffled Xing's hair before he bid us goodbye.

I reached into my bag, grabbing out the key that Syaoran had given me yesterday before they left.

Once we settled into the house, Xing told me everything he did at school, from his arrival to his departure.

"So, you made a new friend?" I asked, wrapping my arms around him as we cuddled on the couch.

"I made lots of friends! There's Amai, Tenshi, Sora, and…" He stopped, looking deep in thought. "I think that's all, but they're my bestest friends in the whole world! They played with me all day on the playground, we shared our things, and we, we, we—"

"Xing, breathe," I said, rubbing his back when I noticed his face turning pale from the lack of oxygen.

He took a deep breath and then exhaled it. He giggled. "It was just so awesome! I can't wait to go back!" he exclaimed.

I giggled, ruffling his hair. "I'm sure you can't. You want to tell me what you learned today?" I asked, smiling at him.

"Well, we learned some of the alphabets, but I already knew them, so I got a star! Isn't that awesome!?" he exclaimed, holding on to me tighter.

"Yes, it is! I'm so proud of you," I said excited for him.

"Do you think Daddy will be proud too when I tell him?" he asked, grinning at me.

My smile softened, and I nodded my head. "I know he will," I said softly.

"Maybe I can tell him when he gets home!"

"I don't know, Xing. You'll have to go to bed early since you have school tomorrow," I said, hoping to shift the conversation away from his dad.

"But, Daddy would want to hear about my day too," he said, smiling.

"He would, but he would also want you to get your rest so you can have another great day tomorrow," I said encouragingly.

His smile faltered for a minute before a sad smile formed on his lips. "That's true…maybe I can tell him in the morning when he takes me to school?" he said questioningly.

I kissed his cheek. "Of course. He's just as excited to hear about it as you are about telling him," I said.

His smile turned into a grin and he nodded his head. "You're right!"

His stomach grumbled, catching us both off guard. He blushed, looking down sheepishly. "I guess I'm hungry, huh?"

I ruffled his already disheveled hair again, releasing him. "Yes, you are. How about we go and warm up the food Ms. Hana cooked and feed our stomachs? I'm hungry too," I said.

He nodded and hopped off the couch, running to the kitchen.

I giggled, following him to warm the food up.

Once everything was done, we ate dinner, talking nonstop about any and everything his little mind could come up with. This was the happiest I had ever seen him, considering how sad he had been over the last few weeks.

Seeing him this happy made me happy, and relieved that he could look past the depressing things in his life to see the happiness in it. Though he couldn't see his dad as much as he would want to, he still remained happy.

It was almost inspirational, even though he was only a kid. Kids could find happiness in everything, no matter the situation. It wasn't really a surprise, but he still made me feel inspired to be happy, or look for the positive in every situation.

I heard my phone ringing loudly in the living room, so I ran to it, grabbing the phone out of my bag. I looked at the caller id, and my heart began to race at who it was.

I swiped it across. "H-hello?" I answered nervously.

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Do you not know the purpose of a phone?" he asked irritated in the phone.

I frowned, brows scrunching together in confusion. What has his panties in a knot?

"What's wrong?" I asked, confused.

"I sent you a text earlier, asking if you got home," he said, clearly annoyed.

I pulled the phone back from my ear to see something on the top of the notification bar.

"I'm sorry…I've been with Xing since I got home," I said sheepishly.

He sighed again, still sounding annoyed. "I expect you to answer me when I contact you in any kind of way," he said.

My frown deepened, irritation growing towards him because of his attitude. It wasn't like I ignored him on purpose, so I didn't understand why he was letting himself get all worked up about this.

"Well, I'm sorry, okay? I'm home if that makes you feel any better," I said in a tone similar to his.

"Excuse me?" He sounded offended.

Great.

"I'm sorry…I really didn't ignore you on purpose," I said in a calmer tone.

"I hope that it doesn't happen again," he said in a dangerously low tone.

I was tempted to ask, 'and if it does?' But I caught myself, remembering the conversation between Chiharu and the others today.

I pushed that thought to the back of my head too, not wanting to test him with that.

"Sakura!" Xing yelled from the kitchen.

I sighed. "I have to go."

"Was that Xing?" he asked, tone changing suddenly to a softer one.

I swallowed. "Yes. We were eating dinner before you called," I said.

"Are you guys finished?"

"Yes, but—"

"Could you give the phone to him?" he asked.

I smiled, nodding my head. "Of course. Give me a minute," I said, already rushing to the kitchen where he was.

Xing looked at me curiously as I handed him the phone. "It's your dad," I said.

He gasped dramatically, almost snatching the phone out of my hand. "Daddy?" he called, placing the phone against his ear.

A wide smile spread across his face, warming my heart at the sight. I even forgot about the mini argument that I had with Syaoran seconds ago. There was no way that anyone could ever make my day bad when Xing was involved.

I don't know how long they talked on the phone, but it had to have been an hour.

Xing yawned, laying his head on my shoulders as we watched the tv after the phone call. "I'm getting tired, Sakura," he said tiredly.

I glanced at the clock to see that it was eight o' clock. "How about we take you a bath, read a bed time story, and put you down for bed?" I suggested.

He smiled, nodding his head. "Daddy isn't going to come home tonight, so can I sleep with you?" he asked shyly.

"Of course. Come on," I said, picking him up to bring him to the bathroom.

I ran water, and then bathed him as soon as the water was finished. Once I tucked him into bed, I read a story to him. Before I had even finished the book, he was already asleep, cuddling up to me.

Looking down at him, I smiled, caressing his hair gently. It was good that he had a good day, today. Also, I did too. Though it was shocking to see who the new teacher was, everything else was great.

I saw all my friends, and the semester didn't seem like it would be hard. The only class I was really worried about is math, but that's because I had never been good at it. I didn't want to worry about it, though.

I closed my eyes with my arms wrapped around Xing, hoping I could fall asleep with him, but I couldn't.

For some reason, I wanted to wait for Syaoran to get home so I could see him, only if it would be for a little while. I didn't know if it would be a good idea, though. He had already seemed a little upset with me about my lack of response to his texts earlier.

Maybe I could apologize and make him understand that it wasn't intentional.

Yeah, that's what I could do.

I didn't know how long I lied in this bed before I heard the front door opening. Gently, I pried his little hands from my body with much struggle and left the room. I left the door cracked open a little for him in case he woke up at any time. Then, I headed straight for the kitchen, already knowing that's where he would be.

And there he was, facing the microwave to warm his food up.

Clearing my throat to get his attention, he jumped, turning to me.

I swallowed, clasping my hands together behind my back. "Hi," I said quietly.

He sighed, turning back to the microwave to stare at his food. "What are you doing awake?" he asked coldly.

I frowned, feeling a little offended by his tone. Was he so angry with the assumption that I ignored him on purpose?

"I wanted to see you," I said in a low voice.

"Why?" he asked, raising his voice a little at me.

"Because, I—"

"It doesn't matter. Just, go get some rest," he said.

"Did I do something?" I asked, walking further in the kitchen.

I was testing my luck, I could admit, but I didn't want us to end on bad terms tonight. It would be awkward to see him at school tomorrow.

He didn't say anything for a long while, rising the tension in the room.

"Syao—"

"Just stop talking, okay?" he said harshly.

I could feel the back of my eyes beginning to burn with tears. They were angry tears.

"If this is about our earlier conversation on the phone, I'm sorry. I swear I didn't ignore you on purpose," I said, ignoring his demand about me not talking.

He sighed, opening the microwave to grab his plate out of it. "Goodnight, Sakura," he dismissed, walking over to the table to sit his plate on it. He sat in the chair in front of it.

Stubbornly, I walked further in the kitchen, sitting in the chair beside him.

His breath caught in his throat, eyes looking at me. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded.

He didn't move away, though.

"I'm not leaving or going to sleep until you tell me what I did that has you upset," I said, folding my arms stubbornly. What has gotten into me?

He sighed, picking his chopsticks up to eat his food, rudely ignoring me.

I wanted to groan and pull my hair out in frustration. Why did he keep doing this? Was it because we kissed?

"Is this about the kiss?" I asked without thinking twice about it. "Because if it is, it was your idea. You suggested the kiss, so you can't be upset with me about it."

He froze, turning in my direction, glaring at me. Hard.

Great.

"Why must you bring up such troubling issues?" he asked coldly, glaring at me.

I frowned. "Fine. Forget you and your moody behaviors," I said, standing up from the table abruptly.

On my way up, I accidentally knocked his plate over, along with the chair I was sitting in, creating a mess, and loud noise that could possibly wake Xing. I gasped, turning to him with wide eyes. "I'm so sorry! I swear I didn't do it on purpose, and I'm sorry for—"

I stopped when I heard him trying to stifle a laugh. My cheeks grew hot at my attempt to storm out the kitchen, which was obviously a fail. And now he was trying not to laugh at me.

Double great.

I turned to leave to end my own misery, but was surprised to feel a tight grip on my wrist. I looked down at the hand to see that it was Syaoran's. "You didn't do anything," he said softly.

And then he let me go.

Still flustered and embarrassed by my dramatic behavior seconds ago, I walked out of the kitchen after mummuring a soft good night to him.

I tried to get this chapter out last night, but it was so late that I K.O'ed while editing it lol.

Anyway, thanks a bunch for the reviews, follows, and favorites! The next chapter's going to be in Syaoran's pov :P

Ja ne!