Chapter Twelve

It's not the same

Syaoran snorted, finally getting into the passenger seat of his mother's car. He was tired from the flight, Russia was too far away from Japan.

He closed his eyes and slept the whole way, from the Tokyo airport until they passed through Tomoeda, waking up once they entered the small town where they lived.

"I guess you're going to sleep all afternoon, aren't you?" His mother said when she saw him awake.

Syaoran took the phone out, checked the time, and sighed.

"No. Sakura's bus will arrive in an hour and I want to go see her."

Yelan glanced at her son from the corner of her eye, raising an eyebrow.

"Syaoran, you are tired. You'll see her tomorrow, it's better if you rest when we get home."

He shook his head.

"I wanna see her, I've missed her a lot. It will be fast, I'll be back soon and I'll go to sleep."

"Okay, whatever you want," Yelan replied, opening their house garage.

Half an hour later, Syaoran was riding his motorcycle on the way to Tomoeda.

Sakura was sitting next to Tomoyo, and Meiling was lying on top of both of them. They were on the bus with the rest of the students from their high school, on their way back to Tomoeda.

"Marco was a great kisser," Meiling whispered, stroking her lips with her index finger.

The three girls giggled.

"And did you like how Geovani kisses?" Tomoyo asked in a low voice as she nudged Sakura.

"I... I guess so. It was weird, but I liked it," she admitted, blushing and looking away.

"It was your first kiss, right?" Meiling said, lifting both eyebrows and smirking.

Syaoran's face appeared in Sakura's mind for a few seconds.

"Yes, it was the first," she confirmed, shaking her head to get her friend out of her thoughts.

If Meiling ever found out about that... Sakura was sure that the cordial relationship they both had would be ruined again, and this time it'd be forever.

"Come on, Sakura. Tell us how Geovani moved his tongue," Tomoyo said with a chuckle.

"Ugh, no! I'm not telling you that," she answered, making a face of disgust.

"Well, Marco knew how to use his very well, he stroked my lip several times and sucked mine hard," Meiling whispered.

Sakura rolled her eyes, eliciting laughter from her two friends.

"You were missing for a long time last night... could it be that you two did more than share some kisses?" Meiling asked, arching an eyebrow.

Sakura gave them a mischievous smile.

"I'm not going to tell you anything, that stays between Geovani and me."

"I'm sure you'll tell everything to Syaoran," Tomoyo said, snorting.

"No, I won't tell anyone."

They chatted about the two Italians guys until they were in Tomoeda, though Sakura avoided giving them details of her kisses with Geovani, or what she had done with him the night before, when they had met secretly and returned an hour later.

The bus stopped, they had already reached the square next to their school. The three girls went down with their companions and collected their suitcases. Turning around, they saw Chiharu, Naoko and Syaoran sitting on a bench.

Sakura smiled and ran to Syaoran, who stood up as soon as he saw her. The two merged into a hug and he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I've missed you so much," Sakura whispered in his ear.

"Me too, you don't know how much," Syaoran answered in a low voice.

Meiling and Tomoyo were greeting their two friends, very close to them.

"Hey, Syaoran! Did Sakura tell you that she's given her first kiss?" Tomoyo asked with excitement.

The two friends pulled away. Sakura glanced at Syaoran for a moment before answering.

"Yes, Tomoyo. He already knows, I told him about it in a text."

"So you got your first kiss... interesting," Syaoran said with an amused smile.

Sakura gave him a warning look and pinched him on the side, making him laugh.

"Yes, an Italian boy. And perhaps he gave her much more than a kiss," Meiling replied, hugging Chiharu.

"Sakura likes foreigners," Tomoyo murmured, nudging the mentioned girl.

"Leave me alone," she protested, her face very red.

The four girls waved at them and walked away, leaving the two friends alone.

"Much more than a kiss? Have you slept with him?" Syaoran asked, tugging at a lock of her mahogany hair.

Sakura smiled, tapping him on the shoulder.

"I'm not telling you. Aren't you happy for me?"

He nodded, a smile on his lips. He grabbed her with his arms, lifting her into the air as he spun around a couple of times. They both laughed out loud.

"I'm very happy for you, you've finally kissed a boy you like," Syaoran said, putting her down again.

"Yes, but I'll never see him again... though I really don't care," she replied, shrugging.

A crooked smirk appeared on his face.

"Did you just want him for some days? Well, you have changed your mind, Sakura."

She snorted and started walking with Syaoran towards his motorcycle.

"Look who's talking, the 'every month I'm with a different girl' gentleman."

His eyes rolled as he snorted.

"That's an exaggeration. I haven't been with a girl for three months and you know it."

Sakura made a funny face but didn't reply.

"You're really not going to tell me?" Syaoran asked, making a sad face.

Sakura pretended to think about it.

"We'll make a deal... I'll tell you everything that happened between Geovani and me when I fall in love for the first time."

"That may be a long way off," he protested, growling through his teeth.

"Well, you'll have to wait."

"Nah, I know you're still a virgin. You can't sleep with a boy you hardly know."

"You think? I don't know, I've changed a lot since I met you. You have opened my eyes to many new things, maybe now I am capable of doing that," Sakura murmured in an amused voice.

Syaoran stared at her, narrowing his eyes.

"I always tell you everything!" he grunted.

"And I'll tell you about it too... when I fall in love. It's funny to leave you wondering about it."

He snorted, deciding to stop pressing her for the moment. When they got to his motorbike, Syaoran opened the seat and pulled the blue helmet out.

"I have to go home to rest, see you tomorrow?" he asked his friend.

"Of course, we can go to the cinema tomorrow. There's a scary one I want to watch."

Syaoran ruffled her hair and she groaned, trying to punch him.

"A film tomorrow, then. I'll call you after lunch."

Sakura nodded, giving him a kiss on the cheek before he put on his helmet. She watched as her best friend's motorcycle pulled away from her.

The summer continued its course, they were already at the beginning of September and their Baccalaureate classes would begin shortly.

One Friday, Syaoran and Sakura were walking down the streets of Tomoeda, with a chocolate milkshake in one of their hands. They started going to the city centre, joking with each other, until Syaoran stopped in front of a shop.

Sakura turned around, surprised not to see her friend next to her, and she saw he was looking at a jewelry store.

"What are you doing?" she asked, tilting her head.

"I'm going to buy you a gift."

"Why? My birthday is more than seven months away."

He looked at her with bright eyes.

"In a few days, it'll be a year since we met."

Sakura's heart raced and she smiled. Her friend was a sweetheart.

"Well, if you're going to give me a gift, I also want to give you something."

Syaoran took her hand and the two of them entered the shop.

"I want to give you a bracelet. That will never deteriorate," he said, pointing to the silver bracelets.

"It reminds me of the one you gave Meiling," Sakura muttered, making a face.

Syaoran sighed, grimacing.

"Don't compare, I gave it to her because she forced me. But I want to give this to you, nobody is forcing me to do it."

"And what can I give you? Is there something you like? Because I can't imagine you wearing a bracelet, Syaoran."

He arched an eyebrow, looking around.

"No, not a bracelet... but maybe a ring."

Sakura walked over to look at the silver rings in a display case, and Syaoran pointed to the plain rings that had nothing on them.

"Okay, I'll buy you one. Do we write something on them?" she asked indecisively.

"Of course, otherwise it's not funny. But with no date, you know that our love lasts forever," he replied, giving her an affectionate pinch on her cheek.

They went to the counter and bought a silver bracelet and a ring, having them engraved with their names. After paying they left, the next day they could come back to pick them up.

That weekend, the two friends couldn't see each other, and Monday was the first day of school.

Sakura arrived with Tomoyo. They went up together to the second floor, which was where their new classes were. They were both a little nervous, that year they would have to study much more because they were going to university in two years. They still had no idea what they wanted to study, but at least they had a lot of time to think about it.

They got into their new classroom, 1.A., and looked for their seats. As always, the desks were separated from each other and they had to sit in order.

Sakura saw Syaoran and ran to sit in front of him. He looked up at her and smirked.

"We meet again, Miss Kinomoto."

She smiled back at him.

"Yes, Mister Li. One more year."

They both giggled and Syaoran pulled something out of his pocket.

"I picked them up on Saturday, let's see if you like yours," he said, leaving a package on his desk.

Sakura opened it, finding the ring and the silver bracelet.

On the front, the bracelet had the word 'Sakura' in capital letters. On the back, it had the same words as the inside of her friend's ring, 'Sakura and Syaoran', and on the front of the ring she could see two very small 's' intertwined.

Sakura took the bracelet and put it on her right forearm.

"I like it so much, Syaoran. Thanks."

He also put the ring on his finger.

"Thank you for my gift, I hope I never lose it," he replied as he spun the ring on his ring finger.

"You better not," Sakura said with a pouty face.

Syaoran made a mocking face and they both laughed, but fell silent when they saw their new teacher entering the classroom.