A Semester of Deceit and Love
Chapter 3: A Rivalry
Sakura continued to stare at the young man in front of her. I can't believe it…it really is him...
"Hi, Sakura-san," Syaoran said quietly, hesitantly. His eyes widened as he saw tears forming in Sakura's eyes. She shook her head slightly, trying to force her tears away. Why am I crying?
"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Syaoran mumbled.
Sakura just stared at him, remaining silent. Syaoran began to blush; he looked down at his feet, trying to avoid her stare.
"Why…." Sakura began, then stopped.
Syaoran looked up at her.
"When did you get here?" she asked.
"Yesterday," he replied.
"Why didn't you tell us you were coming here?"
"I…I wanted to surprise everyone I guess," he muttered quietly.
Sakura took a deep breath. "Why didn't you ever write or anything?"
Syaoran looked guiltily away. "I…it was hard…I couldn't…" he stuttered.
Sakura looked up at him confused. What is that supposed to mean? Maybe I shouldn't ask…if he wanted to tell me, he would have…
She finally smiled. "Well, I am glad you're here."
He smiled back at her. "Me too."
The screech of the bus behind them suddenly caught their attention.
"Let's go," Sakura said, running toward the bus. I'm so confused…why did he come back now?
Syaoran smiled slightly, following close behind her. She's certainly grown up…very pretty… He blushed.
***
Sakura slowly made her way through the crowd to join Tomoyo, Naoko, and Rika who were sitting in a corner table in the dining center.
"You will never guess who is here," Sakura said, smiling as she sat down.
The other three girls just looked at her with questioning looks on their faces.
"I told him we would be sitting here. He said he would meet us."
"A guy?" Tomoyo asked, amused. "Did Sakura-chan find someone she likes?"
Sakura blushed. "No…it's not like that."
Just then, she looked up to see Syaoran making his way over to them. She smiled. The others followed her line of sight and squealed happily when they saw the handsome man walking toward them.
He smiled as he watched them. They've all grown…
"Wow! It has been such a long time since we have seen you!" Tomoyo exclaimed, giving Syaoran a friendly hug. "How have you been doing? How's Meilin-san? Is she here?"
"Slow down, Tomoyo-san," Rika advised, smiling.
"I'm fine, Meilin's fine, and no, she's not here," Syaoran answered. "How are all of you?"
"We're all doing fine," Naoko told him.
"Who else is at school here?" Syaoran asked.
"Just us," Tomoyo said. "Chiharu-san and Yamazaki-kun are going to Towa University."
"I guess I'll have to visit them then," Syaoran stated.
"We have a holiday really soon for some reason," Rika said.
"We're going to go back to Tomoeda for it, and hang out with them," Naoko added.
"Tomoeda? Is that where you guys are from?" The group looked up to find Ryan standing unexpectedly again behind Sakura.
"Hi Ryan-san," Sakura said quietly.
"Well hey. Would you mind introducing me to your friends? I mean, I know Tomoyo-san, but not the others," Ryan said.
"Well, these other two girls are Rika-san and Naoko-san, and this," Sakura said motioning toward Syaoran, "is Syaoran-kun."
The two men looked interestedly at each other for a few moments. Ryan smirked almost unnoticeably. Syaoran noticed. This guy…
"So, did you say you guys were from Tomoeda?" Ryan asked, turning to face Sakura once more.
"That's right," Sakura said.
"How far is that from here?"
"Only about an hour," Tomoyo replied.
"That must be nice, being so close to home," Ryan said. The others nodded. "Well anyway, I guess I better be going. I was supposed to meet my friends like a few minutes ago."
Syaoran glared at Ryan's back as he left. I don't like that guy at all…
***
"So, how did you find out Li-kun was here?" Tomoyo asked. Sakura relayed the story of how she had run into him that morning.
Tomoyo grinned. "I wish I had been there to see that…and tape it." Sakura groaned.
Tomoyo frowned slightly. Sakura hasn't been herself all day today. It has to be because of Syaoran-kun. I wonder why he came back finally, after all these years. I know Sakura was hurt when he never wrote or called. But now, he's finally back. I thought she would be happy, but she doesn't act like it.
She watched as Sakura slowly moped around the room, gathering her shower supplies and pajamas.
"I'm going to go take a shower," Sakura mumbled as she left the room. Tomoyo sighed.
***
Syaoran walked slowly down the hall, pausing for just a second outside the door to Sakura's and Tomoyo's room. He sighed, remembering the hurt look in Sakura's eyes that morning. Maybe it's too late. Maybe she already has someone…she's so pretty. And all the guys around here seem to like her a lot…I can tell just by how they look at her…she is pretty though…she would never wait for me. And it's not like I told her anything before I left that would convince her to…but then…I wasn't sure about anything…
He continued down the hall toward his own room, but paused at the mention of Sakura's name in one of the rooms he was passing that had its door open just slightly.
"So, do you think that Sakura girl is starting to like you at all?"
"I don't know," another voice answered. Syaoran's eyes widened. I know that voice…it's that guy that I met today when I was with the others…I knew he was interested in Sakura…
"But today, I met this one guy that they knew," Ryan said. "For some reason, I got the feeling that he didn't like me, and I'm guessing it's because he thought I liked Sakura…even though I'm not exactly sure how he knew."
"Is he her boyfriend or something?"
"No, for some reason, I don't think so," Ryan replied.
"So what's the problem?"
"Like I said, I felt like the guy didn't like me. And I'm quite sure he wouldn't like me doing the things I want to do with Sakura…he might cause problems." Ryan said.
Syaoran's body started to shake with anger as he heard the last comment by Ryan. I can't believe that guy… He slowly backed away and walked the rest a few doors down to his own room, trying his best to contain his anger. I should have stayed…to hear what else that guy had to say…but I don't think I could have handled it…
He threw himself across his bed, punching his pillow over and over, trying to release some of his anger. How dare he think he can do anything? If he even tries…I swear…he will regret it…
***
End of Chapter 3
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