Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004
Chapter 6: Snowboarding
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"So we're here," Sakura gulped, staring down the huge mountain, or so it seemed.
"This is the bunny slope," Eriol reminded her.
"It's still big," Sakura said.
"All right. I'm going to teach Tomoyo, Syaoran, why don't you take care of Sakura and Touya can teach Meiling," Eriol directed.
"Okay," Touya grunted.
He flipped his snowboard around, got on it and started zooming down the mountain.
"Hey!" Meiling called after him, "What about me?"
"Here," Eriol said, "Put your feet firmly on the board."
Tomoyo and Sakura followed suit.
"Hey, I'm supposed to be teaching you," Syaoran said.
Sakura flashed him a grin, "But you aren't, are you?"
Syaoran looked at her sheepishly, "All right. My fault. Um, how about I show you some basic things? Are you right handed or left handed?"
"Right," Sakura answered.
"Okay. Then you most likely want to face left. It's easier to maneuver that way. Then, as soon as you're balanced, you want to get some momentum to get you going. So act like your skateboarding, and give yourself a push," Syaoran said.
"Wait, hold up. I'm still confused. I face left? Where do my hands go, then?" Sakura asked.
Syaoran walked behind Sakura and did a position.
Sakura turned her head around and nodded, "Did that."
"Now, are you balanced?" Syaoran asked.
"Yeah," Sakura laughed, "I think I am."
"I'm going to give you a slight push. That's going to send you going, okay? If you think you need to stop, fall down or yell at me. But otherwise, keep on going until you slow down and stop," Syaoran said.
He put his hand gently on Sakura's hip and gave it a small push.
Sakura screamed as she suddenly lurched forward, but pretty soon she got the control of the snowboard and slid down the hill.
There was a tree coming up, so Sakura leaned over to the right and surprisingly, the snowboard obeyed and they passed the tree at a safe distance.
It slowed down after awhile, and so Sakura stopped it and walked back up the hill.
"That was fun," Sakura said shyly.
"No problem. You're a natural."
"All right. What's next?" Sakura asked eagerly.
"Practice. Yo, Touya, where's Meiling?" Syaoran called to Touya, who was trudging uphill.
"She actually got a hang of it and beat me. I couldn't believe it. And I'm the best snowboarder out of all of us," Touya complained.
"Seriously?" Syaoran said, "Damn. She fast."
Meiling appeared several minutes later, cheeks rosy and glowing, and she said, "Whoo! That rocked! I felt like I was flying."
Sakura laughed, "Figures. You're the most athletic out of all of us. I barely got down this hill."
Tomoyo and Eriol were walking up the hill hand in hand, "Hey. I actually got her to make it down this hill."
"You guys went?" Sakura asked, "I thought you guys were still standing there talking!"
Tomoyo and Eriol laughed, and said, "No."
"Oh Eriol! Syaoran! Touya!" a familiar voice rang out.
The six people turned around to see Shawna holding four cups of steaming coffee in mugs.
"I'm on my break, Eriol," Shawna said flirtatiously and handed him a mug.
She also handed Touya and Syaoran mugs and took the last one for herself and sipped it.
"Don't you have any for them?" Eriol asked.
"Huh? Oh, them," Shawna looked at them for a minute, "No. But they can get some coffee down at the café."
"Then we'll go," Meiling said sharply, and turned around and headed toward the building, Sakura and Tomoyo at her heels.
"Tomoyo, wait!" Eriol gulped down his coffee, ignoring the stinging heat as it traveled down his throat, threw the mug in Shawna's hand and ran after Tomoyo.
"Tsk, tsk. She has him right in the palm of her hand," Touya said.
"They're going out? Eriol? And that purple haired girl? Puahahaha!" Shawna burst out in laugher, nearly spilling her coffee.
"Yeah. They are. And it's a good relationship," Syaoran said rather coldly.
Shawna flipped her hair and said, "Whatever. So are you going out with anybody?"
Touya rolled his eyes, "Yeah right. Does he look like he is?"
Shawna winked at Syaoran, "Then maybe we'll get together sometime."
Syaoran guzzled down the rest of his coffee and gave it to Shawna, and said, "I'm a going catch up with Sak--I mean, Eriol and everyone."
"Me too," Touya handed the mug back to Shawna and said, "Thanks."
They walked away, their boots crunching in the snow, and Shawna pouted, "Bye then!"
Syaoran rolled his eyes, "God, she gets annoying."
Touya laughed, "She likes you."
"Who doesn't she like?" Syaoran asked sarcastically.
"Me. I'm too old for her. Muahaha," Touya laughed evilly.
"I'm afraid Tomoyo's jealous of Shawna. Partially 'cause Shawna's a slut and everybody likes them. And partially because it's Tomoyo's first boyfriend and we all know Eriol's status in dating," Touya said.
"Mm," Syaoran agreed.
They trotted up to the buildings, following Eriol's tracks.
They walked into the coffee café and spotted Sakura, Eriol, Tomoyo and Meiling sitting in a table together.
"Hey," Touya greeted them.
"Back at cha. The bitch gone yet?" Meiling asked.
Sakura playfully swatted at Meiling, "Don't call her that! That's too mean."
"Nah, I agree," Syaoran said, and let out a rare half-smile.
Sakura laughed, "In that case, yeah, she's a bitch. And a big one at that."
Touya and Syaoran pulled up a chair and sat down across Meiling and Sakura.
"What are they talking about?" Touya whispered to Meiling and Sakura.
Sakura shrugged, "I don't know. They've been talking."
"About what?"
"Dunno."
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Eriol held Tomoyo's hand gently, "I'm sorry about Shawna. I can tell she hurt your feelings."
Tomoyo smiled sadly, "It's all right. I've met worse people than her."
"Do you remember their names?" Eriol asked, serious.
Tomoyo laughed, "Not all of them. But I doubt you can beat them up."
Eriol gave a crooked grin to her and said, "I would try. Honestly."
Tomoyo smiled and said, "It's just that…whenever I'm with Shawna, I always feel like I'm competing with you. Since you two have obviously went farther than I have with you, and she's so freaking thin and pretty…"
"That's not true," Eriol said soberly, "Believe it or not, this is the farthest in a relationship I've ever gone emotionally in a relationship. All my other ones…they didn't mean anything, Tomoyo. I love you."
"Me too," Tomoyo said sincerely, "I do."
Eriol leaned forward and whispered in Tomoyo's ear, "Come to my bedroom at 8:00 tonight."
Tomoyo looked at him, surprised, "What?"
"I'm serious. Just come, all right. Don't worry about Syaoran," Eriol said.
"All right," Tomoyo said uncertainly, "But this doesn't imply anything."
Eriol gave her a charming, half-evil, half-innocent grin, "I know it doesn't."
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"Ready to hit the slopes again?" Meiling asked Touya eagerly, "I'll race ya."
Touya gave her a narrowed look, "You're on. You're on to the break of dawn, you're ON!"
Meiling gave him a weird glance, "Right."
"You ready to go?" Syaoran asked Sakura.
She grinned, "Sure!"
She glanced at Eriol, who was whispering something in Tomoyo's ear.
"I think we'll leave them alone," she said.
They agreed.
Sakura and Syaoran were walking side by side, following Meiling and Touya.
Sakura suddenly tripped over a piece of solid ice and fell flat on her butt.
"Ouch!" she complained, and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Are you all right?" Syaoran paused walking to ask.
"I think so," Sakura said, wincing, "Could you give me a hand up?"
Syaoran obliged and held out his hand and Sakura quickly grasped it and pulled herself up.
"Thanks," Sakura said, rubbing her butt.
She forgot to let go of his hand and continued walking, wincing every so now and then while Syaoran was beet red, wondering what to do with the beautiful, soft hand in his own hand.
"Ooh, Sakura. Holding hands?" Meiling turned around and teased.
"Augh!" Sakura exclaimed, and dropped Syaoran's hand, "Sorry. I didn't mean to. Oh my god, how long was I holding you hand? This is so embarrassing!"
Syaoran shrugged, "Three minutes. It's all right."
Sakura laughed good naturedly, "Sorry. I can be so absentminded sometimes."
Syaoran nodded, and they continued walking back to the slopes.
Sakura was blushing, standing out from the white snow, when she realized that they were on top of the mountain.
"Ready?" Touya asked Meiling, strapping on his goggles.
Meiling rolled her eyes, "Whatever. You're so competitive!"
"Grr…" Touya glared at the snow, and Sakura hollered, "Ready….set….go!!"
Meiling and Touya shot off like rockets, speeding down the mountain quickly.
A crowd gathered by Sakura and Syaoran, watching Meiling and Touya snowboard with all their talent.
"She's good for a beginner," Syaoran commented.
Someone heard them and pushed through the crowd, "She's a beginner? What's her name?"
"Yeah, she's a beginner. I don't think she's ever held a snowboard before this morning and she's off racing Touya, who's really good," Sakura said.
"Why do you want her name?" Syaoran asked suspiciously.
"The name's Sean Kopitski. I'm in charge of a snowboard competition that's being held next week, three days before Christmas. If you'd like, she could enter. She has some potential," the man tipped his hat to Meiling, who was yards ahead of Touya, easily boarding down the mountain.
"I'll take your card," Syaoran said, and pocketed the business card the man handed her.
Meiling had reached the finish line she and Touya had agreed on, and skidded to a stop.
She turned around and bowed to the crowd which was bowing, and smirked at Touya, who was red in the face.
"Beginner's luck," he muttered, and scowled.
She made her way back to the top and asked Sakura, "Who's all these people?"
Sakura grinned and said, "Spectators."
Meiling laughed and said mockingly, "Anyone want autographs?"
Sean Kopitski said, "I gave your brother my card. I was wondering if you're interested in attending an amateur ski competition. No previous lessons are necessary, and the prize is 1000 dollars."
"Wow! Sure, I'll enter!" Meiling exclaimed.
Syaoran rolled his eyes, but said, "Whatever. Your choice."
"All right. What do I need to do?" Meiling asked.
"You need to fill out these forms and return them by Friday in a table set up in the main ski building. Other than that, get a lot of practice and rest," Sean said, and handed Meiling a bundle of papers.
"Okay. Thanks!" Meiling said.
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Sakura and Meiling were downstairs with Touya and Syaoran watching a rented movie while Tomoyo was fretting in her room.
She looked at the clock, which was loudly ticking, and it was already 7:55.
Tomoyo opened the door to the closet and stared down at her clothes, wondering what to wear.
She finally decided on a casual pair of jeans and sweater, and quietly snuck out of her room.
She crawled down onto the floor and peeked through the bars of the hand railing to see the four other people munching on popcorn, totally into their movie.
"Here goes nothing," Tomoyo breathed, stood up and entered Eriol's room.
Eriol was wearing a loose cotton tee and a pair of boxers, standing in front of his dresser and moving things around.
"Oh hi," Eriol greeted warmly and held his arms out for a hug.
Tomoyo tentatively went towards him and kissed him, her heart pounding.
"Relax, Tomoyo!" Eriol exclaimed, "I'm not going to do anything until you're ready."
"B-but…it's going to be my first time and you've already done it so many! What if I suck?" Tomoyo said.
Eriol laughed, "You're not gonna. Okay, just sit down on the bed next to me, first. All right. First, let me tell you that I've had all of my shots and on my last physical last month, my doctor told me that I'm fine and don't have any strange diseases."
Tomoyo obligingly sat down on the bed, and said, "Same for me. I think. Yeah. I'm not sick or anything. And this is my first time."
"I know that," Eriol said, getting up and he locked the door then sat down next to her.
He put his arm around her and gently began to kiss her.
"Mmm," Tomoyo murmured, entranced by him
She began to run her hands over his back, and slowly pulled his shirt off, not letting her lips off of his.
"I love you," Eriol whispered, and began kissing her neck, when Tomoyo suddenly pulled away.
"That tickles," Tomoyo said very suddenly.
Eriol looked at her and saw her looking at his shoulder.
He forgot about his tattoo.
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"What's that?" Tomoyo asked, backing away suddenly, pointing at the ugly black tattoo.
"Nothing, nothing," Eriol said stupidly, covering it up with his hand.
"No. God, Eriol, are you in a gang or something?" Tomoyo said, her voice starting to rise.
She got up, and Eriol protested, "No, I'm not. It's just a stupid tattoo I got in college with my fraternity. I can't have it removed or anything."
Tomoyo stared at him, disbelieving, and said, "Eriol, I can't sleep with you. We barely know anything about each other! I don't know anything about your family, you past, or even details about you job! We've only been going out for a month and I'm not ready to give myself to you, Eriol!" She was nearly shouting by now.
Eriol said, "What about you, huh? All I know about you is that you're beautiful, smart, funny, but I'm willing to overlook what happened last time with Sonomi Daidouji, who I'm guessing is your mother and you're her long lost daughter."
Tomoyo shut her mouth instantly, but said quietly, "But…"
"Look , I can understand if you're hesitant. But know that I love you. And I trust you. Can't you do the same for me?" Eriol pleaded.
Tomoyo said, on the verge of tears, "I'll get back to you on that."
She turned and fled, quickly unlocking the door and opening it to Touya, Syaoran, Meiling and Sakura.
"Tomoyo, are you okay? We heard yelling and we came up here and the door was locked. Syaoran was about to break it down," Sakura said.
"I'm okay. Just let me go to my room," Tomoyo sniffled, and with Meiling and Sakura they went back to their room.
"What'd you do, man?" Syaoran asked Eriol, who was staring at the spot Tomoyo had been.
"Long story."
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"So you two were about to have sex? Bwahahah!" Meiling laughed hysterically.
Tomoyo gave her a sad look, and Meiling silenced quickly.
Tomoyo said slowly, "And then I took his shirt off and he had this weird tattoo on his shoulder…it freaked me out, and I just realized that I didn't know anything about him, and that I couldn't sleep with him. So I left."
"That was pretty dramatic," Sakura said, "But you two haven't broken up or anything, right? That'd be pretty cold."
"I don't think so. But I wouldn't be surprised if Eriol wanted to, after seeing me chicken out like that."
"Sweetie, don't feel like you have to measure up to his standards for him to love you," Meiling said, "He likes you as you are. So do what feels right for you."
Tomoyo nodded, "All right."
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"She saw your tattoo?" Syaoran asked.
Eriol nodded grimly, "I forgot about it. I should've known that she'd be turned off by it."
"But what she said is true. About not knowing anything about you, I mean. Same with Meiling. I'm her cousin and she still doesn't know what I do," Syaoran said.
"Yeah," Eriol agreed, "But I still want to go out with Tomoyo. What should I do?"
"Talk to her. You're good with words," Syaoran suggested.
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Eriol knocked on the girls' bedroom door quietly, "Tomoyo? Can I talk to you?"
No answer.
"Well, I hope you can hear me. You were right about everything. So, if you're willing to give me another chance, I promise not to go too fast for you. I was wrong to try and seduce you tonight," Eriol thought he heard a stifled laugh inside, "So if you'll give me another try, I'd love to still date you and get to know you better as a person. Please forgive me."
Eriol waited a moment after his speech, and the door slowly creaked open, revealing Tomoyo.
"Okay," she said quietly, and hugged him.
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Next day…December 17th…
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"Wake up, Sakura! We're supposed to be cooking breakfast for the guys," Meiling gently pushed Sakura.
"Mm? Oh yeah! And Syaoran said that today we're going to pick out our Christmas tree!" Sakura said, now instantly awake.
"Yeah, Syaoran, Syaoran, that's all you ever talk about," Meiling said.
Sakura was pulling on her slippers and said, "What? No I don't. He's a good friend."
"Maybe more," Meiling snickered, and Sakura pushed her playfully, "Shut up."
"I'm up!" Tomoyo exclaimed, coming into the door, freshly washed and clothed.
"Ugh. I'll be cooking in my pj's," Sakura said, and Meiling agreed.
As they headed downstairs, Sakura asked, "What are we going to be cooking?"
"What about pancakes, sliced oranges and omelets?" Tomoyo asked.
"I'll slice the oranges!" Sakura quickly volunteered.
Meiling said, "Fine, fine, I'll do the pancakes. Tomoyo can do the omelets, and Sakura can pour the coffee and make it."
They were in the kitchen and started pulling staple ingredients out, getting the milk and eggs from the refrigerator, flour from the pantry.
"Do any of you know how to make pancakes?" Meiling asked, "There aren't any instant boxes in here where you 'just add water'."
"Ooh, here's a cookbook," Sakura pulled out a book from one of the drawers and read, "Homestyle food."
"Pancakes, pancakes," Meiling flipped to the index and looked up p.
"Pancakes. Wheat, strawberry, blueberry, fruit, dinner, and cheese. Who eats cheese pancakes? Or dinner? And why don't they have regular pancakes?" Meiling asked.
"Just go to strawberry pancakes and omit the strawberries," Tomoyo suggested, expertly cracking an egg and dropping the slimy stuff into a bowl.
"All right."
The kitchen was quiet as the three girls bustled around, slicing, stirring and mixing ingredients.
"It's too quiet in here," Meiling said, "Some music!"
Sakura put a kettle of water on the stove and walked over to the small kitchen radio and flipped on to the nearest station.
"I'm…dreaming of a white Christmas!" Meiling sang along, off-key and off-tune to the radio, while Tomoyo squealed and covered her ears, "You damaged my ears!!"
Sakura laughed and joined in with warbling horribly and purposly off key to annoy Tomoyo, "Just like the onnnnnnes I used to know!"
"Am I interrupting something?" a bored voice came from the door, and the three girls looked up.
"Oh, hi Syaoran," Sakura greeted warmly, "You're up early. We told you to wake late so we'd have time to prepare breakfast."
"Your pancakes are burning," Syaoran pointed out.
"Augh!" Meiling quickly ran to the stove and groaned as indeed, her pancakes were burnt black and steaming.
"A new batch?" Syaoran suggested mildly, "Any help?"
"You can make coffee," Sakura said pointing over to the whistling kettle, "Water's over there. I'll be finishing my oranges."
Pretty soon, Eriol came downstairs, holding Tomoyo around the waist from the back and gently kissing her ear.
Tomoyo giggled, "Stop it. It tickles!"
"I'm hungry," Eriol announced, "How long?"
"Ten minutes? You guys can get out the plates," Sakura said.
"Tsk, tsk. Always ordering us men around," Syaoran said, but they weren't sure if he was joking or not, judging from his expression.
"What are we going to do after breakfast?" Sakura asked.
"Go pick out a Christmas tree," Eriol said, "A real one. We'll strap it on top of the Explorer and endure the pine needles pricking us, then spend the whole day decorating the house."
Syaoran groaned, "You're really getting into the Christmas spirit, aren't you?"
Eriol grinned, "'Course I am. Especially since I have someone to share it with. We should stop by and buy some more popcorn and string it!"
Syaoran groaned again, and Sakura told him, "You're just Mr. Grinch, are you this year?"
"Every year!" Touya announced from the door, in his bathrobe and slippers, obviously have just woken up.
"Geez, you need to get into the Christmas spirit! I love Christmas! We should decorate the outside, too! Why don't you love Christmas, Syaoran?" Sakura asked innocently.
"Ugh. He's never been one for holidays," Meiling said, "Even when we were young."
Syaoran said, "Whatever. Are we going to have to buy presents?"
"Ooh, we do Secret Santa every year! But it's kind of obvious who's getting who with only three people," Sakura said excitedly.
Touya laughed, "Why don't we do that? I mean, obviously we need to buy some presents for each other, so why not make it easy and just buy one for one person?"
Everyone agreed, and Touya said, "I'll get the stuff while you girls and guys put the breakfast on the table."
Touya disappeared and the girls and two guys finished preparing breakfast and set everything in the dining table.
"Touya!" Sakura hollered out in the living room and up the stairs.
She fell into a quick flashback.
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"Touya! Hurry up and come downstairs!" Sakura as a 7 year old was yelling up the stairs, "I don't want to be alone!"
"All right! Wait one minute for me, squirt!"
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Sakura blinked and shook her head.
'Touya…' the name had been in her brief flashback.
'Squirt? Could this be…my past?' Sakura pondered, her mind dwelling on the words she had yelled.
"I'm back," Touya presented himself and sat down at the head of the table.
"Take a straw and pass the rest around," Touya directed and handed Syaoran a bundle of straws.
Syaoran scowled and took one and passed it to Meiling, who happily took one and gave it to Sakura, who also took one.
The straws rotated around until Touya had gotten the last one.
Sakura fished out a piece of paper from her straw and opened it.
In Touya's lazy scrawl was the named, 'Syaoran.'
Sakura smiled, "I didn't get my own."
"Neither did I," everyone chimed, and Touya said, "Everyone happy? All right, let's eat breakfast!"
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"I like this one," Sakura commented at a small, white tree.
"It's too tiny," Touya shook his head at her and said, "Now, this one. This one's made for a man."
"This ugly 9 feet tall one?" Sakura exclaimed, and made a face, "It belongs in a bachelor's apartment decorated with beer cans."
Syaoran scowled, "Hurry up and pick a freaking tree."
"Calm down, cuz," Meiling said, "We've only been here for 15 seconds."
"What about this one?" Eriol and Tomoyo asked.
They were snuggled up together, Tomoyo's head resting on Eriol's shoulder while he had his arm around her.
Sakura grabbed the camera from Tomoyo's hand and quickly snapped a picture of them, and grinned, "Something to remember."
"I think that's an okay tree," Meiling said, looking at the Christmas tree.
It was a dark green dusted lightly with white snowflakes, and it was slightly taller than Touya, making it almost 7 feet.
"It's the perfect tree!" Sakura exclaimed, smiling at it.
"Eh. Let's just get out of here," Syaoran said.
"We have to pay for it first," Touya rolled his eyes and shouted to one of the working men, "We'll take this one!"
A man came over, weilding an axe and chopped the tree down.
Touya and Syaoran grunted as they took the tree on their shoulders and headed towards the car, Sakura smiling brightly at the tree.
Meiling had wandered over to the front of the lot, and spotted a bunch of mistletoe.
Her eyes lit up and she asked a woman, "How much are these?"
"Five dollars."
"I'll take one," Meiling said.
She took her wallet out from inside of her jacket and got the money out in exchange for the small bunch of green leaves and a several red berries in the middle.
Meiling grinned cunningly and stuck the mistletoe inside her jacket pocket with her wallet, and returned back to the group.
There was no one there, so Meiling ran over to the car, where pretty sure, everyone was loaded up and ready to go.
"Where were you?" Syaoran demanded.
"Ah, looking at some trees," Meiling said.
"Mm," Syaoran grunted, and shifted gears and rolled out of the parking lot.
Touya, who was sitting in the front passanger seat, leaned over to change CD's, when Syaoran's hand smacked his hand.
"Hey! This is my car!" Touya protested, rubbing his hand painfully.
"So? I'm driving," Syaoran said, his eyes still on the road, roaming around for pedestrians or whatever.
They made a stop at the grocery store and craft store for some popcorn, string and a needle.
"Do you guys have everything to decorate the tree?" Sakura asked, "Lights, ornaments, wreaths for the door and garland for the banister?"
"Yeah, I think so," Syaoran said, "We bought a lot of stuff a long time ago but we never used it."
The six people headed home and immediately set to work.
The men searched for the boxes, which were found stuffed in the back of the hall closet, and the girls started popping the popcorn.
Meiling snuck off when no one was looking and quickly hung the mistletoe on top of the doorway of the front door, and fastened it with a strip of tape.
There. Now all she had to do was remember to never get caught with anyone under there.
And it was her job to make sure everyone else did.
"Hey, look. An American movie with Japanese captions. Let's watch it!" Sakura said, and held up a movie tape.
"It's a Wonderful Life? Looks corny," Syaoran said, and Sakura laughed, "Shut up. I'll turn it on."
Sakura hummed as she popped in the cassette, then settled down on the couch with Tomoyo to continue stringing popcorn as Meiling, Syaoran and Eriol hung up ornaments onto the tree.
Touya was quickly putting lights around the tree and snapped them on.
"Wow, it's beautiful," Sakura said, looking at the tree in wonder.
Touya grunted in agreement, and the three that had been putting the adorments onto the tree finished and started putting garland around the staircase banister.
Touya got out the wreath and headed out the door, barely noticing the mistletoe on it.
He hung the wreath quickly, and took a fraction of a second to admire it, then went back in.
"Brr, it's cold out there," Touya said, and looked at the sight before it.
Even to him, it was heartwarming, five people happily decorating a house.
Touya's eyes lingered over Sakura, pausing to think, 'Is she my sister?'
He had never believed in a God, but he quickly prayed, 'God, if you're there, just for me, please let me find my sister this Christmas. I've lived enough years without her, and only you know where she is.'
Feeling pleased after his short prayer, he continued to hang up various objects around the house.
"Uh oh, I think we're out of popcorn. We still need three more feet of strung corn," Tomoyo said.
"Didn't we have enough? Those were big bags!" Sakura said.
The two girls looked at Meiling, whose cheeks were stuffed full.
"We found the culprit," Sakura declared, "I'll go buy some more. Who wants to go with me?"
"Syaoran will," Eriol pushed his best friend forward, who gave a surprised look at Sakura.
"All right. You're paying!" Sakura sang, and put on her jacket.
Syaoran followed suit, and they headed out the door together, then suddenly noticed the mistletoe on top.
"Uh uh uh, you guys are caught under the mistletoe!" Meiling sang.
"Who put that there?" Touya asked, narrowing his eyes at it.
Syaoran froze underneath, and glanced at Sakura, who was laughing.
She stood on her tiptoes and gave a short kiss to Syaoran's cheek, reddening them, and grinned impishly, "There! That wasn't so bad, was it?"
Tomoyo had snapped a picture of them kissing and took another one of Syaoran's cheeks blushing red, and quickly took another one.
"Let's go," Syaoran mumbled, and flew out the door, leaving Sakura to giggle at him.
"Ooh!" Tomoyo teased, "Sakura's first kiss was under the mistletoe! How romantic!"
Sakura pouted at her friends and said, "Shut up!"
And flew out the door, calling after Syaoran, "Hey! Wait up! I don't want to walk alone!"
Leaving the four remaining people laughing.
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End of Chapter 6. Next chapter, 'The Competition, Christmas and Confrontation.'
A/N: I was supposed to post this up yesteday, but my internet was screwed up. Ha. Anyways, this is chapter six! Wow!! Haha. I started chapter fourteen yesterday. It's getting really heated, so keep on reading. I'm finished with "Sakura's First Time", so this is the only story i'll be doing. Unless I post up the other fanfiction i've been writing...muahahaha. So, review!! The next chapter will be up exactly on the fourteenth of March. Unless my internet plays more tricks on me again. So..R-E-V-I-E-W!!!!!
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004
Chapter 6: Snowboarding
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"So we're here," Sakura gulped, staring down the huge mountain, or so it seemed.
"This is the bunny slope," Eriol reminded her.
"It's still big," Sakura said.
"All right. I'm going to teach Tomoyo, Syaoran, why don't you take care of Sakura and Touya can teach Meiling," Eriol directed.
"Okay," Touya grunted.
He flipped his snowboard around, got on it and started zooming down the mountain.
"Hey!" Meiling called after him, "What about me?"
"Here," Eriol said, "Put your feet firmly on the board."
Tomoyo and Sakura followed suit.
"Hey, I'm supposed to be teaching you," Syaoran said.
Sakura flashed him a grin, "But you aren't, are you?"
Syaoran looked at her sheepishly, "All right. My fault. Um, how about I show you some basic things? Are you right handed or left handed?"
"Right," Sakura answered.
"Okay. Then you most likely want to face left. It's easier to maneuver that way. Then, as soon as you're balanced, you want to get some momentum to get you going. So act like your skateboarding, and give yourself a push," Syaoran said.
"Wait, hold up. I'm still confused. I face left? Where do my hands go, then?" Sakura asked.
Syaoran walked behind Sakura and did a position.
Sakura turned her head around and nodded, "Did that."
"Now, are you balanced?" Syaoran asked.
"Yeah," Sakura laughed, "I think I am."
"I'm going to give you a slight push. That's going to send you going, okay? If you think you need to stop, fall down or yell at me. But otherwise, keep on going until you slow down and stop," Syaoran said.
He put his hand gently on Sakura's hip and gave it a small push.
Sakura screamed as she suddenly lurched forward, but pretty soon she got the control of the snowboard and slid down the hill.
There was a tree coming up, so Sakura leaned over to the right and surprisingly, the snowboard obeyed and they passed the tree at a safe distance.
It slowed down after awhile, and so Sakura stopped it and walked back up the hill.
"That was fun," Sakura said shyly.
"No problem. You're a natural."
"All right. What's next?" Sakura asked eagerly.
"Practice. Yo, Touya, where's Meiling?" Syaoran called to Touya, who was trudging uphill.
"She actually got a hang of it and beat me. I couldn't believe it. And I'm the best snowboarder out of all of us," Touya complained.
"Seriously?" Syaoran said, "Damn. She fast."
Meiling appeared several minutes later, cheeks rosy and glowing, and she said, "Whoo! That rocked! I felt like I was flying."
Sakura laughed, "Figures. You're the most athletic out of all of us. I barely got down this hill."
Tomoyo and Eriol were walking up the hill hand in hand, "Hey. I actually got her to make it down this hill."
"You guys went?" Sakura asked, "I thought you guys were still standing there talking!"
Tomoyo and Eriol laughed, and said, "No."
"Oh Eriol! Syaoran! Touya!" a familiar voice rang out.
The six people turned around to see Shawna holding four cups of steaming coffee in mugs.
"I'm on my break, Eriol," Shawna said flirtatiously and handed him a mug.
She also handed Touya and Syaoran mugs and took the last one for herself and sipped it.
"Don't you have any for them?" Eriol asked.
"Huh? Oh, them," Shawna looked at them for a minute, "No. But they can get some coffee down at the café."
"Then we'll go," Meiling said sharply, and turned around and headed toward the building, Sakura and Tomoyo at her heels.
"Tomoyo, wait!" Eriol gulped down his coffee, ignoring the stinging heat as it traveled down his throat, threw the mug in Shawna's hand and ran after Tomoyo.
"Tsk, tsk. She has him right in the palm of her hand," Touya said.
"They're going out? Eriol? And that purple haired girl? Puahahaha!" Shawna burst out in laugher, nearly spilling her coffee.
"Yeah. They are. And it's a good relationship," Syaoran said rather coldly.
Shawna flipped her hair and said, "Whatever. So are you going out with anybody?"
Touya rolled his eyes, "Yeah right. Does he look like he is?"
Shawna winked at Syaoran, "Then maybe we'll get together sometime."
Syaoran guzzled down the rest of his coffee and gave it to Shawna, and said, "I'm a going catch up with Sak--I mean, Eriol and everyone."
"Me too," Touya handed the mug back to Shawna and said, "Thanks."
They walked away, their boots crunching in the snow, and Shawna pouted, "Bye then!"
Syaoran rolled his eyes, "God, she gets annoying."
Touya laughed, "She likes you."
"Who doesn't she like?" Syaoran asked sarcastically.
"Me. I'm too old for her. Muahaha," Touya laughed evilly.
"I'm afraid Tomoyo's jealous of Shawna. Partially 'cause Shawna's a slut and everybody likes them. And partially because it's Tomoyo's first boyfriend and we all know Eriol's status in dating," Touya said.
"Mm," Syaoran agreed.
They trotted up to the buildings, following Eriol's tracks.
They walked into the coffee café and spotted Sakura, Eriol, Tomoyo and Meiling sitting in a table together.
"Hey," Touya greeted them.
"Back at cha. The bitch gone yet?" Meiling asked.
Sakura playfully swatted at Meiling, "Don't call her that! That's too mean."
"Nah, I agree," Syaoran said, and let out a rare half-smile.
Sakura laughed, "In that case, yeah, she's a bitch. And a big one at that."
Touya and Syaoran pulled up a chair and sat down across Meiling and Sakura.
"What are they talking about?" Touya whispered to Meiling and Sakura.
Sakura shrugged, "I don't know. They've been talking."
"About what?"
"Dunno."
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Eriol held Tomoyo's hand gently, "I'm sorry about Shawna. I can tell she hurt your feelings."
Tomoyo smiled sadly, "It's all right. I've met worse people than her."
"Do you remember their names?" Eriol asked, serious.
Tomoyo laughed, "Not all of them. But I doubt you can beat them up."
Eriol gave a crooked grin to her and said, "I would try. Honestly."
Tomoyo smiled and said, "It's just that…whenever I'm with Shawna, I always feel like I'm competing with you. Since you two have obviously went farther than I have with you, and she's so freaking thin and pretty…"
"That's not true," Eriol said soberly, "Believe it or not, this is the farthest in a relationship I've ever gone emotionally in a relationship. All my other ones…they didn't mean anything, Tomoyo. I love you."
"Me too," Tomoyo said sincerely, "I do."
Eriol leaned forward and whispered in Tomoyo's ear, "Come to my bedroom at 8:00 tonight."
Tomoyo looked at him, surprised, "What?"
"I'm serious. Just come, all right. Don't worry about Syaoran," Eriol said.
"All right," Tomoyo said uncertainly, "But this doesn't imply anything."
Eriol gave her a charming, half-evil, half-innocent grin, "I know it doesn't."
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"Ready to hit the slopes again?" Meiling asked Touya eagerly, "I'll race ya."
Touya gave her a narrowed look, "You're on. You're on to the break of dawn, you're ON!"
Meiling gave him a weird glance, "Right."
"You ready to go?" Syaoran asked Sakura.
She grinned, "Sure!"
She glanced at Eriol, who was whispering something in Tomoyo's ear.
"I think we'll leave them alone," she said.
They agreed.
Sakura and Syaoran were walking side by side, following Meiling and Touya.
Sakura suddenly tripped over a piece of solid ice and fell flat on her butt.
"Ouch!" she complained, and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Are you all right?" Syaoran paused walking to ask.
"I think so," Sakura said, wincing, "Could you give me a hand up?"
Syaoran obliged and held out his hand and Sakura quickly grasped it and pulled herself up.
"Thanks," Sakura said, rubbing her butt.
She forgot to let go of his hand and continued walking, wincing every so now and then while Syaoran was beet red, wondering what to do with the beautiful, soft hand in his own hand.
"Ooh, Sakura. Holding hands?" Meiling turned around and teased.
"Augh!" Sakura exclaimed, and dropped Syaoran's hand, "Sorry. I didn't mean to. Oh my god, how long was I holding you hand? This is so embarrassing!"
Syaoran shrugged, "Three minutes. It's all right."
Sakura laughed good naturedly, "Sorry. I can be so absentminded sometimes."
Syaoran nodded, and they continued walking back to the slopes.
Sakura was blushing, standing out from the white snow, when she realized that they were on top of the mountain.
"Ready?" Touya asked Meiling, strapping on his goggles.
Meiling rolled her eyes, "Whatever. You're so competitive!"
"Grr…" Touya glared at the snow, and Sakura hollered, "Ready….set….go!!"
Meiling and Touya shot off like rockets, speeding down the mountain quickly.
A crowd gathered by Sakura and Syaoran, watching Meiling and Touya snowboard with all their talent.
"She's good for a beginner," Syaoran commented.
Someone heard them and pushed through the crowd, "She's a beginner? What's her name?"
"Yeah, she's a beginner. I don't think she's ever held a snowboard before this morning and she's off racing Touya, who's really good," Sakura said.
"Why do you want her name?" Syaoran asked suspiciously.
"The name's Sean Kopitski. I'm in charge of a snowboard competition that's being held next week, three days before Christmas. If you'd like, she could enter. She has some potential," the man tipped his hat to Meiling, who was yards ahead of Touya, easily boarding down the mountain.
"I'll take your card," Syaoran said, and pocketed the business card the man handed her.
Meiling had reached the finish line she and Touya had agreed on, and skidded to a stop.
She turned around and bowed to the crowd which was bowing, and smirked at Touya, who was red in the face.
"Beginner's luck," he muttered, and scowled.
She made her way back to the top and asked Sakura, "Who's all these people?"
Sakura grinned and said, "Spectators."
Meiling laughed and said mockingly, "Anyone want autographs?"
Sean Kopitski said, "I gave your brother my card. I was wondering if you're interested in attending an amateur ski competition. No previous lessons are necessary, and the prize is 1000 dollars."
"Wow! Sure, I'll enter!" Meiling exclaimed.
Syaoran rolled his eyes, but said, "Whatever. Your choice."
"All right. What do I need to do?" Meiling asked.
"You need to fill out these forms and return them by Friday in a table set up in the main ski building. Other than that, get a lot of practice and rest," Sean said, and handed Meiling a bundle of papers.
"Okay. Thanks!" Meiling said.
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Sakura and Meiling were downstairs with Touya and Syaoran watching a rented movie while Tomoyo was fretting in her room.
She looked at the clock, which was loudly ticking, and it was already 7:55.
Tomoyo opened the door to the closet and stared down at her clothes, wondering what to wear.
She finally decided on a casual pair of jeans and sweater, and quietly snuck out of her room.
She crawled down onto the floor and peeked through the bars of the hand railing to see the four other people munching on popcorn, totally into their movie.
"Here goes nothing," Tomoyo breathed, stood up and entered Eriol's room.
Eriol was wearing a loose cotton tee and a pair of boxers, standing in front of his dresser and moving things around.
"Oh hi," Eriol greeted warmly and held his arms out for a hug.
Tomoyo tentatively went towards him and kissed him, her heart pounding.
"Relax, Tomoyo!" Eriol exclaimed, "I'm not going to do anything until you're ready."
"B-but…it's going to be my first time and you've already done it so many! What if I suck?" Tomoyo said.
Eriol laughed, "You're not gonna. Okay, just sit down on the bed next to me, first. All right. First, let me tell you that I've had all of my shots and on my last physical last month, my doctor told me that I'm fine and don't have any strange diseases."
Tomoyo obligingly sat down on the bed, and said, "Same for me. I think. Yeah. I'm not sick or anything. And this is my first time."
"I know that," Eriol said, getting up and he locked the door then sat down next to her.
He put his arm around her and gently began to kiss her.
"Mmm," Tomoyo murmured, entranced by him
She began to run her hands over his back, and slowly pulled his shirt off, not letting her lips off of his.
"I love you," Eriol whispered, and began kissing her neck, when Tomoyo suddenly pulled away.
"That tickles," Tomoyo said very suddenly.
Eriol looked at her and saw her looking at his shoulder.
He forgot about his tattoo.
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"What's that?" Tomoyo asked, backing away suddenly, pointing at the ugly black tattoo.
"Nothing, nothing," Eriol said stupidly, covering it up with his hand.
"No. God, Eriol, are you in a gang or something?" Tomoyo said, her voice starting to rise.
She got up, and Eriol protested, "No, I'm not. It's just a stupid tattoo I got in college with my fraternity. I can't have it removed or anything."
Tomoyo stared at him, disbelieving, and said, "Eriol, I can't sleep with you. We barely know anything about each other! I don't know anything about your family, you past, or even details about you job! We've only been going out for a month and I'm not ready to give myself to you, Eriol!" She was nearly shouting by now.
Eriol said, "What about you, huh? All I know about you is that you're beautiful, smart, funny, but I'm willing to overlook what happened last time with Sonomi Daidouji, who I'm guessing is your mother and you're her long lost daughter."
Tomoyo shut her mouth instantly, but said quietly, "But…"
"Look , I can understand if you're hesitant. But know that I love you. And I trust you. Can't you do the same for me?" Eriol pleaded.
Tomoyo said, on the verge of tears, "I'll get back to you on that."
She turned and fled, quickly unlocking the door and opening it to Touya, Syaoran, Meiling and Sakura.
"Tomoyo, are you okay? We heard yelling and we came up here and the door was locked. Syaoran was about to break it down," Sakura said.
"I'm okay. Just let me go to my room," Tomoyo sniffled, and with Meiling and Sakura they went back to their room.
"What'd you do, man?" Syaoran asked Eriol, who was staring at the spot Tomoyo had been.
"Long story."
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"So you two were about to have sex? Bwahahah!" Meiling laughed hysterically.
Tomoyo gave her a sad look, and Meiling silenced quickly.
Tomoyo said slowly, "And then I took his shirt off and he had this weird tattoo on his shoulder…it freaked me out, and I just realized that I didn't know anything about him, and that I couldn't sleep with him. So I left."
"That was pretty dramatic," Sakura said, "But you two haven't broken up or anything, right? That'd be pretty cold."
"I don't think so. But I wouldn't be surprised if Eriol wanted to, after seeing me chicken out like that."
"Sweetie, don't feel like you have to measure up to his standards for him to love you," Meiling said, "He likes you as you are. So do what feels right for you."
Tomoyo nodded, "All right."
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"She saw your tattoo?" Syaoran asked.
Eriol nodded grimly, "I forgot about it. I should've known that she'd be turned off by it."
"But what she said is true. About not knowing anything about you, I mean. Same with Meiling. I'm her cousin and she still doesn't know what I do," Syaoran said.
"Yeah," Eriol agreed, "But I still want to go out with Tomoyo. What should I do?"
"Talk to her. You're good with words," Syaoran suggested.
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Eriol knocked on the girls' bedroom door quietly, "Tomoyo? Can I talk to you?"
No answer.
"Well, I hope you can hear me. You were right about everything. So, if you're willing to give me another chance, I promise not to go too fast for you. I was wrong to try and seduce you tonight," Eriol thought he heard a stifled laugh inside, "So if you'll give me another try, I'd love to still date you and get to know you better as a person. Please forgive me."
Eriol waited a moment after his speech, and the door slowly creaked open, revealing Tomoyo.
"Okay," she said quietly, and hugged him.
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Next day…December 17th…
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"Wake up, Sakura! We're supposed to be cooking breakfast for the guys," Meiling gently pushed Sakura.
"Mm? Oh yeah! And Syaoran said that today we're going to pick out our Christmas tree!" Sakura said, now instantly awake.
"Yeah, Syaoran, Syaoran, that's all you ever talk about," Meiling said.
Sakura was pulling on her slippers and said, "What? No I don't. He's a good friend."
"Maybe more," Meiling snickered, and Sakura pushed her playfully, "Shut up."
"I'm up!" Tomoyo exclaimed, coming into the door, freshly washed and clothed.
"Ugh. I'll be cooking in my pj's," Sakura said, and Meiling agreed.
As they headed downstairs, Sakura asked, "What are we going to be cooking?"
"What about pancakes, sliced oranges and omelets?" Tomoyo asked.
"I'll slice the oranges!" Sakura quickly volunteered.
Meiling said, "Fine, fine, I'll do the pancakes. Tomoyo can do the omelets, and Sakura can pour the coffee and make it."
They were in the kitchen and started pulling staple ingredients out, getting the milk and eggs from the refrigerator, flour from the pantry.
"Do any of you know how to make pancakes?" Meiling asked, "There aren't any instant boxes in here where you 'just add water'."
"Ooh, here's a cookbook," Sakura pulled out a book from one of the drawers and read, "Homestyle food."
"Pancakes, pancakes," Meiling flipped to the index and looked up p.
"Pancakes. Wheat, strawberry, blueberry, fruit, dinner, and cheese. Who eats cheese pancakes? Or dinner? And why don't they have regular pancakes?" Meiling asked.
"Just go to strawberry pancakes and omit the strawberries," Tomoyo suggested, expertly cracking an egg and dropping the slimy stuff into a bowl.
"All right."
The kitchen was quiet as the three girls bustled around, slicing, stirring and mixing ingredients.
"It's too quiet in here," Meiling said, "Some music!"
Sakura put a kettle of water on the stove and walked over to the small kitchen radio and flipped on to the nearest station.
"I'm…dreaming of a white Christmas!" Meiling sang along, off-key and off-tune to the radio, while Tomoyo squealed and covered her ears, "You damaged my ears!!"
Sakura laughed and joined in with warbling horribly and purposly off key to annoy Tomoyo, "Just like the onnnnnnes I used to know!"
"Am I interrupting something?" a bored voice came from the door, and the three girls looked up.
"Oh, hi Syaoran," Sakura greeted warmly, "You're up early. We told you to wake late so we'd have time to prepare breakfast."
"Your pancakes are burning," Syaoran pointed out.
"Augh!" Meiling quickly ran to the stove and groaned as indeed, her pancakes were burnt black and steaming.
"A new batch?" Syaoran suggested mildly, "Any help?"
"You can make coffee," Sakura said pointing over to the whistling kettle, "Water's over there. I'll be finishing my oranges."
Pretty soon, Eriol came downstairs, holding Tomoyo around the waist from the back and gently kissing her ear.
Tomoyo giggled, "Stop it. It tickles!"
"I'm hungry," Eriol announced, "How long?"
"Ten minutes? You guys can get out the plates," Sakura said.
"Tsk, tsk. Always ordering us men around," Syaoran said, but they weren't sure if he was joking or not, judging from his expression.
"What are we going to do after breakfast?" Sakura asked.
"Go pick out a Christmas tree," Eriol said, "A real one. We'll strap it on top of the Explorer and endure the pine needles pricking us, then spend the whole day decorating the house."
Syaoran groaned, "You're really getting into the Christmas spirit, aren't you?"
Eriol grinned, "'Course I am. Especially since I have someone to share it with. We should stop by and buy some more popcorn and string it!"
Syaoran groaned again, and Sakura told him, "You're just Mr. Grinch, are you this year?"
"Every year!" Touya announced from the door, in his bathrobe and slippers, obviously have just woken up.
"Geez, you need to get into the Christmas spirit! I love Christmas! We should decorate the outside, too! Why don't you love Christmas, Syaoran?" Sakura asked innocently.
"Ugh. He's never been one for holidays," Meiling said, "Even when we were young."
Syaoran said, "Whatever. Are we going to have to buy presents?"
"Ooh, we do Secret Santa every year! But it's kind of obvious who's getting who with only three people," Sakura said excitedly.
Touya laughed, "Why don't we do that? I mean, obviously we need to buy some presents for each other, so why not make it easy and just buy one for one person?"
Everyone agreed, and Touya said, "I'll get the stuff while you girls and guys put the breakfast on the table."
Touya disappeared and the girls and two guys finished preparing breakfast and set everything in the dining table.
"Touya!" Sakura hollered out in the living room and up the stairs.
She fell into a quick flashback.
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"Touya! Hurry up and come downstairs!" Sakura as a 7 year old was yelling up the stairs, "I don't want to be alone!"
"All right! Wait one minute for me, squirt!"
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Sakura blinked and shook her head.
'Touya…' the name had been in her brief flashback.
'Squirt? Could this be…my past?' Sakura pondered, her mind dwelling on the words she had yelled.
"I'm back," Touya presented himself and sat down at the head of the table.
"Take a straw and pass the rest around," Touya directed and handed Syaoran a bundle of straws.
Syaoran scowled and took one and passed it to Meiling, who happily took one and gave it to Sakura, who also took one.
The straws rotated around until Touya had gotten the last one.
Sakura fished out a piece of paper from her straw and opened it.
In Touya's lazy scrawl was the named, 'Syaoran.'
Sakura smiled, "I didn't get my own."
"Neither did I," everyone chimed, and Touya said, "Everyone happy? All right, let's eat breakfast!"
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"I like this one," Sakura commented at a small, white tree.
"It's too tiny," Touya shook his head at her and said, "Now, this one. This one's made for a man."
"This ugly 9 feet tall one?" Sakura exclaimed, and made a face, "It belongs in a bachelor's apartment decorated with beer cans."
Syaoran scowled, "Hurry up and pick a freaking tree."
"Calm down, cuz," Meiling said, "We've only been here for 15 seconds."
"What about this one?" Eriol and Tomoyo asked.
They were snuggled up together, Tomoyo's head resting on Eriol's shoulder while he had his arm around her.
Sakura grabbed the camera from Tomoyo's hand and quickly snapped a picture of them, and grinned, "Something to remember."
"I think that's an okay tree," Meiling said, looking at the Christmas tree.
It was a dark green dusted lightly with white snowflakes, and it was slightly taller than Touya, making it almost 7 feet.
"It's the perfect tree!" Sakura exclaimed, smiling at it.
"Eh. Let's just get out of here," Syaoran said.
"We have to pay for it first," Touya rolled his eyes and shouted to one of the working men, "We'll take this one!"
A man came over, weilding an axe and chopped the tree down.
Touya and Syaoran grunted as they took the tree on their shoulders and headed towards the car, Sakura smiling brightly at the tree.
Meiling had wandered over to the front of the lot, and spotted a bunch of mistletoe.
Her eyes lit up and she asked a woman, "How much are these?"
"Five dollars."
"I'll take one," Meiling said.
She took her wallet out from inside of her jacket and got the money out in exchange for the small bunch of green leaves and a several red berries in the middle.
Meiling grinned cunningly and stuck the mistletoe inside her jacket pocket with her wallet, and returned back to the group.
There was no one there, so Meiling ran over to the car, where pretty sure, everyone was loaded up and ready to go.
"Where were you?" Syaoran demanded.
"Ah, looking at some trees," Meiling said.
"Mm," Syaoran grunted, and shifted gears and rolled out of the parking lot.
Touya, who was sitting in the front passanger seat, leaned over to change CD's, when Syaoran's hand smacked his hand.
"Hey! This is my car!" Touya protested, rubbing his hand painfully.
"So? I'm driving," Syaoran said, his eyes still on the road, roaming around for pedestrians or whatever.
They made a stop at the grocery store and craft store for some popcorn, string and a needle.
"Do you guys have everything to decorate the tree?" Sakura asked, "Lights, ornaments, wreaths for the door and garland for the banister?"
"Yeah, I think so," Syaoran said, "We bought a lot of stuff a long time ago but we never used it."
The six people headed home and immediately set to work.
The men searched for the boxes, which were found stuffed in the back of the hall closet, and the girls started popping the popcorn.
Meiling snuck off when no one was looking and quickly hung the mistletoe on top of the doorway of the front door, and fastened it with a strip of tape.
There. Now all she had to do was remember to never get caught with anyone under there.
And it was her job to make sure everyone else did.
"Hey, look. An American movie with Japanese captions. Let's watch it!" Sakura said, and held up a movie tape.
"It's a Wonderful Life? Looks corny," Syaoran said, and Sakura laughed, "Shut up. I'll turn it on."
Sakura hummed as she popped in the cassette, then settled down on the couch with Tomoyo to continue stringing popcorn as Meiling, Syaoran and Eriol hung up ornaments onto the tree.
Touya was quickly putting lights around the tree and snapped them on.
"Wow, it's beautiful," Sakura said, looking at the tree in wonder.
Touya grunted in agreement, and the three that had been putting the adorments onto the tree finished and started putting garland around the staircase banister.
Touya got out the wreath and headed out the door, barely noticing the mistletoe on it.
He hung the wreath quickly, and took a fraction of a second to admire it, then went back in.
"Brr, it's cold out there," Touya said, and looked at the sight before it.
Even to him, it was heartwarming, five people happily decorating a house.
Touya's eyes lingered over Sakura, pausing to think, 'Is she my sister?'
He had never believed in a God, but he quickly prayed, 'God, if you're there, just for me, please let me find my sister this Christmas. I've lived enough years without her, and only you know where she is.'
Feeling pleased after his short prayer, he continued to hang up various objects around the house.
"Uh oh, I think we're out of popcorn. We still need three more feet of strung corn," Tomoyo said.
"Didn't we have enough? Those were big bags!" Sakura said.
The two girls looked at Meiling, whose cheeks were stuffed full.
"We found the culprit," Sakura declared, "I'll go buy some more. Who wants to go with me?"
"Syaoran will," Eriol pushed his best friend forward, who gave a surprised look at Sakura.
"All right. You're paying!" Sakura sang, and put on her jacket.
Syaoran followed suit, and they headed out the door together, then suddenly noticed the mistletoe on top.
"Uh uh uh, you guys are caught under the mistletoe!" Meiling sang.
"Who put that there?" Touya asked, narrowing his eyes at it.
Syaoran froze underneath, and glanced at Sakura, who was laughing.
She stood on her tiptoes and gave a short kiss to Syaoran's cheek, reddening them, and grinned impishly, "There! That wasn't so bad, was it?"
Tomoyo had snapped a picture of them kissing and took another one of Syaoran's cheeks blushing red, and quickly took another one.
"Let's go," Syaoran mumbled, and flew out the door, leaving Sakura to giggle at him.
"Ooh!" Tomoyo teased, "Sakura's first kiss was under the mistletoe! How romantic!"
Sakura pouted at her friends and said, "Shut up!"
And flew out the door, calling after Syaoran, "Hey! Wait up! I don't want to walk alone!"
Leaving the four remaining people laughing.
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End of Chapter 6. Next chapter, 'The Competition, Christmas and Confrontation.'
A/N: I was supposed to post this up yesteday, but my internet was screwed up. Ha. Anyways, this is chapter six! Wow!! Haha. I started chapter fourteen yesterday. It's getting really heated, so keep on reading. I'm finished with "Sakura's First Time", so this is the only story i'll be doing. Unless I post up the other fanfiction i've been writing...muahahaha. So, review!! The next chapter will be up exactly on the fourteenth of March. Unless my internet plays more tricks on me again. So..R-E-V-I-E-W!!!!!
