A/N: Looks like I have some explaining to do.
Reviewer sakura_smoothie: She really doesn't hate him. In chapter one, she's suspicious of him because he is overly elusive and aloof, which is the Syaoran we know. In chapter 2, Sakura noticed how Syaoran has changed dramatically and didn't like it because he wasn't himself. She's paying quite a lot of attention to him *wink* *wink*
Umm...yeah....I'm not one for author's notes, so that's it.
Chapter 3: The Players
Sakura's POV
DAMN HIM! DAMN HIM TO HELL!
It was the last day of the school week. The days after that were normal to say the least. I still can't believe he did that to me. What the heck is he planning? Why, he hasn't even talk to me since then.
I sighed. It was no use trying to understand Syaoran. In some ways, he still have that cloak of darkness around him. He is a puzzle waiting to be solved.
I can't waste time trying to solve a puzzle. I have school.
Maybe he didn't like the kiss.
Not this again, I thought. It was around Thursday that I began thinking like that. My rational mind was becoming irrational as each day passed by without contact. Every waking moment and even in dreams, I relived that over and over again. I even felt bad for slapping him at some time. He deserved it. I should've slapped him harder for doing this to me.
Looking at myself in the mirror, I sighed once more. School...it's the only place I'll ever see him.
I walked to the closet and pulled out my uniform. At least, it was the
last day of school week. I can't wait for the weekend.
----
I don't have any classes with him today. He's only in my chemistry, computer science, and PE classes. Today, I have don't have any of those classes.
"Hi, Sakura!"
"Hi, Tomoyo!"
"Pennies for your thoughts?"
My friend Tomoyo has known me for a long time. There's not a single thing I can hide from her. When it comes to lying, I'm the worst. I never felt the need to lie so that skill is never polished.
"Huh? Oh, I was just thinking about something. The week's been hectic."
"I'll bet. You look like haven't gotten any sleep lately. What's wrong?"
"N-nothing. I'm just tired. School work and all..."
Amazingly enough, I didn't stutter as much as I thought I would. I know if I told Tomoyo the truth, I'll never hear the end of it. Ever since fourth grade, Tomoyo has gone out of her way to set me up with guys. I couldn't tell her how I truly feel. That would only crush her spirit. Apparently, aside from videotaping and fashion designing, managing my love life is one of her 'joys'. Of course, she still respects my decision when I reject each and everyone of them.
"I see. Well, this weekend, get some sleep, and we'll go out shopping!"
"Okay!"
----
My mouth was wide open. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
What is he doing here?
Feeling the need to reassure myself, I double-checked the room number and time. Yep. There was no mistaking it. This is the English classroom. This is first period. And that is Li Syaoran sitting one seat behind me. The alphabetical order of last names goes from Kinomoto to Li.
The teacher entered the classroom a couple of minutes after Tomoyo and I took our seats. It was still weird having Li sitting behind me. I could feel him watching me, but he never says anything.
The students piled in. They were all energetic today unlike the first Monday when they were all sleepy. The last day of the school week means the last day of torture. They were all ready to get this day over with. The tardy bell rang.
"Good morning, class. I'd like to introduce you to our new student, Li Syaoran. He changed period due to extra-curricular activities. Give a warm welcome to him in English."
"Nice to meet you, Li."
Li stood up from his seat and bowed to the class.
"Nice to meet you all. I hope we can become good friends."
I might be paranoid, but that sounds so fake. I looked at him and realized that it is. The glint in his eyes hasn't changed. He smiled and girls in the class (not me) swoon.
C'mon. Don't you guys see it? Don't fall for that.
They fell for it. The guys were jealous now. Just the other day, they were the center of their attention. Now, they don't seem so sure of themselves anymore.
I looked over to Tomoyo and also sees her eyes glazed with adoration.
Just great.
He took his seat and class began. I sat with my back to him the whole time, but I could feel that he was watching me. I feel...I feel...his hand playing with my skirt?
What?!?!?
I sat up straight. My eyes wide open.
Did I...? Was that...?
The desks weren't that far apart and he was doing it with his left hand. Remember about my window seat? He was using that side. No one in the class seemed to notice.
I felt uncomfortable. I wanted to scream out, but my voice left me. He didn't stop there. Feeling that he had his fun with the skirt, he ran a finger up the side of my rib and then suddenly stopped.
I turned around to look at him. Again, he smirked. That smirk
pissed me off. I made a mental note to get revenge. This time, a
slap won't do. It will be something much worse and much more painful.
----
Sitting under the cherry tree, Tomoyo and I were eating our lunch. This have become our favorite spot to go at lunch break. We were in luck because no one else seemed to use this spot.
"How was math today, Sakura?"
"Mm-ufm."
"Don't talk when you're chewing. It's unbecoming of a lady."
Tomoyo laughed at me. I swallowed the last bit of my lunch and took a drink from the water bottle.
"Terrible."
"Terrible? What happen?"
"Well, the teacher called on me to answer a question and I didn't get it right."
That was only half true. The fact was that after English, I couldn't focus on anything else. The math teacher was very frustrated with me. She called on me several times before I snapped out of it. Actually, she was practically yelling my name. The whole class laughed at me. I never felt so embarrassed in my life.
"You'll do better next time. I know math isn't your best subject. If you need any help, you know you can ask me."
"Thanks, Tomoyo."
Yes, Tomoyo is the best friend a girl can have. She does everything with me. She's like a sister to me. If not a sister, then definitely family.
"Say, Sakura, do you want to go watch the soccer team's first practice today?"
"Huh? What?"
"The soccer team's first practice."
"I heard that part. Why? You like soccer?"
"Well, no..."
"Then why do we need to watch ... "
"Just come with me, please."
Tomoyo threw me a puppy dog look. She was my best friend. She always does something with me, for me. I suppose I need to act like a friend also.
"Okay, sure. Is it after school?"
"Yeah!"
"I need to let Touya know I'll be coming home late."
"Don't worry. I already took care of that!"
"What? How did you know I was going to say ... why, you manipulated me!"
She giggled and cleaned up. She said something about going back into
school and making it to class early. I think she was just trying to avoid
my death grip.
----
Syaoran's POV
*UGH*
I panted as I took the last shot to tie up the game. The match between Team A and Team B was a close one. The score was now 1-1.
These guys aren't bad.
While I had the advantage of speed and agility, these sophomores on the soccer team had strength. The bad thing is that they use that strength. I've never been overwhelmed before in soccer. This came as a shock. I had to change my tactics. I looked over to my teammates. Most them are tired already. The other team is in similar shape. They might be strong but they fatigue easily.
A brilliant idea came to me.
Kick-off. The game started again. I made my move against the center, who had the ball at the time. Just as I thought, he was tired and I was a lot faster. I stole the ball from him and made my drive toward the goal. The clock has only about 20 minutes left on the game. The defenders came up to me. I made them run for a while. I ran back and forth, left to right. For about 10 minutes, I had possession of the ball and wasn't actually getting closer to the goal. Seeing as how they were about to close in on me, I shot the ball back to one of my defenders. He was there to receive it. Going back on my side of the field, I signaled for him to pass me the ball again. He did so.
This time, I went for the goal. Driving past the center and the forwards, I was greeted by the defenders. However, by this time, they were all tired. All my footwork ten minutes before paid off. I managed to get past one of them with ease, but the other guy wasn't ready to give up just yet. Juggling the ball, I surprised him and made a play. I sent that ball flying as hard as I can toward the upper left corner of the goal.
The goalie made an attempt to block it, but the speed was just amazing. He missed by a few seconds or hundred milliseconds.
YES!
I pumped my arms in victory and my teammates congratulated with punches and slaps. The score was now 2-1 and only 3 minutes remained on the clock. Our victory was clear. No one can come back in three minutes.
I said that a little too soon. It is perhaps the most beautiful play I've ever seen. The other team regrouped and attacked. Led by the current captain of the team, they broke through our defenses. I'm only one man and only made a dent. My teammates couldn't do anything. We were unable to stop that final goal. The ball just narrowly passed under the goalie's legs before he could close them to block. I watched in amazement as the last shot went in. Our team kick-off but the buzzer rang some thirty seconds after that.
The coach called us to huddle up.
"Good job, guys. Great game. Hit the showers and go home. Li, Hong, I want to see you in my office after you're done."
I walked up to the captain and congratulate him on that game-tying goal.
"That was incredible, Hong."
"You're not bad yourself, Li. You forgot something though. Soccer is a team sport."
I understood. I might have scored two goals, but it was nothing compared to Hong's last goal. I stalked toward the showers, but not before I saw Sakura and her friend at the benches. There were a few other girls also. Some of them have came to watch their boyfriends played.
So, she saw the whole game?
I smirked in triumph. I have already finished half the game my mother set out to challenge me. She seriously believed that I couldn't be social. I showed her. I know what it takes to be popular. All I had to do was smile here, talk there, and laugh here. Ha! The girls can't resist me and the guys look up to me now. After I win this game with mother, I can go back to the way I was. It was so much better when I didn't have to talk or pay attention to anyone else. It's so tedious listening to these girls and their complaints. The guys have nothing better to talk about. It always start with cars and girls.
I took off my shirt and wiped my sweat. I heard some of the girls sighed. I knew that. That's why I did it. They were so easy to manipulate. I looked over to Sakura and saw that she was, indeed, staring at me. She didn't know that I know though.
I know she still hates me for that incident in eight grade. I thought it would be funny to pull a prank on her in the chemistry lab. As it turned out, she didn't know anymore about chemistry than I knew about Japanese at the time. In the end, she was covered in smoke and wasn't the prettiest thing in the school. She knew I had tampered with the solutions. What bothered me was that she didn't report it. She just chose to dislike me then.
I took a quick shower and went in the coach's office. I knew what was
coming. People are so predictable.
----
I was walking home. However, these days I rarely look over my shoulders anymore. I already told them some things about myself. I could careless now. Most of the things I said were true...to some extent. By chance, I happened to walk by the park. I usually just go straight to my apartment, but today some unknown force has guided me to this place.
From behind, I saw Sakura sitting on the swing alone.
Where's her friend? What's she doing here alone?
I could have left it at that. I could have continued on my way and forget the forlorn look on her face.
Damn it.
I couldn't. I couldn't just leave her there. She was sad and I wanted...I wanted...I wanted to comfort her. I didn't know what was going anymore.
I'm in control of my emotions. I'm in control of myself. I'm the player not the other way around.
I tried to rationalize myself by stating that what I was about to do simply might have been part of the plan. It wasn't. This was completely spontaneous.
I came up from behind and hugged her. Her reaction was expected.
She jumped up and out of my embrace. Her green eyes came to life as she recognized me.
"W-what d-do you want?"
I noticed the way she stuttered her question. She was really surprised. She was also afraid. It was as if she didn't trust herself with me. I hid a smile of satisfaction. Sakura was like a cornered mouse. I should have paid attention to that proverb: that the cornered mouse bites back.
"Is that all you can say to me?"
"No, leave me alone."
"You don't mean that."
I moved in closer and she backed away. I kept my eyes on her. Her eyes were frantically searching for an escape. At last, I backed her into the slide. When she backed into the cold metal of the slide, she jumped forward. I caught her in my arms and pinned her down on the slanted slide. She was breathing heavily. My adrenaline rushed. It's not like the soccer game. It was different but intoxicating nonetheless.
I went in for the kill. I didn't do it gentle like last time. This time I kissed her with force. She was too shock to respond. I didn't mind. She was slowly caving in. I could feel it. I asked for entrance. My tongue prodded at her, but she still resisted me. I had to move on. I brought up my free hand and caressed her on the side of her rib under her clothes. She stirred in surprise and the next thing I know, I went down like a brick.
"Ughhgg"
"You ass! Don't come near me again or next time you'll need surgery!"
I saw her feet walked off in the direction of her house.
Damn, the price I pay...she kneed me in my crotch!
I was on the ground for some time before my breathing returned to
normal. I went home to think things over. Maybe I underestimated
her. Any more of this and I'll ...
----
Far away in the comforts of her house, Yelan Li pondered over the lastest development. She might have left Syaoran alone. She might be in Hong Kong, but she has eyes everywhere. One of her trusted worker has been observing her beloved son and has been reporting back to her.
Yelan's POV
I looked over the report and smiled in satisfaction. I knew when I approached Syaoran with a game, he'd accept. He's always one for challenges.
I wanted him to have some fun in his life before I drag him into the cruel world of business. He already lost his childhood. I can't have him waste away as a hermit during his teen years.
From the beginning, I knew that the challenge wasn't really difficult. Syaoran's a handsome young man and quite thoughtful. He doesn't understand why I chose this challenge though. When I had approached him with the idea, he seemed sure of himself. He still has that air of confidence and arrogance. He never wanted friends, never wanted to depend on people, never wanted to trust anyone else after my love's death. I hope that this challenge will teach him that he can't go on living as if he's the only one.
Perusing over the report, I saw that Syaoran has already finished half of the requirements. He has become popular in his school in a matter of days. He was not so obscured anymore. I originally intended that he make himself socially active by challenging him to become 'sweet' with the ladies and 'cool' with guys, but I thought it over and concluded that he needs love in his life. I asked him to bring home a girl.
Looking over at the images of the 'target' he has chosen, I began having second thoughts. The girl was truly beautiful. She looked truly innocent, a face of perfect beauty.
Syaoran might hurt her unknowingly.
I bit my lip. I didn't want something terrible to happen to that beautiful girl.
What should I do about this?
A wonderful idea came to me. Syaoran might not like it, but this is my game. I make the rules and I decide the winner.
A/N: Damn! Three chapters in three days! Somebody congratulate me on that! Aha! Ascii pen and ink! Use it and review
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Okay, I swear it looked so good in notepad. This thing just screws up the formatting.
