You brightened up my life

Chapter 1: What's wrong?

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS or any characters in it etc (*sigh*) so please don't sue me or anything like that

Summary: Sakura runs away from her horrible stepfather, only to fall into the arms of Syaoran, her secret love. Will he confess his love for her whilst looking after her? Read to find out! S+S

Author's Note: Hey y'all now this is Xiao Lang Aishiteru Ying Fa and this is my first fanfic so PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE I repeat PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE review and tell me what you think. And to all the experts out there give me some advice and notify me of any grammatical errors. NOTE: I did put this up before but I removed it because there wasn't any plot, but I've decided to put it up again as just a short romance...I hope you don't mind ^^;

I hope you like it!!!!!!

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"You can't do anything right!" a man bellowed at a beautiful young girl with short auburn hair and innocent emerald eyes, that were red from crying. She had a bruise on her cheek, which had a red handprint on it.

The girl, named Kinomoto Sakura, let tears fall freely down to the floor and she made no move to stop the blows to her cheek. The man, Sakura's stepfather, slapped her across her face continuously shouting things like 'Why do I even put up with you?' and 'You need to learn a lesson!'. Her cheek was throbbing from the pain.

The stepfather, now getting tired of slapping the poor girl, ordered her to go to her room, which she obeyed. When she reached her room she locked the door and cried on the bed. 'Why is this happening to me? What have I done wrong?' She thought. The answer was simple: nothing. Her stepfather never liked Sakura, or actually, he didn't want her. He just wanted to get into bed with her mother. Well, now that she was dead, he was stuck with her. It had been about 5 months now, and yet Sakura never had the courage to stand up to him.

With thoughts of another miserable day tomorrow, Sakura cried and cried and cried until she fell asleep.

Next morning...

Sakura woke up late as usual, receiving more scolding from her stepfather. She ignored them as best as she could and took a piece of toast that the maid had prepared. She put on her skates and her gear and raced out of the house not bothering to say goodbye to her stepfather. She had tried her best to conceal the bruise, and had hoped for the best.

At school, she seemed the cheerful and happy person as she always seemed. But no one knew about her stepfather's abuse, and she did not want anyone to know.

"Ohayoo, Kinomoto" said a deep voice, making Sakura turn around. She came face to face with Li Syaoran, her ultimate crush, well actually, her ultimate love. She stared at those amber eyes, so piercing but gentle, until she forgot all about the beatings from her stepfather and she was lost in them.

"Hello? Earth to Kinomoto?" Syaoran said, making Sakura snap out of her trance and blush crimson.

"O-ohayoo, Li," she stammered, her eyes falling on his messy chocolate brown hair. They betrayed her and wandered down his well-built body, every curve of his muscles formed from endless training. He smiled his rare, but breathtaking smile. He was always known to glare at people, but when Sakura was around, he was always smiling and gentle. It seemed he only saved his smiles for her.

"Let's get to class, we're gonna be late," he said, walking with Sakura to class. When he reached there, he took his usual seat at the back and behind Sakura. Sakura chatted to her best friend, Tomoyo, but Syaoran could tell she was distracted. 'She's been like this for quite a while now' he thought, 'I wonder what's bothering her. I hate to see her so upset.' He too, had liked Sakura from the moment he laid eyes on her, and had soon become one of her best friends. But he wanted it to be something more. 'Could it ever be?' He thought, hoping that someday soon, they would be together.

Lunchtime...

"I'm gonna go take a walk. I'll be back soon," she said to her friends, who nodded and continued eating. Sakura headed towards her favourite cherry blossom tree, when she heard that oh so sexy voice behind her.

"Mind if I join you?" said Syaoran, stepping in line with Sakura, a slight blush colouring his cheeks.

"No, not at all," she said, faking a smile. They walked in silence, not awkward but comforting, until they reached the sakura tree. Syaoran was the first to break the silence.

"What's been bothering you, Sakura?" he said quite suddenly and out of the blue. Sakura tried playing dumb.

"What do you mean?" she asked half nervously, half innocently.

"I can tell something's wrong, Sakura. You're trying to hide it, but I can still tell. What's the matter?" he asked full of concern. There was a short silence.

"Will you keep it a secret?" said Sakura, her voice barely a whisper.

"Of course, if you want me to." answered Syaoran, still concerned. Sakura told him about how her stepfather beats her everyday, and how she doesn't think she can go on much longer. At the end, Syaoran was shocked and worried. Sakura was crying now, despite her efforts not to, and she curled up into a ball hugging her knees. Syaoran inched closer and gently hugged the hiccupping Sakura, who leaned onto him.

"What ever happens, Kinomoto, just remember that I'll always be here for you," he said, gently wiping her tears away with the pads of his thumbs. Amber eyes met emerald. Sakura whispered a 'thank you' and laid her head down on his shoulder. For the first time Syaoran could see how tired Sakura was. It didn't look like she'd slept that much.

"Do you want to go to sleep?" asked Syaoran. Sakura was surprised at this, but took his offer.

"But how?" she asked. As an answer, Syaoran sat more comfortably, cross- legged, and sat Sakura down on his lap. She wrapped her arms around the back of Syaoran's neck, and laid her head on his shoulder once more.

"There's still about 40 minutes left of lunchtime. I'll wake you up when it's over." He said, getting a nod from a sleepy Sakura.

"Are you sure you don't mind? Me sitting and sleeping on you like this, I mean?" she half muttered, half yawned. Then after getting a soft 'of course not' from Syaoran, she drifted off to a peaceful slumber.

After school...

"Li! Li!" shouted Sakura, catching up to Syaoran, who had turned around and waited. Sakura took a moment to catch her breath before she started talking.

"Syao - I mean, Li, I just wanted to thank you for...for...letting me go to sleep..." she said, her face hot from blushing.

"It's okay, Kinomoto. I really didn't mind." He replied, his face also red and hot. "and you can call me Syaoran if you want" he added, his face turning redder by the minute.

"And you can call me Sakura." She said, grinning. She had forgotten about what tragedy awaits her at home, being here with her love was just too happy to think of bad things.

"Can I walk you home?" asked Syaoran.

"Sure" replied Sakura.

They walked slowly to her house, and just before they reached her driveway, they stopped.

"It might be better if my stepfather didn't see you with me..." she said, trailing off. Syaoran nodded, and seeing the tears in Sakura's eyes, gently lifted her chin up with his hand.

"Just remember what I said at lunchtime, Sakura. I'll always be here for you." He said. Amber eyes met emerald. Sakura hugged him as a reply and when they said their goodbyes, headed towards their own house.

Inside...

"I got your report card today," said Sakura's stepfather sharply. He thrust it in her hands. Straight A's except for maths. Overall, it was a VERY good report.

"Why can't you get all A's? Or better yet A+'s?" he shouted at her, before performing the daily ritual of hitting her. Of course, there was no point in telling him that they didn't have A+'s at Tomoeda High, he wouldn't listen anyway. Sakura stood there taking in the blows, doing nothing to prevent it as usual.

But today was different. Today was worse. Or maybe it wasn't. It seemed worse, at least. And she couldn't take it. So she thought of something. She would put her plan into action tonight. Right now, she needed to think.

Tonight...

Sakura quickly packed some clothes into a small backpack and some food she had smuggled upstairs to her room from the kitchen. She made sure that her father was having a good time at the party that he always throws on Friday night. Downstairs was loud and noisy with people chattering, laughing and having a good time. It was dark outside. No one would see her. She opened her window and jumped out onto the tree in front of it, her backpack over her shoulder. She carefully climbed down the tree and made her way to the end of the driveway. She took one last look at her house, before walking away.

Meanwhile...

Syaoran was out for a walk to clear his head and think. He hated to see Sakura so in pain and sad, although she hid it at school. He must do something about this...and soon.

Suddenly he heard some screams and whimpers coming from beyond the alley. He rushed over, trying to see what was going on. He saw three guys and one girl, who was whimpering and trying to fend off the guys. As the girl came into view of the light, Syaoran let out a short gasp. Her auburn hair and emerald eyes flashed in the moonlight.

"Sakura!" he cried, making the guys and the girl turn to face him.

"Syaoran hel-" Sakura was cut off by one of the guys kicking her, causing her to scream in pain.

"Leave her alone!" shouted Syaoran, trying his best not to cry at the sight of his beloved. Her clothes had been ripped and torn, and several cuts covered her body. Syaoran got into a fighting stance and the guys answered by attacking him. Syaoran easily dodged their attacks, and soon he had them on the ground. They picked themselves up and ran away, seeing his martial art skills, deciding it wasn't a good idea to fight him.

Syaoran ran over to Sakura, whose eyes were swollen from crying.

"Shh, now it's okay." Said Syaoran, picking her up carefully. He continued to whisper soothing words to Sakura as he took her to his apartment.

When they reached it, Syaoran gently lowered her down to the couch. He got her a glass of honey milk, Sakura's favourite. She took it gratefully and started to drink it.

"Arigatoo, Syaoran." She whispered, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"It's okay, Sakura. I told you I'd always be here." He smiled, and gently stroked Sakura's hair. "I'm gonna go make a bath for you okay? I'll be right back." He added, going upstairs. Soon the sound of running water could be heard. He came back down.

"Come on, Sakura, you need to take a bath," he said, picking her up again and carrying her upstairs and into the bathroom. After putting her down, he retreated into his bedroom (it's a master bedroom so the bathroom's attached to the bedroom). He lay on the bed, thinking and listening to the sounds of the water in the bathroom.

"Um...Syaoran?" Sakura said nervously. "I don't have anything to wear other than my ripped up clothes..." Syaoran scrambled off his bed and looked in his drawers for something suitable.

"Sorry....Here, you can wear these," he said, standing outside the bathroom door. The door opened slightly, and Sakura's head popped out. He handed her the clothes and after taking them, thanked him. She closed the door again and soon got changed into his clothes. She was wearing a forest green T- shirt that had Syaoran's name written in Chinese down the left side of the front. It was too big for her so it showed her shoulders and hung down below her waist. She also had on khaki drawstring pants, which she had folded up because it was too long. Sakura giggled.

"How do I look?" she said, still giggling. Syaoran chuckled.

"You look great," he laughed. "it's good to see your smile again, Sakura." She smiled again.

"All thanks to you," she hesitated. "so, where do we go from here?"

"Well...you can start by explaining?" he asked/said. Sakura told him the story of how she ran away from home and was jumped by a group of guys, the ones he had beaten up.

"Where were you planning to go?" he asked worriedly.

"I...I don't know," she admitted. "I just wanted to get away from my stepfather."

"Oh, okay. Well, you can stay here for a while or at least for the night if you want to," he said.

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Arigatoo, Syaoran!!!" she ran over to him and hugged him tightly, and Syaoran gladly returned the hug. He glanced at his watch. It was already 10 pm.

"You can sleep in my bed, Sakura." He said, carrying her over to his bed and pulling the covers over her.

"But what about you?" asked Sakura.

"I'll sleep in one of the guest rooms," he said.

"Iie, I'll sleep there, after all, it is your room."

"Iie, it's okay," after much friendly arguing, Syaoran decided to take on a different action. He pinned her wrists on either side of Sakura's head while she lay on his bed. His face was mere inches from hers.

"YOU sleep here," he said. He had a playful yet finality in his tone. Sakura gave up.

"Oh fine," she said. Syaoran held her hands for a moment longer than necessary.

"Oyasumi nasai, cherry blossom," he said, kissing her forehead quickly.

"Oyasumi nasai, little wolf," she giggled, kissing his cheek. She giggled again. Syaoran left the room with his pyjamas and went into the room next door. He flopped onto the bed and sighed. 'What's happening to me?' He asked himself.

In the middle of the night...

Sakura sat up from her sleep, screaming and sweating. Syaoran awoke abruptly and rushed into his room and to his bed.

"I...was...having...a...night...mare..." she said between sobs.

"Shh, it's gonna be okay now, shh," he calmed her down, and laid her back down onto the bed. She held onto Syaoran's wrist and wouldn't let go.

"Stay with me, please?" she asked.

"Okay, okay," he replied, crawling into bed beside her. She rested her head on his chest, while he wrapped his arms around her waist. They both fell asleep, at peace with each other.

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Author's Note: I don't really like this story...but I hope my readers will...and I don't think it was a very good idea putting it up again as a short story but *sigh* o well. See y'all in the next chapter! Au revoir, Xiao Lang Aishiteru Ying Fa