blue-angel45: phew! i somehow managed to get away from those angry people. i thought they were going to kill me! *sighs in relief* i gotta find a good hiding place where they'll never find me coz after they read this chap.....

s+s fans: look! it's her!!!

blue-angel45: WHAAAT?!?! how the hell did they find me?! gotta go! bye!!! *runs away AGAIN*

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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The Agony of Letting Go

It has been a couple of days prior to the day Eriol learned that Syaoran and Sakura were dating one another. He hasn't heard about their progress ever since but once in a while, he'd join the two.

That day, Eriol somehow got himself drunk one evening and eventually found himself unable to get home by himself. It was raining and it was much too difficult to go home in such a bad downpour. He figured he'd head over to the nearest place he could get to in his condition. He struggled to get there as he rang the doorbell and someone opened it.

"Eriol! What have you been doing? You're soaking wet!" Tomoyo said in shock. She helped Eriol inside to get him to one of their guestrooms. She brought some towels and a warm blanket as she asked some help from their maids to get Eriol on a comfortable bed.

As Tomoyo tried to dry him up with a towel, Eriol suddenly muttered, "Sakura." Tomoyo tried to keep herself from being affected by this. She just continued with what she was doing without saying a word. Soon enough, he gradually got rid of some of the effects the alcohol had on him. "Thanks for letting me in despite how late it is," Eriol spoke up.

Tomoyo shook her head. "You don't have to thank me. That's what 'friends' are for," she told him with a smile.

"You know what? I didn't notice it before but you and Sakura are quite the same," Eriol said.

"You're kidding, right? Sakura and I were best friends but we were different. She liked sports while I liked music. She liked arts while I liked math," Tomoyo stated her point.

"I didn't mean you were the same in those instances. You were the same in a sense that both of you were friendly.. and pretty," Eriol tried to explain. He looked at Tomoyo and added, "You've always been so kind to me."

Tomoyo stood up and said, "Wait here. I'll just get more towels."

As she started towards the door, Eriol grabbed hold of her wrist. "Please. Don't leave. I want you here with me right now. I need you more than you'll ever know," he retorted.

Tomoyo blushed upon hearing this. She smiled then asked, "Do you know why I'm doing this?" Eriol shook his head. "It's because I feel the same way about you."

~*~

Syaoran and Sakura were in the mall, enjoying some iced coffee. Sakura seemed rather inattentive for a moment there and Syaoran couldn't help but notice this. "Do you have a problem or something?" he just had to ask. Sakura turned to him with an anxious look in her eyes. "You can tell me anything," Syaoran told her.

"Syaoran, I'm so sorry," Sakura uttered as tears started to build up in her eyes. "I... I can't go out with you anymore. You have no idea how difficult this is for me," Sakura started to explain before Syaoran said anything. "I'm afraid I'm in love with someone else," she said at last.

"Wha-- I don't understand," Syaoran replied, confused about what was happening right then and there.

"I don't know how but these feelings just arose from me and I can't explain it at all," Sakura was just about to cry. She felt really bad about what she was doing to Syaoran. "I know I'm stupid. I'm a god damn moron but no matter what I do, I can't help but feel this way. I think I'm in love with Eriol. I'm really sorry!" Sakura cried as she took off the necklace Syaoran gave her and went away. Syaoran watched as she left him behind then looked at the silver necklace lying on the table. He banged his fist against the table as he clutched the necklace and went away as well.

~*~

Sakura took a cab to Tomoyo's house. When she got there, she hurried to the front door and rang the doorbell. The butler opened it. "Ms. Kinomoto. So pleasant to see you," he greeted her. Sakura told him she wanted to see Tomoyo as soon as possible. With that, the butler let her inside. "Ms. Daidouji is in one of the guest rooms upstairs. I'll ask one of the maids to lead you there," he said and Sakura just consented to this.

She was led to the room the butler had mentioned earlier. She knocked first and Tomoyo came out. "Sakura? What are you doing here?" she seemed intrigued. Sakura immediately threw herself in Tomoyo's arms and started to cry. "Why are you crying?" Tomoyo asked Sakura.

"I broke up with Syaoran. Tomoyo, I don't know what to do anymore!" Sakura replied.

"Why did you do that?" Tomoyo wondered. All this time, she thought things were going great between Syaoran and Sakura.

"Why did you do what?" came a guy's voice from the room. Then Eriol emerged from the room while he was wiping his face with a towel that hung from his neck.

Sakura shook her head in disbelief. "Wh-aat... what is he doing here?" her voice a bit shaky.

"He went here last night and he couldn't get home by himself so I let him stay over," Tomoyo explained. "But I still don't get it. Why did you break up with Li? And why are you so paranoid that Eriol is here?" Eriol was just looking at Sakura without saying anything. And Sakura was just doing the same to him. "Ok-aay... I guess you guys would like to be alone so... call me when you need anything. I'll be in my room," Tomoyo said as she went away.

"Let's talk inside if that would make you more comfortable," Eriol suggested as he and Sakura got in the room. "So, what were you telling Tomoyo just before I well... interrupted?" Sakura was quiet as she looked down on the floor. "Sakura... last night, I was drunk and I completely didn't know what was going on. I know this sounds stupid but.. all that happened technically because of you," Eriol told her.

Sakura looked at him, their eyes fastened on each other. "I... I... broke up with Syaoran because I... realized that I had other feelings for you. I didn't want to hurt Syaoran so I had to tell him the truth. I feel so bad. I don't know if I did the right thing," Sakura briefly narrated everything. "I can't explain it at all. Before I knew it, I started to love you but..."

Eriol embraced her and rubbed his hand on her back as an act of comfort. "Please don't cry. I hate it when I see you this way," he whispered in her ear. 'You make me remember the last time I saw you like this,' he thought. "Nevermind what's bothering you. I love you and that's what matters to me," Eriol uttered. And for a little while longer, Sakura stayed then eventually left for home.

When Eriol got back to his room, he heard something break. The sound was coming from right outside the room. Eriol was alarmed by this so he quickly went to see what caused this. It was Tomoyo. She started to pick up the pieces of shattered glass on the floor. Eriol noticed the tears in her eyes but said nothing. To begin with, he didn't know what was wrong.

Tomoyo stood up straight and wiped her eyes. She forced a smile to come in but to no avail. Eventually, she started to become red, not because she was blushing, but because she was upset. "So, I'm just a friggin rebound, eh?" Tomoyo said, her eyes on Eriol. He had NEVER heard Tomoyo talk like that. Not even once before.

"What do you mean?" he asked in confusion.

"Don't play dumb with me, Eriol. I'm not that heartless. Nor am I that stupid! I have feelings too, you know," Tomoyo told him.

"I never did anything," Eriol stated in defense.

"That's the entire thing! While you're doing EVERYTHING for Sakura, you don't get to notice the other people who care for you," Tomoyo showed her point. "And you let those 'other' people believe you like them but the fact is you don't even care one bit!"

"That's not true," Eriol said.

"Don't lie to me," Tomoyo uttered with a pained expression on her face. "Just leave. Please."

"Tomoyo--" Eriol tried to go on but...

"Just go!" Tomoyo exclaimed before running off in tears. Eriol had no choice but to leave, not wanting to make the situation any worse.

~*~

A few days passed and Syaoran could hardly keep up with himself. The only girl he ever loved had dumped him and he couldn't take the feeling of rejection. It was completely driving him insane to simply imagine Sakura with some other guy. And to think that "other guy" was his best friend. Did the best man already win? Syaoran thought about this each and every day. He loves Sakura too much and if it meant losing her to the person she was happy with, he would let her go as freely as she wished. After all, leaving the person you love is hard... but in this case, letting go is much harder. But Syaoran didn't want to give her up without a good fight. She was too precious to lose.

Syaoran was at home staring at Sakura's necklace in front of him. Her name kept ringing in his mind. He couldn't bear the thought of losing her. 'Did you really make your final choice? No matter what you want to do, I'll always be loving you till the end, Sakura...' Syaoran thought as a couple of knocks on the door interrupted him. "Not hungry so go away," he instantly said.

"Put a sock in it, bonehead. I'm not your servant, you know," Meilin talked back.

Syaoran groaned as he got up and opened the door. Meilin stepped in and made herself comfortable on his bed. "What is it this time?" Syaoran asked a bit calmly for once as he closed the door.

"What's up with you? You look like some dead guy, if you know what I mean," Meilin told him.

"Is that it? You came here just to tell me that? I am SO gonna kick your little ass outta here," Syaoran said.

"Ugh! Excuse me for being a critic. And by the way, my ass is just fine," Meilin retorted. "Look pal, it's hard enough for me to practically live with someone like you and now you have to get hurt because of ONE girl and you just had to get me affected, didn't ya? You know what's wrong with you? You can't even take things easy once in a while. That's what makes you so boring, man!"

"Is that it? Did Sakura leave me coz I'm boring?" Syaoran uttered supposedly to himself. He was getting really paranoid.

"No, you moron! Don't you even have a brain underneath all that unruly hair?" Meilin mocked Syaoran, getting a glare immediately. She rolled her eyes and said, "Sakura's old feelings are coming back and unless you have anything to do about it, she's never gonna love you again. Ever." Suddenly, Syaoran paid close attention to what Meilin was telling him. "Would you really prefer that Sakura turns to Eriol and not YOU?" Meilin asked.

"What do you think?"

"Are you THAT helpless? I told you before that I know you too well. But I guess I was wrong," Meilin said.

"Shut up," Syaoran retorted.

Then show me what the real Syaoran Li is like," Meilin told him. "I mean, the one who doesn't give up that easily."

"I don't wanna screw anything up," Syaoran kept looking on the negative side.

"The Syaoran I know insists on getting everything he lays his sight on," Meilin reminded him and grinned. "Besides, what have you got to lose? You've lost it already but do you really want to lose it again?"

Syaoran set the necklace aside as he decided to go out.

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blue-angel45: did ya actually think that wuz the ending??! no way! but there's a few more chaps to go! remember to check it out!!! *looks around* this garbage can is a good place to hide... *garbage can lid opens and s+s fans look down at her* *raises eyebrow* then again maybe not. don't forget to review!!! *starts praying* oh please oh please oh please...