~I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura~

Shaoran x Tomoyo sap. Please don't flame me! If you don't like it, then don't read it, okay?

Thanks lots and lots to my first two reviewers, Serenity Blossom and 'nobody special'! ^^

~~~~~Chapter 2: 99 White Roses~~~~~

Tomoyo's POV

"Oh! Tomoyo-chan! You're here!"

Sakura is always so cheerful. I wonder; does anything ever get to her the way things get to me? Probably not. She's perfect, after all. Not that I'm jealous or anything. Jealously is most unbecoming. Well, maybe I'm just a little envious.

Just a little.

"Hello, Sakura-chan, Li-kun!"

"... hey." Shaoran has such a warm, gentle smile on his face... no wonder Meilin, Sakura, and I all fell for him. He's so handsome, and sweet, too.

Laconic as he is, I love being with Shaoran. He lets his emotions speak for him. He's passionate, fiercely defends what's important to him, and he's got such a kind heart. Now, if only he would feel passionately about me, defend me... hell, I'd be happy if he'd even call me by my given name.

No, it's actually better that that *doesn't* happen. I really don't need *more* reason to like him. I'm having enough trouble as it is.

I wonder what it would be like to die? I wonder how much it hurts?

"Tomoyo-chan! What do you wa-"

I hate working for my mother.

I hate being alone.

If I died, that would end, wouldn't it?

Would death hurt more than this? More than I would be able to bear?

"Eh? Tomoyo-chan? Something wrong?"

I'm not afraid of death.

"O-oi! Tomoyo!"

W-what? Shaoran? Looking around, I see Sakura's worried face... oh, yeah. She invited us over for dinner. Wait... Tomoyo? Shaoran called me *Tomoyo*?

Maybe I am important after all.

"Uh, yeah?" Wow. Intelligent. I surprise myself sometimes.

"Tomoyo-chan, are you okay? You've been staring into space for the past few minutes with a strange look on your face... you haven't even been blinking!"

"Yes, I'm fine! I'm sorry for making you worry... I was just thinking. I'm little tired. I've got a lot on my mind lately, you know, with Christmas and all." Flawless smile. All right, I think this situation's under control.

"Oh, yeah... your mother's on that business trip, I guess it must be a lot of work running the business yourself. Wanna call it a night then? After dinner, of course. We can go out for coffee tomorrow or something. I just love weekends! No work, just the three of us doing whatever we want! So much fun!"

I can't help but laugh at that. She always manages to cheer me up, even if just a little. Obviously *someone* hasn't changed much the past decade or so. I wish I could be as carefree as Sakura. Or, as Eriol might have... tactfully put it, 'oblivious'. I wonder how he's doing, anyway?

"No, I'm fine! After all, we can't waste our precious time together! Only... 60 hours left until Monday morning!"

"59 and a half! But who's counting? Let's do something fun!"

Okay, there is only so much to talk about after a while, no matter how close you are. I think I've about reached my limit... I'm reduced to watching Kero play his video games on the tv.

...I should be honest with myself... that's not really my problem. I'm finding it kind of hard not to stare at Shaoran. The bronze color of his skin, his beautiful eyes, soft lips... I wonder what it would be like to kiss him? Ack! Bad Tomoyo! Don't think about that! He's Sakura's! And you're starting to sound like a cheap romance novel!

Kero died *again*... fourth time in a row. For some reason, I had thought he was actually *good* at these games.

I look up. You don't need magic to know someone's watching you. "What's wrong?"

"Hey, Tomoyo... is Kero's game really that interesting?" Shaoran asks.

Uh-oh, blush coming on. He called me Tomoyo twice in the past hour! "Well, sort of! You see, my mother's been looking into making games like this, so I wanted to see what they were like... and Kero's so into them, I figured watching him play would be a good idea." Okay, so it was a lie... but could I do? Say, 'Yeah, Li, you're so gorgeous it's distracting and I was afraid I would throw myself at you if I didn't find something to divert my attention?' That would have gone over well.

"Ooh, Tomoyo-chan, always thinking about work! Come on, you've got to relax a little! Even if Christmas is coming, the toy company can wait until Monday!"

"Yes, you're right... again, I'm sorry. Maybe I will go home early... I'm sure I'll be back to my old self tomorrow. I haven't had a full night's sleep all week! Thanks for having me over. I'll call you in the morning, okay?"

"All right Tomoyo-chan! Sleep well! And don't worry about work so much! Everything will be fine! After all, it always is, isn't it?"

Wow, someone's a little too optimistic for her own good. Or maybe I'm just getting cynical. Damn, there is seriously something wrong with me lately! I mean, I admit it. I've liked Shaoran for years, but I've never had a problem before! My facade was flawless! Everyone's always been fooled into believing I'm cool and collected! I do *not* show emotion unless I want to! Where did I go wrong?!

Gotta calm down. The temper tantrum in my head isn't exactly helping me regain my poise. Breathe, girl. You can hate yourself later.

"Okay! Thanks! Good night, guys!"

"Wait... I'll walk you home."

Whoa, what did he just say?!

~~~~~white roses mean 'silence' as well as 'the mortal power of love, which is as strong as death'.

~~~~~99 roses mean 'I will love you all the days of my life'.

sorry this chapter was kinda short... I'll make the next one longer, promise!

Reviews would be awfully nice... ^_^