Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura and its characters are not mine. I'm just borrowing them for the time being.

Warnings: Alternate Universe. No Clow cards, card captor, powers… SxS, ExT.

Feedbacks: Onegai shimasu!

. . .

Forbidden Love

. . .

Chapter Six: Trying Out

Monday mornings, on the way to school, Sakura always stopped to have breakfast at Tomoyo's. It had become a kind of tradition. She didn't know exactly how it started, except it had to do with the fact that Mrs. Sonomi Daidouji volunteered at a convalescent home Sunday mornings, so she always cooked something extra special on Monday to make up for it. That morning it was waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.

I could eat a mountain of these," said Sakura as she put a forkful into her mouth.

Tomoyo shot her a pained look over a bowl of strawberries, plain with no cream. "Ugh! Do you know how many calories there are in one waffle, not to mention the cream?"

Mrs. Daidouji plopped another waffle onto Sakura's plate. She was a shorthaired version of her daughter, with the same charm and pretty face. "Here we go again!" She laughed. "Tomoyo has turned into a walking calorie computer since we went shopping for a dress for the dance."

"Would you believe there was nothing, absolutely ZILCH, in anything but sizes seven and nine?" Tomoyo moaned.

Sakura, who was a size seven, suggested, "You could always make your own dress. Didn't you get an A in home ec last semester?"

"That was for my lasagna Bolognese. The last dress I made I sewed the zipper in backward and had to rip the whole thing apart when I was done."

"Yeah, I remember the lasagna," piped in Touya, Tomoyo's ten-year-old brother. "Suppi ate some and got sick all over the rug."

At the sound of his name, Suppi raised his big shaggy white head off his paws, blinked at them, and then went back to sleep. From his cage by the window, Kero squawked, "Suppi! Suppi! You lazy dog! Suppi"—a performance the sheep dog ignored completely.

"Gross!" yelled seven-year-old Maki. One of her dark tresses had slipped unnoticed into the whipped cream on her plate, and Sakura reached over to rescue it. Thirteen-year-old Ami started to giggle uncontrollably, prompting the baby to bang his spoon delightedly against his high chair.

"Hey, settle down, gang," grunted Mr. Daidouji good-naturedly, hunching his lean shoulder over his plate. "Mind if I eat my breakfast in peace?"

"Peace?" echoed his wife, grinning, "My goodness, if we ever had a peaceful meal in this house, we wouldn't know how to eat it."

Sakura thought automatically of the meals she shared at home with her dad, which, although companionable, seldom got noisier than "pass the salt, please" or "sure you wouldn't like another dab of potato salad?" The last two days had been even worse. Since Friday, a kind of undeclared pact of silence had existed between them. Nothing on the surface, of course. If anything, they were both being extra polite to each other, but inside, Sakura's resentment boiled.

To top everything off, Syaoran hadn't even called, although he'd half-promised he would. She didn't really blame him, but that didn't make it any easier. The phone had been deathly silent all weekend except for Tomoyo calling to fill her in on the latest with Eriol and her diet. She'd lost three pounds so far. Terrific, thought Sakura.

That morning she'd woken up with an uneasy feeling that Monday wasn't going to be much better. It was just a vague notion at first as she fought her way through the layers of sleep. Then she remembered. Monday was the day she was going for the try for the a cappella choir. Ms. Mizuki had arranged it with Mr. Reed after Sakura finally decided Tomoyo was right about taking chances. What did she have to lose after, all? And if she did get in, it would mean extra time she could spend with Syaoran—time her father couldn't object to if her found out. It was very tempting. But there were still too many ifs. If Mr. Reed liked her. If she didn't blow it with Syaoran. If, if, if…

If only I have laryngitis right now, she wished half seriously. Then I wouldn't have to worry about it.

As if reading her thoughts, Tomoyo remarked, "Sakura's trying out for the a cappella choir today. Isn't that neat? I'll bet she's a shoo-in."

Touya perked up. "How much d'you wanna bet? I've got three dollars saved from my birthday."

"Not that kind of bet, dummy," Tomoyo shot back disgustedly. "How can anyone be so stupid?"

"Stupid!" parroted Kero, causing everyone to break up, including Mr. Daidouji.

"Hark, the natives grow restless," observed Nakuru coolly as she speared a tidy forkful of waffle. She was the oldest at seventeen and a half, also somewhat of a snob in Tomoyo's opinion, who claimed the only things her sister cared about were her collection of music albums and the gold necklace her boyfriend gave her before he went away to college.

"I was in the choir at my school," Tomoyo's mother recalled wistfully, wiping a stray hair from her forehead. "We sure had a lot of fun—even put on a couple of operettas."

"Mom, I didn't know you could sing," Tomoyo responded in astonishment.

She waved her spatula at them. "There's a lot kids don't know about their parents. And it wouldn't hurt them one little bit to find out!"

"Good luck, Sakura," called Mr. Daidouji cheerily as she and Tomoyo got up from the table to leave for school.

For some reason, the younger children found this hilarious, and when Sakura gave a last glance over her shoulder, they were doubled up over their plates in hysterics.

"Sometimes," Tomoyo said, rolling her eyes dramatically, "I think how nice it would be if I lived on the moon."

Sakura smiled. "What about Eriol? Wouldn't it get lonely up there after a while?"

"I'll let you know after I've met the man on the moon," she wisecracked. "What if he looks like Josh Hartnett?"

Sakura giggled, already feeling a lot better about facing the day.

. . .

That afternoon, as she stood in front of Mr. Reed and the whole a cappella choir, she wasn't so sure. Anxiously she scanned their faces. Rika caught her eye with a little wave of encouragement, and Tomoyo was giving her the victory sign. Syaoran offered a smile, which warmed her in spite of her cold feet and churning stomach.

Sakura licked her lips and glanced over at Mr. Reed, who sat perched on the piano stool comfortably, his neck inclined forward, peering at the music sheet in front of him. Sakura had chosen a selection from The Magic Flute, a piece she had sung a dozen of times without any problems. But at that moment, the inside of her mouth felt like Kleenex, and she was sure she wouldn't remember a single word.

But as Mr. Reed began playing enthusiastically on the piano, the music she knew so well swelled effortlessly from her throat. She forgot how self-conscious she'd been a minute before.

The notes rose and fell, enclosing her in her own private bubble—the way it was whenever she sang alone. She could almost have believed, if she closed her eyes, that she was back in her little tree-cave by the creek.

Suddenly she knew it was going to be all right. No matter what happened—if she was accepted or not—everything was going to be ok. Syaoran's presence stretched toward her like an invisible tide, filling her with warmth and joy. She drew a deep breath and sent the final notes soaring upward with more emotion than she had ever sung before.

There was an instant of silence, then the choir members exploded in applause. Tomoyo and Rika rocketed from their seats, clapping wildly while Syaoran issued several ear-splitting hurrahs. Sakura stood there awkwardly, a grin plastered in place, then gave a little bow.

"Very nice, Mr. Kinomoto," intoned Mr. Reed, his lips stretching into a smile. "Very nice indeed." He sounded surprise, as if wondering where she had been hiding all this time.

After Mr. Reed spoke, Sakura, feeling happy and relieved, darted out of the room.

. . .

"You were fan-tas-tic!" Syaoran said and whooped, catching her in a bear hug of congratulations. "Didn't I tell you that you would be?"

Sakura noticed several people staring at them, probably wondering if they were an item. A group of girls were even glaring daggers at her. She flushed, thinking, Let them wonder. "You really think Mr. Reed liked me?"

"Like you? Hey, are you kidding? He probably would have asked for your autograph if you hadn't run off like that."

"Ha!" she exclaimed.

"Seriously," Syaoran said. "You were sensational, and you know it. I don't know why I'm telling you this. Pretty soon your head will be so big they'll have to make all the doors around here wider to let you through."

Sakura giggled. "Well, at least that's better than melting into a big puddle, like I thought I was going to."

He took her hand as they strolled across the patio, heading for the paths that branched among the acacias. Sakura felt the thrill of his touch travel up her arm like a mild electric shock. She noticed how his hair was tinted with gold in the afternoon sun and how his smile set her heart racing. Part of her felt as if it were the most natural thing in the world to be walking hand in hand with him, while another part of her felt as though she were walking through a magical dream. Later, when she was alone, she knew she would remember every single detail of that moment.

"I wonder when Mr. Reed will let me know his decision," she said.

"I'm sure he's already made it. But he'll want to talk to Ms. Mizuki first. Don't worry, you'll probably know by tomorrow or the day after."

"I just hope I can hold my breath that long."

"You're in," Syaoran assured her.

Sakura couldn't seem to stop grinning. "I can't believe I did it. I actually got up in front of everyone and sang. Even if I don't make the choir, I feel like I've just climbed a mountain or something."

He stopped and looked at her. "You know what this could mean, don't you? If we're in the choir together—what with the spring concert rehearsals and all—maybe our parents will have to think twice about keeping up with this crazy feud."

Sakura's soaring heart landed with a thud inside her chest. "I don't know, Syaoran. I've never seen my father set on anything. He—he even told me not to see you."

"You, too?" Wow, and I thought I was the only one. Mom landed on me with both feet about this. I'm embarrass to tell you what she said about you."

"It couldn't be worse than what my dad said about you."

"Yeah? I can guess. He thinks I'm a juvenile delinquent, right? Mom said you were just a little gold digger and that I should keep away from you or sew my pockets shut."

"Me?" Sakura's face burned at the thought.

Syaoran walked around her, pretending to examine her with great interest. "Hmmm, yes, very interesting."

"What on earth are you doing?" Sakura cried indignantly, swinging around to face him.

He grinned. "Looking for your horns and tail."

"Rat! I'll get you for that!"

"Oh yeah, what did you have in mind?" Abruptly he drew her against him and kissed her lightly on the mouth. Sakura felt warm and prickly, pleasure washing over her in waves, as if it were the first time she had been kissed. In a way, it was.

"Nothing that drastic," she said lightly, not wanting to see how deeply affected she was. Why, her insides were quivering with delight!

They walked a little further in silence before Syaoran blurted, "Any chance you could talk your dad into letting me take you to the Spring Fling?"

Sakura was stunned. In spite of everything that had happened, she still couldn't believe Li Syaoran was actually asking her to the dance.

"I—I don't know," she answered honestly. "I'll try."

Try was putting it mildly, she thought. If there were any chance in the world of changing her father's mind, she would do everything she could to find it. Didn't they say that all is fair in love and war? Well, she was in love… and this was war!

Tbc…

Okey, before anything else… Gomen nasai! I'm so sorry it took me a while, quite a while actually, to type this chapter. My computer crashed, and the files were erased. *sighs* And then there was that really hard Accounting final exam. God, it was HARD!

Okey, now that that's settled (it is, ne?), I'd like to thank the following:

Miss_K: Hiya, Kay! You think I don't have any mistakes? They're there, just not noticeable. I'm Tenshi *LOL* and what's this? Hook me with your brother? Um, can't do. I'm busy with my legions of lovers. You know? There's Duo, then Killua, then Ban-chan and Kadsuki-chan, then Sasuke-kun, and Kurama… see? There's still more… *giggles* Would you believe I still have braces?! I HATE them! But it'll be removed this year, thank God!

Hey, I don't mind if you like to say a lot! I'm like that, too! Thanks for reviewing!

Suzu: Weee!! I LOVE Gundam Wing! Daisuki! Duo is so cute! Anyway, I think I started reading "Queen…" but I stopped in the middle. (hihi…) Have you read "Childhood Crush" of Starjade? Now that's good. And it has like TONS of reviews. Thanks for reviewing!

Silver wolf gurl: Here's the chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

TaRe-ChiBi: Yep! I can speak tagalog, of course, I am a Filipina. Bakit marunong kang magbasa pero hindi ka marunong magsalita? ^_^ Thanks for review!

Sweetiehartieangel369: Don't be speechless! Here's the chappie. Thanks for reviewing!

Alex: Wow! You updated twice! Thanks. Sorry for being late… Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

Kanna sagara: Yeah, I know damn well about school and stuff… Don't worry! Thanks for reviewing!

SkuraLiForever: Thanks for the e-mail!

Guys, you're all the reason why I'm still writing this fic! Thanks again!

Ja ne!!!

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