They arrived in the park, which was full of people. Jennifer looked around to see what was the big deal, but came up empty-handed. She growled under her breath and stared at Syaoran from behind.
"What?" He asked casually, passing by her.
She followed him, feeling really angry. "What are we doing here?" She gritted her teeth.
"There's a fireworks showing here later." He said. "We can check it out."
"And if I don't want to?"
"Then live with it." He replied. "It's a date, no matter what you say."
"This is so not what I was looking forward to tonight!" She said exasperatedly, but followed him.
"Either you keep your temper like that or shut up and deal with it."
She didn't say anything.
"The show's at 9, so we got a good hour and a half of nothing to do."
"Great." She muttered.
----
Back at the apartment, Sakura sat with Tomoyo on the couch. Someone knocked on the door, surprising both of them, but Eriol opened it.
"Yeah?" He asked, staring at the little boy carrying a package of green papers.
"I-I'm sorry to b-bother y-you, sir, b-but there's a-a fireworks s-show tonight a-and if you w-want to c-come, h-here it is." He stammered.
Eriol's eyes widened at his fearful expression. "Relax, kid. Don't be scared." He laughed merrily. "Thanks."
He gave the paper to Eriol. "No (hiccup) problem." The boy started running off in the other direction.
--
"Who was that?" Tomoyo asked as soon as Eriol went to the living room.
"Little kid bringing this."
"What is it?"
"Fireworks show tonight." He said. "You up for it?"
Sakura brightened. "Yes, very much!"
"If Sakura's going, I'm going." Tomoyo grinned.
"All right. It's at 9, so we got an hour to get ready. We'll leave at 8:30."
"Ok."
----
"So what do you want to do?" Jennifer asked suggestively.
"Wait." He replied.
"Wait for what?"
"I want to wait." He didn't look at her. Instead he watched people start to walk over to the bay side, awaiting the fireworks.
She sighed. "Do you have a girlfriend or something?"
"What?"
"A girlfriend…a girl of some sort that you talk with or…date?" She asked, explaining.
"I know what a girlfriend is." He retorted.
"So-"
"I don't have one."
"Oh…"
"Why?"
"It seems like you do. You're very…I don't know…quiet and…much like a loner…you don't look at other girls."
"Well that doesn't mean I date."
"I know." She nodded, staring down at her feet.
An awkward silence fell upon them. After 10 minutes or so, Jennifer started talking.
"Listen, I'm really sorry…for acting that way towards you…it's just that…well…you know a lot of girls are into you, right? I'm just one of them." She laughed nervously. "I didn't mean for you to go on this date with me...I mean, of course I wanted to go out with you, but I didn't want to force you to go out with me. I-I just saw it as the only way…"
Syaoran listened to her without saying a word.
"And if you want to bail…you can just go. I'm sure you don't want to waste your time with me."
He shrugged. "You're not that bad when you tell the truth."
She smiled. "Thanks."
"There's a show and I took you here so we could watch it together." He said, standing up. "I won't bail on you. I'm not that kind of guy. I don't leave girls hanging." He smirked. "So let's watch it together and enjoy the time we got left."
She turned very red. "Ok." She stood up and hugged him suddenly. "Thanks for understanding…I didn't know you would be."
"Just 'cause I act like a loner doesn't mean I am one. I know how to treat girls right…I'm a disciplined man." He said, pushing her off gently.
"Well…I'm really sorry. Again."
"No big deal. Now let's go."
----
Sakura and Tomoyo walked together, arms hooked together while Eriol walked behind them. Sensing that he was feeling low, Sakura nudged at Tomoyo and whispered something in her ear.
"Spend some time with him, Tom." She smiled. "I know he's feeling down."
Tomoyo turned a little red. "But what about you?"
"It's ok. I'm going to watch some fireworks tonight!" She giggled, stars in her eyes.
Tomoyo laughed. "Thanks babe."
"You're welcome, honey."
----
"Hi Eriol." Tomoyo smiled and hooked her arm around his.
He was surprised at this and glanced at her. "Hey Tom."
"Sakura's going to go ahead."
He nodded. "Why didn't you go with her?"
"I didn't want to leave you here." She giggled and stared up at him.
"Feeling pity on me?" He joked, but kind of felt like it was true.
"No, not at all. I wanted to walk with you."
"Oh ok."
"Sorry if you think I've been ignoring you." She said guiltily. "It's just that…I don't know…" She blushed. "There are some things I still need to figure out…about us…and I kinda needed the space…you know what I mean?"
"Yeah." He agreed. "I felt that too…"
"So am I forgiven?"
He looked down at her and smiled. "Yep."
"Thank you!" She hugged him briefly and laughed. "Let's go."
----
Sakura found an empty spot on one side of the bay. She stood there, feeling lonely, but thought it was for the best. 'Tomoyo and Eriol will get to spend some time together and talk things out…while Syaoran…h-he's dating someone…' She pouted. 'I wish he was here…even if he'll just be ignorant…at least he's with me to protect me.' Looking at the people around her, she noticed a lot of guys staring and felt very uncomfortable beneath their gaze. 'I wish I wasn't so…so…attractive to them…I really hate this.' She felt like crying. 'I shouldn't have gone ahead. I need people I know around me…'
--
Syaoran and Jennifer walked over to the bay, waiting for the fireworks. He glanced around to see how many people were there when he saw a familiar auburn-haired girl with scared, jade eyes. He looked closer and saw that it was who he thought it was. 'Sakura…'
"What's wrong, Li?" Jennifer asked, looking towards the direction he was looking at.
"Uh." He stopped and thought of something. "Would it be all right with you…if…uh…I went over to my friend…for a while?"
Her eyes popped. "Oh. You have a friend here?"
"Yeah. She's right over there."
"Ohh. Is she your girlfriend?"
He glared. "I told you before. I don't have a girlfriend." He paused. "She's one of my roommates."
"Oh ok." She giggled nervously. "Sure, it's not a problem. Don't worry. I got a lot of guys to hang out with here." She said with a wink.
"You sure?" He asked, looking down at her.
"Yeah, no problem. Just come back later and introduce me to her."
"Got it." He started walking off until he turned back around. "Thanks, Denver."
"You're welcome, Li." She smiled.
--
Sakura fidgeted as the fireworks' staff fumbled on the boat. 'What if something horrible happens?' She asked herself, feeling her heart start to pound heavily. 'What if…what if a guy makes a move on me?? And what if I can't stop him! Oh no!!' Sakura started to feel frightened and kept her eyes on the sky. 'Please, oh please, oh please, oh please…please keep me safe…oh no…'
Then she felt strong, warm arms wrap themselves around her waist and the first thought in her mind was a guy hitting on her. Her heart started pounding even louder and faster.
"What are you doing here, kid?" His whisper sent shivers down her spine.
She turned around and faced the most gorgeous man in her life. "Syaoran…" She matched his whisper and hugged him tightly.
He saw the slight trails of tears in her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?"
She held him tighter when she felt him hold her tight. "I…I was so scared…"
"Why?"
"I-I thought you were a-a guy t-trying to make a move on me…"
They both pulled away slightly and he felt guilty. "Sorry." Syaoran looked down.
She knew he meant it. "No, don't. I-I'm glad you're here."
"You are?"
She nodded. "I was hoping you'd be here."
He smirked and pulled her close again. "Why?"
She shrugged, cuddling to him. "You're my guardian angel." She murmured. "And if you're not around…I don't feel safe."
Something tugged at his heart at her confession.
"So what are you doing here anyway?" She asked, looking up at his amber eyes.
"My date's over there."
Sakura looked and saw her flirting with a lot of guys around her.
"I thought you were…dating."
"We spent most of our time just sitting on a park bench and not talking."
"What? That's crazy!"
"She planned for us to go to a frat party. I decided to bring her here and watch the fireworks."
"A frat party??" Sakura asked, shocked. "Like with college guys and girls??"
"Just the one."
"That's…even more…bizarre."
"Yeah. I said I promised her a decent date, so…"
"But how'd you know about the fireworks?"
"I was watching the news." He replied. "Remember?"
She turned pink. "That's right…you were."
"Anyway…what are you doing here?"
"I actually went with Eriol and Tomoyo…but I'm not sure where they are. I think they're somewhere over there."
"Why'd you go alone?" He asked, confused.
"I thought they needed some time together…you know how they've been going on and off about their relationship."
He nodded.
"Well, I thought it was time for them to just get it together and make up."
"And you left yourself here…around all these dumb-asses?" He glanced at the men giving him glares, but he glared back at them with a fierce one, causing the guys to look away.
She blushed. "Yes."
"Got scared, didn't you?"
She blushed harder. "Yes."
"And you were hoping I'd come around."
She felt very hot. "Yes."
"And I thought you were smart." He joked.
She playfully slapped him.
"I'm joking." He said, wrapping his arms around her waist one more time, with her back facing him.
--
She rested her head on his shoulder, breathing his cologne. Her head was spinning at the closeness they both shared. She held his arms holding her safely, and they waited as the fireworks started. He looked down at her head and the halo forming on it. Suddenly, not knowing what he was doing, he kissed her hair softly, breathing the scent in.
She looked up at him lazily. She didn't want to have to turn around; feeling him holding her was enough to make her go crazy about her feelings for him.
"Why'd you do that?" She asked quietly, not looking surprised.
For the first time ever, he smiled, at her, even though it was a small one.
Then her eyes widened at this. "Y-you're smiling." She blurted out.
"Thanks for noticing."
She finally turned around, and flushed. "Why?" She mumbled, fixing her gaze at his jacket.
"You make me smile." He whispered in her ear. "More times than one…but this is the only time I couldn't resist it."
Her heart melted and butterflies started roaming around her stomach. Her eyes trembled at his soft words and she turned around and hugged him tightly. "Don't do this to me, Syaoran…"
"Do what?" He asked quietly.
Silence answered him.
Then she whispered something to herself, sure he wouldn't hear. "Don't make me fall in love with you…"
But he did.