A/N: Heyyy, I'm back! Jeez, guys…you spoil me way too much (not that I mind…)! Just look at how many reviews I got…I'm so thrilled! EE! Lol, sorry…momentary insanity there (-sweatdrop-)…but it passed. I've never gotten this many reviews before! And I only put two chapters out so far (not counting this one). WOW! Keep it coming guys, you really know how to make a person's day.

All questions will be answered at the end of the chapter, and editing of chapter two has been done to erase any confusion, like I said, I was really drowsy when I wrote that chapter…so…yeah…anyway, this chapter is going to be humorous since I think you guys need some…this story hasn't had any so far.

Disclaimer: If you see a 'dis' in front of a word, especially in front of 'claimer', I gotta wonder if you're stupid if you think the person owns the thing.

Chapter Three: Getting Under

"…So this turtle was like, yeah! I'll let you ride on my shell, but just be careful it doesn't explode! Get it? A turtle's shell and the kind that's like a bomb and explodes? Get it? Shell?" Sakura made wild motions, even trying to demonstrate with her hands.

"…" was the reply.

Sakura had been trying to get a conversation going with Syaoran…but he just didn't seem to respond, not even to her extremely funny turtle joke, which was her BEST joke!

…Her BEST one!

"Isn't it funny?" she tried once more.

"…" again, this was the answer she got from him. He really only seemed to be happy with just looking at the kids playing in the playground.

So (since she had run out of good jokes to crack), after a while, she fell silent and stood back, watching the kids too.

At first, it was alright, since some of the antics that the kids pulled were quite funny, but after awhile it got a bit monotonous.

Still, while Sakura thought that the kids were nice and dandy and all, she really wasn't interested in staring at them forever. But she didn't complain. If it meant getting to know the guy (which was really strange in her opinion, since she would swear she was obsessed with Syaoran), then she would do it.

Not for his money, or to become his girlfriend, but just to be…

…His friend.

She herself didn't get it, so she didn't expect anyone else to.

…Zzz…eighteen minutes…

Twenty minutes.

Now she could've sworn some drool slipped out of her mouth, and she absently rubbed the (imaginary) piece of wetness away, lingering longer than was necessary since she was bored and needed something to do.

"Sakura?"

Sakura's eyes widened and she nearly choked on her tongue as she tripped over her own feet in shock and pitched forward but then tripped over her feet again, and pitched backwards this time.

Thump.

She landed painfully on her 'rear end'.

She moaned, rubbing her 'hind quarters' gingerly.

Then a small noise stopped her.

Eyes slightly narrowed in suspicion, she whipped around to locate the muffled sound. These same narrowed eyes then became huge baseball-sized ones, which then proceeded to shrink into dot sized ones.

Why was this?

It was because Syaoran Li stood there, one hand clamped over his mouth and his left cheek twitching just the slightest bit, but just enough to let her know that his lips were quirking. His deep amber eyes, those eyes that were always swimming with chocolate, and were her favourite part of him (or so she thought, unconsciously), were slightly crinkled.

And definitely the most amazing part about this image, was that…

The noise had come from him!

In her shock, she hadn't noticed one detail though, which she now only noticed from her view on the ground, still sitting there after the painful fall on her 'buttocks'…

She narrowed her eyes even further.

It was a snort that had come from him…

Now her eyes were dreadfully narrow. He was laughing at her? After…after she had hurt herself and had a painfully pain-filled landing on her 'behind', he was so cruel as to laugh at her?

Why, she never!

Huffing indignantly, she demanded,

"And what, may I ask, is so funny?"

Syaoran slowly pried his hand away from his mouth, biting his upper lip carefully to keep from laughing.

He shook his head.

"Nothing at all," then, as an after thought, he added, "Oh, are you ok by the way?"

Sakura glared at him even more.

"I'm just fine, I could go and skip around the world," she answered flatly, then quirked her eyebrow, "Could you at least help me up?"

"Huh?" Syaoran looked lost for a moment, "Oh!" it finally hit him. He reached out a hand and gave a small impish grin.

Grumbling now, Sakura accepted the hand and got up, dusting off her clothes.

"Thanks," she muttered.

Syaoran, who still found the situation immensely funny, then asked her (quite seriously),

"Sakura, were you bored the whole time we were standing here? I mean, you could've told me…and you didn't have to stick around with me anyway,"

Sakura was silent for a moment, thinking.

To answer, or not to answer, that was the question. She couldn't very well tell him straight off that she was set on being his friend for no reason in particular. That just didn't sound right.

"Ummm…" Sakura sweat dropped as she felt Syaoran's expectant gaze on her. "Uhhh…ummm….uhhh…errr….uhhh….ummm…uhm…uh…I don't know? I just wanted to?" she finally squeaked out lamely.

Syaoran's eyebrows rose all the way to his hairline.

"Really?"

He searched her face for the truth.

And, amber-chocolate and emerald green clashed.

Syaoran's eyes looked into hers, boring into them. Sakura felt a shiver travel up her spine, forcing herself to stay still and not back away.

"Ok," Syaoran finally said, finding what he needed.

"Really?" Sakura piped up hopefully.

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

"Really,"

"Then—then can I call you by your first name now? Please?" Sakura pleaded, using her puppy-dog eyes, which she was sure would work.

Silence.

Sakura faltered for a bit and looked up uncertainly at Syaoran, but what she saw wasn't exactly what she expected. He looked surprised.

"Why do you want to call me by my first name so badly?" he questioned, now slightly suspicious. Maybe that first day when Sakura said hello to him was only a fluke…

Sakura was shocked once again. Li sure is full of surprises, she thought wryly. Man, he's so hard to get under…he can't trust very easily, but I can't blame him really…

"Look, you don't have to let me call you by your first name, but it's just…it's just that I do this with everyone that I meet. So far you're the first person that isn't letting me call them by their first name, so that's why,"

Actually, this was true, so she technically wasn't lying.

"Oh, I get it. Yeah, sorry about getting suspicious and all. You just call me Li until I trust you more, ok? Sorry, but I don't let people call me by my first name that often," Syaoran apologized.

"No problem. But hey, listen. Do you want to go to the ice cream shop over there and get something to eat? I mean, you don't have to but I want to get to know you better, you know? Everybody's so mean to you at school I've noticed, and I just want to get to know you," Sakura suggested, tilting her head to the side.

"Ok, sure. But, just making sure…you're not doing this because you feel sorry for me, are you? Because I don't need that crap," Syaoran said, somewhat harshly.

Man…this guy is seriously hard to get under,

"Of course not...I wouldn't do that. Now come on!" and with that, Sakura grabbed Syaoran's hand and dragged him over to the cute little ice cream shop.

Once they were inside, Sakura brought him over to the counter and only then let go of his hand.

The cashier looked up at them, after quickly finishing something on a notepad.

"Welcome to Ice Cream Villa, how may I help you?"

"I would like a double scoop of vanilla ice cream in a cup please," Sakura ordered, going with her favourite kind of ice cream (next to strawberry of course). Then she turned to Syaoran with an inquiring look.

"I would like a triple scoop of chocolate ice cream, also in a cup please,"

Sakura's look became pleased.

"So, you like chocolate a lot?"

"Yeah,"

Sakura's smile widened as she whipped out a notebook from her pocket and took out a pen, clicking it open. Then she scribbled something in it.

Curiously, Syaoran peered at the notebook.

SUBJECT

-Dark brown hair

-Dark brown eyes (amber with some chocolate-brown in it)

-Likes chocolate

His face became incredulous.

"What? Are you a stalker or something? What's that for?"

Sakura beamed at him.

"No, just that, if I want to get to know you better I have to write down some facts about you so that I won't forget them. I have a bad memory you know,"

He turned his disbelieving face towards her.

"You're serious,"

At Sakura's nod, he sweat dropped and shook his head. What a weird girl.

"Your ice cream is ready," the cashier came back with the two ice creams in her hands, setting them on the counter. "That will be 13.40 please,"

"Thank you. Hold on a moment," Syaoran politely inclined his head before fishing in his pocket for his wallet.

"Hey, no! What are you doing? I'll pay!" Sakura protested, grabbing his arm and stopping him.

Syaoran's face registered amusement.

"It's always the guy who pays, not the other way around. Come on, just let me," he yanked his arm away from her grip and finally took out his wallet.

Only to be tackled to the floor by a certain stubborn girl.

"No! I'm treating you, ok?" she insisted.

"Sakura, what are you doing? It's not a big deal, it's just ice cream,"

Sakura shook her head persistently, still pinning him down to the floor.

Syaoran, with his martial arts training, threw her off of him and rolled over as she tried jumping on him again.

"Hey! Mrs. Lady! Yeah, you!" he looked pointedly at the cashier, "Oh, sorry if you're not married...then…Ms. Lady? Nah…I'll just call you cashier lady. Ok, let's start this again. Cashier lady! Here, catch…keep the change, your tip," he threw three five dollar bills towards her, which she caught eagerly.

Sakura saw this and then stopped trying to knock Syaoran out, instead just sitting on then floor looking sulky.

Then she pulled out her notebook again to add something.

-Knows martial arts

-Very, very stubborn

Syaoran, who was holding their ice creams and currently glaring at the people who were staring at them, walked behind her and bent down to peer at the little book and twitched his lips a bit when he read what she had written down.

"Let's go eat," he spoke, startling her into dropping her notebook.

She whirled around and breathed a sigh of relief.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" then she added, thinking about the last time he had scared her, "Again!"

She jotted down another thing before closing it.

-Subject is very quiet when moving

"Why do you call me subject? Can't you just call me by my name?"

Sakura's eyes widened from where she was sitting on the floor.

"SHhh," she put a finger to her lips, eyes darting around, "You never know when someone's spying!" then she paused for a moment, "Oh, and yea, about your question…I don't put your name in case this…this notebook," here she clutched it tightly as if it were a precious artifact, "In case this notebook falls into the wrong hands. Then they could use the information against you," she ended, nodding her head knowingly.

Syaoran, by now, had his mouth slightly open, eyes shifting from Sakura to the notebook and back again.

Sakura, notebook, Sakura, notebook, Sakura, notebook, Sakura, notebook, Sakura, notebook, Sakura, note—

"You really think of all that when you're doing this?" Syaoran finally came out, still slightly speechless.

Both didn't notice that their ice cream was melting and that everyone in the little ice cream shop was staring at them once more, since they made quite a scene, with Sakura sitting on the floor holding a notebook as if it were her life and Syaoran standing over her with his mouth open and ice cream melting.

It was very interesting to say the least.

"Yes, I'm looking out for your own welfare," Sakura tried looking very regal and important, but failed miserably.

Shaking his head once more (he seemed to be doing that a lot lately), he helped the 'crazy lunatic which he still seemed to like', up.

"Oh my god! Our ice cream is melting!" Sakura cried, staring aghast at her precious food. She shoved the notebook back and snatched her ice cream from Syaoran, pulling him by the sleeve to a booth by the window.

Then she plopped down into the seat and started shoveling the ice cream furiously into her mouth, trying to eat it before it all melted.

Syaoran, who was still standing beside the booth looking as dumb as a rock just standing there, sank slowly into the seat across from Sakura.

Mood swings much? He thought, thinking that he'd never figure the girl out.

But then when he realized his own precious food was melting into a big, brown puddle in his cup, he hurriedly picked up his spoon and started pushing the ice cream into his mouth, stopping once in a while to let a brain freeze pass before continuing.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Ah! That was good, wasn't it?" Sakura breathed contentedly, having just exited the ice cream shop (they had stayed and ordered even more ice cream since they couldn't seem to get enough of it). A small burp came out. Her face turned a red hue and she coughed, "Uh…excuse me,"

Syaoran let out a laugh before patting her back in a good-natured way.

Sakura had begun to grow on him, he admitted. Even if he was still reluctant on letting her call him by his first name, he was ready to call her his friend. And only after a while of hanging out with her too!

"Hey, no problem. We all do it," then he abruptly stopped, checking his watch. What he saw almost made him faint.

"You have to go home, right?" Sakura guessed correctly.

Syaoran nodded his head wildly.

"My mother's going to kill me! And then my sisters are going to pinch my cheeks and say," here he imitated a high, squeaky voice, "Oooh! Cute little brother is in trouble? But he's still cute!"

Sakura covered her mouth, giggling, but then she remembered something and took out her notebook, asking,

"How many sisters do you have?"

…Syaoran slapped his forehead. Sakura was still onto that.

But then he gave in, knowing that he couldn't stop her.

"Four, all older,"

She jotted it down and then, after tucking it back into her pocket, said,

"I have an older brother too. Can I walk home with you?"

"Sure, just follow me. Promise you won't faint either,"

"Why?" Sakura seemed confused.

"You'll see," was all Syaoran said. Then he sped off down the street, running.

Sakura blinked after him, amazed at his speed.

But then something occurred to her.

"HEY! Wait for me! Can't we get a cab or something!" Sakura whined as she tried to keep up with Syaoran.

"Too slow! This way's faster. Besides, my home isn't that far from here. Just three blocks away!" he called back, accelerating his speed even more.

Sakura, who was now panting, groaned to herself,

"And I thought I was a good runner…"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Finally, after a lot of shouting to 'wait up' and almost-collapses from Sakura, who was thinking that the blocks they had to run were very unusually long blocks…

They arrived at their destination.

Sakura put her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"Look up, Sakura," Syaoran coaxed her.

Halfheartedly, she looked, still clutching her stomach.

A definition of heaven met her eyes.

Her mouth hung open, finally just realizing how rich Syaoran really was.

Because, what was Syaoran's 'house' was really a mansion (A/N: I really don't know what his mansion looks like, so I'm making it all up from my little fantasy world, lol).

Fancy, intricate, golden gates stood in front of the property. Lush, neatly ordered green lawns spanned around the house, along with a lot of forestry in the back. Flowers also littered the lawn and two sparkling fountains with mermaids sprouting water from their mouths framed the stone path leading to the house. The house itself was magnificent. It was painted red and gold, with bits of white appearing.

It was an old-fashioned looking mansion, with swirling edges and Chinese symbols and creatures such as dragons painted over the roof, but it looked completely brand-new. Sakura had a feeling the mansion was really old however.

"Like it? I told you not to faint, glad you didn't." A voice snapped Sakura out of her reverie.

"Oh my god Syaoran…this is amazing!"

Both didn't notice that she had called Syaoran by his first name...

(A/N: AWWW...how cute!)

"I know, eh? Wish I could let you in, but I can't. I have to ask my mother right now and besides, we're going to eat dinner. Jeez that reminds me—I really have to go!" Syaoran rushed, turning away from Sakura, and waving a bit to her.

Sakura, saddened a bit, quickly called to him,

"Can I see you tomorrow then? At the park, around two-o-clock?"

Syaoran, a bit surprised, turned back to her.

"Really? You want to?"

She nodded.

"Ok, sure then…" Now, for some reason, Syaoran blushed…"Uh—see you tomorrow then,"

"Y-yah, sure. See ya! Bye!" Sakura waved to him happily as he twisted around again and buzzed the buzzer thing.

"Wei, it's me, Xiao Lang,"

The gates 'buzzed' and then clicked open, Syaoran stepping into them and disappearing into the mansion.

Sakura, standing outside of the gates, strolled off, a thoughtful look on her face. Xiao Lang was probably his Chinese name. Another thing to add!

She shuffled out her notebook once again and put it down. Then, she reflected on everything she had gathered that day.

SUBJECT

-Dark brown hair

-Dark brown eyes (amber with some chocolate-brown in it)

-Likes chocolate

-Knows martial arts

-Very, very stubborn

-Subject is very quiet when moving

-Has four older sisters which subject finds very annoying

-Lives in a huge mansion

-Has a mother (name is yet unknown, will be added later)

-Chinese name is Xiao Lang

Satisfied, Sakura closed the book and held it to her chest. She already knew some stuff about him!

Yay! She was progressing. It really was hard getting 'under' him, so to say, but it was worth all the trouble. She knew that he still hadn't opened up to her completely, or trusted her completely, but this was a start.

What am I doing? She suddenly wondered. She had just went home that day and decided to become Syaoran's friend.

It was insane. But she didn't regret it. He was a good person to hang around and talk to, besides, he shared her passion for ice cream! Finally! All her other friends preferred popsicles, but she didn't get it. Ice cream tasted good! Plus, it at least had some things in it that were good for people, while popsicles were just basically frozen sugar juice.

Well, today went well at least. I'll see about tomorrow.

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A/N: I KNOW this is a long chapter now, don't deny it! I spent…argh…I spent two, almost three hours working my butt off because I wanted to get it all finished by today so I could post it up. It's like two chapters combined into one!

Oh, here are some questions that I'm answering since some reviewers asked them. I can't answer all reviews, sorry! That'll take too long, lol.

Question: How did Sakura recognize Syaoran if he was wearing his cool clothes?

Answer: Well…actually…Syaoran wasn't wearing his cool clothes. I didn't make that too clear in the last chapter cause I was woozy when I wrote it and didn't bother editing it, but now that mistake is fixed if you read chapter two again. Syaoran's only going to start wearing the clothes on Monday when he goes to school, k?

Question: Isn't Sakura only after Syaoran's money or something? She surprises me a bit.

Answer: This question is answered in this chapter, but to repeat, Sakura is NOT going after his money. I wouldn't make Sakura like that! For now, Sakura doesn't know why she's trying to be his friend, but we all know that they're meant to be, so they naturally stick!

Question: Why is Syaoran like this? I mean, all geeky and all. The story's good but the characterization of him doesn't strike me as Syaoran at all.

Answer: Well, this IS a bit of an AU story, and in fanfiction, you can twist the characters and plot and storyline and basic facts about the story around, even until it becomes that you're only using the CCS characters, not the storyline of it or anything else at all. So, I'm taking a break from the normal CCS storyline cause I think this spices things up a little.

Ok, I think that's about it! Please review, you should after I've given you this long chapter…-glares- you better…or ELSE. XD

No flames please! But you can give me suggestions and stuff, just try not to make it too harsh, please? Lol! Oh and yeah, I didn't edit this chapter cause I wanted to get it out as soon as I could, so tell me if there are any mistakes, or if it's too confusing and I'll fix it.

I'll say it one more time (heheh): REVIEW PLEASE

:P