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Anyways! Here's another chapter! I hope you guys still enjoy reading my story!
Disclaimer: I don't own CCS... But the plot is pretty much mine! :grin:
Previously on Queen of Clubs:
Luckily for Syaoran, he wouldn't need to do anything to make sure every other male in the castle knew that Sakura was his for at the same time Meilin was busily working on something that would make that fact clear to the entire society.
Chapter 13 – Third Time's A Charm!
With Syaoran's help, the finishing touches to the rooms Sakura had to decorate were done in a few hours. Walking through the rooms, Sakura made sure that every detail was in place.
"Lily room, Peach Blossom room, Lilac room, Rose room, Peony room…" Sakura kept naming the themes of the bedrooms as she walked through them, ending in the room with pink wall color that she tastefully decorated under the theme of peonies. She smiled happily at her work. 'Well… Not just MY work…' her thoughts trailed as she turned around to face Syaoran, who has been following her the entire time.
"Yes, yes… Peony room. Only a moron wouldn't get the theme. Done now?" Despite liking to spend so much time with Sakura, Li was beginning to feel bored. After hanging up all the pictures he had nothing else to do, since Sakura insisted that she could finish everything else herself. And now that she was obviously done he wanted to do nothing more than to go to the kitchen and eat.
Sakura gave Li a slight frown. "I just want to make sure that everything looks fine. It's easy for you to say "done" – it's not YOUR task. So don't be so impatient and let me do my final check-over." With that Sakura turned to go to the lounge of the new wing to make sure everything in that room was in place.
Syaoran watched the inductee stand in the middle of the gold-painted room as she looked over every detail of her surroundings. He, on the other hand, paid no attention to the décor. He silently stood in the doorway leading from the Peony room to the lounge and stared at Sakura as she continued to criticize her own work. He watched her walk over to the couch and give the pillows a last fluff. Unknowing to himself, a small smile formed on his lips as he watched her striving to attain perfection.
Sakura fluffed the pillows on the couch and tried to rearrange them one last time. She moved a pillow to the left side of the couch then to the right, figuring it was better were it was before. Yet when she placed it back, she changed her mind again and was about to move in back to the left when she felt a slight touch at her shoulder.
She turned her head and saw that Syaoran gently put one arm around her shoulders while his other arm removed the pillow from her hands. "There's no need to worry about such trifles," he whispered into her ear, making Sakura tingle all over, "Everything looks great." Syaoran gave Sakura one of his rare smiles and she felt herself practically melting into his arms.
Syaoran placed the pillow onto the couch, still keeping his other arm around Sakura. The fact that she hasn't slapped him or told him to back off really gave him courage. 'Perhaps I actually have a chance…' he thought as he looked into her deep green eyes.
When Syaoran's amber gaze landed on Sakura's face, her heart rate immediately began to speed up. A slight blush appeared on her cheeks as she cutely mumbled out, "Y-you really think it looks good?" His face inched closer to hers as he huskily whispered out, "Stunning…"
With their faces only inches away from each other, Sakura found it difficult to breathe. Yet it wasn't the type of difficulty she experienced when Sirota was coming closer to her. She recalled that when Sirota tried to get close to her, she wouldn't be able to breathe because of sheer fear. In this situation, however, she noticed she couldn't breathe because she was afraid that a single move on her part will somehow ruin the moment.
'Do I want to kiss him?' she asked herself. Her eyes traveled to his smooth lips and lingered there. 'Yes…' her mind answered for her and she felt her body inch towards his as well.
Noticing her slightly moving towards him, Syaoran's hear began to race as much as Sakura's. 'Yes!' his mind cheered, 'She likes me!' Despite himself he felt the color in his cheeks rise and a slight smile form on his lips. He looked deep into her eyes, knowing that they were mere seconds away from non-verbally admitting that they liked each other.
FLASH!
Both Sakura and Syaoran blinked, trying to realize what just happened, their faces froze still in their places. Suddenly another bright light flashed at them. Turning their heads to the source of the light, they found an overly-happy Meilin once again snapping away with her camera.
"Oh, no! Don't stop!" she laughed while she continued to take pictures of the now-beet-red couple. "Tomoyo is going to LOVE these pictures!" Meilin continued giggling.
Quite embarrassed, Syaoran let go of Sakura's shoulder and roared, "MEILIN! Stop it this instant!" Yet Meilin paid no attention to her cousin, and stopped only when she realized she was out of film.
"Aww, shucks! Now I ran out! Oh well! Better go and have these developed!" Meilin chirped as she quickly made for the exit of the lounge. It was then that Sakura realized that if her friend Tomoyo ever laid eyes on those pictures, she would never hear the end of it. Under the threat of endless teasing from Tomoyo, Sakura lunged at Meilin, getting her right before she was able to slip through the door.
"Oh, no you won't!" Sakura yelled at Meilin, trying to struggle the camera out of Meilin's hand. "Don't just stand there," Sakura then yelled towards Syaoran, "Grab the camera!" But before Syaoran got to them, Meilin kicked herself out of Sakura's grip and scrambled out of the room, running out of the mansion as fast as a road runner.
Sakura sat on the floor, panting and looking at the small trail of dust that Meilin left behind as she ran away. "Much help YOU are," she mockingly glared at Syaoran, who only gave her a sheepish smile.
"You don't know Meilin like I do," Syaoran said while he helped her up, "She'd never let us have that camera. She'd fight off ten guys to make sure Tomoyo got those pictures. I'm afraid you and I stood no chance."
Sakura sighed in defeat, "Well, I had to try… I just hope that Tomoyo won't tease me too much about it…" Syaoran gave her a sympathetic smile, but then his smile faded. "What is it?" Sakura asked when she noticed his sudden change of expression.
"I just hope that Tomoyo will be the only one that Meilin plans to give those pictures to…" he said in a grave tone. Sakura only gulped.
In the meantime, Sirota has stopped his raging and solemnly stood in the middle of his trashed room. His haggard breathing calmed down and his maroon eyes only scowled at an invisible entity. He walked over to his closet and retrieved a shining object from its depths. Bringing the object up to his eyes, an evil grin formed on his thin lips.
Cold steel lay in his hands. He looked the blade he was holding up and down, enjoying its smooth and sharp outline. He then drew the knife across his palm, breaking his own skin and causing small droplets of warm blood to trickle down his arms. His malicious smile never faded from his face.
"Let's see if you'll say no to this, my dearest Cherry Blossom…" he chuckled out as he held the blade close to his chest.
After getting over Meilin's victory, Sakura and Syaoran made their way towards the kitchen. Since they did not have much to eat that day, they decided that the first thing they should do after finishing Sakura's task is to get a bite to eat. Thus, walking into the kitchen, both of them lunged straight towards the fridge.
"Hey! Out of my way! I'm hungry!" Syaoran playfully yelled at Sakura, jokingly nudging her away from the fridge. Sakura, however, squeezed herself by Syaoran and opened the fridge door, looking for something decent to eat. "No way," she said over her shoulder, "I'm hungry, too!"
Being at least an entire head taller than Sakura, Syaoran towered over her slouched down form and tried to reach over her to grab a giant bottle of apple juice. Sakura noticed the direction Syaoran's hand was taking and decided to play with him. She quickly backed up, causing her butt to push Li's body away from the fridge.
"Hey!" Syaoran screamed, but then he realized with what part of her body Sakura pushed him away. At first he blushed, but then a sly smirk appeared on his face. While Sakura was busy rummaging through the contents of the fridge, one of Syaoran's strong hands found its way around her waist. She momentarily stopped her actions and felt Syaoran's grip on her tighten, making her lower body to be completely pushed up against his.
Syaoran then once again reached for the bottle of apple juice with his unoccupied hand. He noticed that Sakura was no longer looking at anything in the fridge and smiled. He tightened his grip and pushed away from the fridge, pulling Sakura along with him. He then closed the door of the fridge and whispered into Sakura's ear, "Perhaps you'll find something for us in the freezer."
He then let go of Sakura's waist and went to set down the juice on the kitchen counter. Sakura, in the meantime, opened the freezer and decided to look for something in there. 'He certainly is forward…' she thought while moving away a box of frozen waffles, 'Yet I like it…' She continued to look through the freezer until her eyes landed on a large box of frozen pizza. She took the box out and closed the door of the freezer behind her. When she turned around she found Syaoran holding out a glass of apple juice to her.
"Thirsty?" he asked, handing her the glass and taking the pizza box out of her hands. Sakura took the glass, not really paying attention to anything but Syaoran's half-smile. 'I like it…' her thoughts continued. "I like him…"
Syaoran's eyes darted up from the box and stared into Sakura's. "What did you say?" His lips curled into a satisfied smile. Sakura's eyes widened when she realized she said the last part of her thoughts out loud. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Syaoran laughed at her speechlessness as he set the box of pizza on the counter and moved closer to the stationary form of Sakura.
"Did you say 'I like him'?" he asked, knowing very well that's exactly what slipped out of her mouth. Sakura then regained her ability to speak and backed away from Li's nearing body.
"I-I... I said… I said I like… Pizza! Yes! Pizza! I love pizza!" She practically screamed her lie and rushed over to the box of her apparently beloved food. 'Smooth, Sakura. Real smooth…' her own thoughts mocked her.
Syaoran quirked and eyebrow at Sakura, letting her know that he didn't buy her excuse. "No," he slowly drew out, "I clearly recall you saying 'I like him'." He then walked towards her once more and ended up cornering her between himself and the counter. "Well – I – I mean – I – SO!" Sakura finally gave up, not being able to find any other plausible excuse. A bright red blush was now covering her face out of embarrassment as well as out of the realization that she was now standing so close to Syaoran.
Syaoran moved his face closer to Sakura and suggestively murmured, "And may I ask you why you were looking directly at me when you said that?" Sakura's eyes looked up to find Syaoran staring at her with expectation. Suddenly she realized that because they were standing so close to each other she could not only hear her heart, but also the rapid hear beat of Li.
"I…" was the only thing Sakura managed to stutter out before their faces began to inch towards each other. For the second time that day Sakura and Syaoran found their lips seconds away from touching. And for the second time hat day they were rudely interrupted.
"Ahem," sounded a loud voice from the kitchen entryway. Syaoran quickly moved away from Sakura to glare at the person who spoiled his chance at kissing Sakura. He saw a rather flustered Naoko standing in the doorway.
"S-sorry to interrupt, but… I was kind of thirsty…" Sakura's friend blushed in a deep maroon, as did Sakura. "N-no problem, Naoko! You weren't interrupting anything! Want some apple juice?" Sakura tried to act like nothing happened and failed miserably, since her voice came out sounding a bit squeaky. Syaoran frowned when he herd Sakura tell her friend that there was nothing to interrupt. 'What does she mean by saying that Naoko wasn't interrupting! I was so close to having her admit she likes me!'
Resisting the urge of glaring at one of Sakura's closest friends, Syaoran picked up the pizza box and focused his attention on reading the heating instructions. Sakura in the meantime, poured a glass of apple juice for her friend and proceeded chatting.
"So… What are you up tonight, Naoko?" Sakura asked, trying to make small talk.
"Well," Naoko replied, "All the other inductees and I are finished with our tasks so we were just sitting around in the lounge. I think all of us will just be relaxing in there tonight. We've had a pretty rough week – I think we deserve a night of rest."
Sakura smiled, "Great! Then me and Li will prepare a pizza and come join you guys… I mean… That is, if you want to come, Li. I'll be around a bunch of people, so you won't have to keep me company." Sakura looked at him with a hint of hope in her eyes. Syaoran looked up from the pizza box and Sakura quick glance before blushing and turning back to the directions. "I'll come," he simply stated. Sakura smiled and turned back to Naoko. "Great! Then we'll see you in a few minutes!"
Just as Naoko was about to exit the kitchen, Sakura remembered her promise to Loda. 'That's right! I was supposed to get Naoko to talk to him!'
"Naoko, wait up!" she screamed, making Naoko stop dead in her tracks. Sakura walked over to her friend and asked, "Is Loda hanging out in the lounge as well?"
Naoko's cheeks slightly colored when she nodded in approval. Sakura noticed this timid behavior and thought, 'This is going to be easier than I thought!' She smiled at her friend and gave her a playful nudge, "Perhaps you should talk to him. I think he'd like to get to know you better."
Naoko's eyes lit up behind her thick glasses. "You think so?" she asked a little too eagerly. Sakura nodded her head, "For sure!" Naoko gave her friend a smile and practically skipped back to the lounge.
Sakura then walked over to Syaoran, a big grin plastered on her face. "What was that all about?" Syaoran asked her with a raised eyebrow. Sakura smiled up at him and answered, "I promised Loda I'd get Naoko to talk to him."
Syaoran rolled his eyes at Sakura's attempt to be a matchmaker. "Girls…" he muttered and then began to take the pizza out of the box. Sakura only gave him a mock glare and turned on the oven to pre-heat it.
Half an hour later, Sakura and Syaoran walked into the lounge carrying a steaming-hot pizza. Everyone in the lounge – namely all of the inductees and Yamazaki – looked at the newcomers and smiled. Yamazaki jumped up from the couch and ran over to Li, screaming, "PIZZA!" Syaoran, however, dodged his hungry friend and yelled, "No way! Make your own food!" Yamazaki pouted, but did not cease to bug him for a slice of the steaming dish.
While Yamazaki thus pestered Syaoran, Sakura took a look around the room. To her satisfaction, she saw Loda and Naoko sitting and talking together in the far corner of the room. Sakura smiled, 'I'm glad it's working out for them…' Her smiled, however, faded when she noticed the other two female inductees giving her cold glares.
Sakura blinked at them and wondered what she could have done to upset them. She then remembered that the blond-haired girl – Mina Yamaguchi – was the girl who glared at her when they first introduced themselves to the society. 'What's her problem?' Sakura thought with a slight frown. Deciding to not waste time on the bleached blonde, Sakura found a seat on the couch and prepared to eat.
As she was settling in her place, Sakura noticed that Tori Sutsime – the inductee who was in charge of all the cars for the week – was making his way to her seat. He had a bright smile on his face as he neared her, but before he could make it to Sakura he was cut off by none other than Syaoran Li. The King gave Tori a long and hard glare before he walked over and took the seat next to Sakura. Tori was left standing in his spot, too afraid to move.
Sakura watched the scene with amusement and bewilderment. When Syaoran finally took his place beside her, she wasted no time to ask him, "Why are you always so rude to other guys?"
Syaoran did not look up fro his plate. "I'm not rude to all guys," he grumbled out before taking a bite of his pizza. "Well," Sakura continued, "You seem to be pretty rude to every one of my guy friends…"
Syaoran took his time retaliating, pretending that he was chewing on his bite of pizza. Finally he swallowed and said, "I don't like the way they look at you." Sakura stared at him, not knowing what exactly he meant, but before she could ask him any further questions, Syaoran quietly declared, "Only I'm allowed to look at you like that."
Sakura was taken aback by his forward pronouncement. Syaoran then looked up from his plate and locked Sakura's green eyes with his amber. They sat there, silently, while Sakura processed his last statement.
Seeing his chance, Syaoran decided to go for it. 'I've had enough of these guys trying to hit on Sakura! It's time to let these inductees know she's off-limits!'
With these thoughts, Syaoran's face inched closer to Sakura's. A blush appeared on both of their cheeks and before Sakura had time to react Syaoran's soft and smoldering lips covered hers in a gentle, yet powerful embrace.
Like they say: Third time's a charm!