Authors Notes:

Hey there, guys! Sorry, but I'm not exactly in the mood to be making replies right now. I'm so tired. And there are just too many things to say if I were to reply. But just a quick thank you to all those who reviewed, because you have all gotten me half-way to 1,000 reviews. Thank you guys!

NEWSFLASH: My 1,000th reviewer will get my love forever and ever! HAHA. Awesome prize, huh? I highly doubt I'll get there for this story, but for the next one, please, PLEASE support me in all ways possible! Constructive criticism comments are always welcome! (Ahem. Flames. Ahem)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Make sure you tell that to the owners of CCS so they don't sue my ass to the very last penny I have. LOL.

"..." - talking
italic font - thoughts
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions

Now...on with chapter twenty-five!

Second Thoughts

Sakura had soon grown comfortable with the fact that she loved Syaoran. At first, she had become shy and timid around him. Just the other day, she took a long hard look at herself in the mirror, and came up with the idea that absolutely nothing was wrong with her relationship with Syaoran. The only thing that was different was the fact that she loved him as more than a friend. Nothing more had changed.

Boy, had she got it all wrong.

The weather had become light and crisp. The sun had grown into something Sakura was used to seeing, now that winter was basically over. The beautiful flowers began to bloom once more, some of which Sakura had been waiting to see all year. The cherry blossoms. Her favourite flower, for obvious reasons. Anyone who didn't know had to be stupid, or just not very familiar with her.

The days passed by quickly, and sooner than she had expected, it was the eve of her wedding day. She had everything prepared, no thanks to Syaoran, might I add. She had gotten all the decision making done, like which flowers would be present at the wedding, which music pieces the band was going play, and all those kinds of things. The gowns and suits were ready, and the food would taste like heaven. Everything was perfect. To Sakura, at least. She didn't know about Syaoran.

As she spent her last day as an un-married woman outside with the flowers, Yelan who was probably the most excited about the wedding more than anyone else joined her. It seemed as though with everyday passing by, and the wedding just inching closer, Yelan's nerves seemed to snap, and any mention of Sakura or her beloved son, she would burst out into tears, or boring speeches about how he had grown up so quickly. Syaoran had always just rolled his eyes, and told her to save it for the wedding.

Yelan stood beside Sakura in the gardens, the wind playing with tiny strands of her hair. Unlike hers, Sakura's was flying everywhere the wind blew. "So, Sakura my darling, how are you?" she asked, curiousity filling her voice. Her eyes watched Sakura as she plucked grass from the ground with her pale fingers, and dug her fingers into the dirty.

"I'm fine," she answered, not bothering to return the question to Yelan. It seemed she was too busy thinking about something, or rather someone, as the wind lost some of its strength, and shrunk down to becom a slight breeze.

"Not nervous about the wedding, are you?" she asked, as if daring Sakura to actually be nervous. Why on earth would she be doing that?

Sakura looked up at her, her eyebrows close together to show her confusion. Her eyes squinted as her gaze fell to the burning sun behind Yelan's back, and held her hand just above her eyes, to protect her vision. "Why? Should I be?" she asked. Sakura knew by now that Yelan was an expert on feelings, and honestly, she needed some help to reply. So, she answered the question with a question.

Yelan held her hands behind her back, as she walked forward into the garden. Sakura got up, hastily ran her dirt covered hands over her dress, and ran to catch up with Yelan. She stood, just a few steps behind her so she wouldn't see Sakura's still confused as ever face. "Well, dear," she began still pacing back and forth, "most people that I know that have great marriages, all tell me they had second thoughts at first. They began to think if they really wanted to be married, and doubt the person that they loved the most,"

She glanced at Sakura. "Are you feeling that way?"

Sakura cast her gaze towards the ground, and crossed her middle finger over top of her index finger from behind her back. "You know I don't love Syaoran in that way. We're going through with this marriage for you, and for my Father. It's all - " Sakura had begun. She was cut off by Yelan, speaking as though she was the most know-it-all person in the world.

"I hope you weren't about to tell me that it was all a lie," she continued, still not facing Sakura and walking onward, further into the garden. They had been walking for quite a while now. Really, how large was their garden anyway? Sakura's mind had drifted off once more, so when Yelan asked her if she really loved Syaoran as just a friend, she was caught off guard.

She had no idea what to say. She hadn't told anyone she loved Syaoran. Excluding Tomoyo, that is. She didn't even plan on telling him yet. She thought she would just tell him after they got married, and say that she had fallen in love with him then. But Yelan had just asked her, and it was obvious that she wanted an honest to God answer. Would Sakura giver her that kind of an answer?

"Well..." she dragged along, "I don't know," she finished.

Obviously not.

Yelan shook her head sadly, and made a clicking noise with her tongue. It seemed as if she was disappointed. Disappointed in what, though? She had asked a question, and Sakura hand answered it. Maybe not truthfully, but she still answered it. Yelan shouldn't have been disappointed. It couldn't be possible that she knew Sakura loved Syaoran as more -

"I know you love my son in more than one way, dear,"

Well, scratch that.

"...You do?" Sakura asked, oblivious to the fact that she had basically confessed her love for Syaoran infront of his own Mother.

"Yes, I do, dear," Yelan replied. She began to make her way onto the terrace, where she sat on the stone steps. Sakura followed suit, and hesitated to speak. She didn't know what to say at the time. So, she waited for Yelan. "When were you planning on telling him?" she asked finally. It only seemed like eons until she said something.

"I don't know. After the wedding, I guess," Sakura replied, looking into Yelan's brown eyes. They seemed intense, and deep in thought. Sakura had never noticed that in her before, which would explain the feeling of shock in her system.

"That's alright with me, then," Yelan said, getting up. Sakura did not do the same this time. "just so long as you do,". She made her way towards the entrance into the castle, and twisted the handle. She opened the door, but just before going inside, she said, "But don't break his heart, dear. If you give him yours, I guarantee he won't break it, so please, return the favour," and she shut the door, leaving Sakura confused on the stone steps.

This is great, she thought.

Now I have second thoughts!

xxxxxx

Syaoran roamed around the hallway, looking for his bride-to-be. He had wanted to speak to her since morning, but he was mobbed by sudden thoughts that he had never once thought he would be thinking about. He spent the entire afternoon by himself, in a room, trying to figure something out, until he began to wander the halls.

He was about turn a corner, which would lead him to the door that seperated the castle from the terrace and the gardens. Sakura had always loved spending time in the garden. Maybe she would be out there? It wouldn't hurt to look, right? Besides, he had something on his mind that had really been bugging him. His Mother was really freaking him out when she spoke about those second thoughts. He hadn't had any at the moment, but just as she left, he realized that she had caused him to have them.

"Xiao-Lang, love," she had said, early that morning. She glided into the room, her arms spread wide. She hugged and kissed him on the cheek. Syaoran automatically shoved his hand in his pocket to retrieve a handkerchief, which he used to rub the stained red lipstick from his cheek. He rubbed at it for quite a while until Yelan began to speak again.

"What are your thoughts on the wedding?" she asked, her elbows on the table, and her head resting on both her hands. At that moment, Syaoran pictured his mom as an interested school girl as she use to be back in the day, but shook the thought off of his mind like it was a termite, and focused on the question.

"Um..." he began. He hadn't really thought about the wedding. Sure, he may have gone to an appointment or two, but Sakura was the one that was doing everything. He was very grateful, and if he could, he'd take as much part in the planning as he could, but he wasn't exactly very good at that. "Well, I don't know. Sakura's the one that - "

"No, darling," she interrupted, shaking his comment away with the flick of her hand, "I mean, what are your thoughts on the wedding? Not just the planning and preparations. Do you really love Sakura enough to marry her?" she asked. Syaoran looked at her dumbfounded, not knowing what to answer with. He didn't trust his voice at the moment, fearing he would say something he'd regret. His Mother caught his tongue in a bad situation.

"Mother," he said sternly, as if she was the daughter and he was the father, "you know that Sakura and I are only doing this for you and her father. It's nothing more than a - " he said. Irritation filling his eyes, he stopped once more when Yelan had interrupted him once again.

"I hope you weren't just about to say that the relationship you have with Sakura is nothing more than a show," she said, glancing at him through her beautiful black eyelashes, "I have a feeling you know it's not."

Syaoran raised his left eyebrow to its full extent. "What is that supposed to mean, Mother?" he asked, knowing full well what she had meant. Hoping to stall, he acted as if he didn't know, so he wouldn't have to answer the question that he knew his Mother was going to ask.

"Do you love Sakura like everyone in this Kingdom thinks you do?" she asked.

Syaoran only stared. He didn't dare answer at the moment. So many things had happened in the last few days, he wasn't sure about his feelings for Sakura. Either they were at each other's throats for some of the day, or they were acting like the in-love engaged couple that everyone thought they were. It was like he was a double agent. Pretending to be this person, when he's actually another. But now was the time, which most double agents must spend wisely, and decide...

Which person did he want to be?

Yelan didn't wait for an answer. She merely left him in his seat, with his confusing thoughts. He wished she'd stayed though. Just to help him sort out his feelings. His Mother was always good at that kind of thing, and he really needed her expertise at the moment. All he could do was sit in his seat, try his best to think about what his mother had just said, and make one final decision on how he felt about Sakura. It really couldn't be that hard, could it?

After spending the whole afternoon in the dining room, still rooted to his seat, Syaoran had made a decision. It was quite hard, really. He thought about all the things Sakura and he had been through for the past few years. They had grown up with each other, hating the other's guts. They lived together for half a year, causing confusion, and building a friendship no one thought would ever be. Then an engagement, which everyone was shocked to find out about. In the end, it all came down to one thing.

He had to tell Sakura how he felt. He didn't know if she'd be angry, sad, surprised or any of those things. Al he knew he had to do was tell her how he felt, no matter the outcome. So he turned the corner, exited through the door, and found Sakura, sitting on the grass by herself. Great timing.

(A/N: Just because he's going to tell Sakura how he feels, does NOT mean he's in love with her. His feelings might be that he just wants to stay friends, and get married for the sake of their parents, or he really COULD be in love with her, and wants to tell her badly. You guess which one it is. I am NOT telling you.)

xxxxxx

Quietly, without making a sound, Syaoran stepped out into the gardens where he and Sakura had, had so much of their childish fights and arguments. Embarrassing moments began flooding his mind, and making images in his brain. It was all quite amusing, really.

He sat down beside her, and unlike her cross-legged position, he sat flat on his but, his feet sticking out before him, and his arms and hands just behind his upper body, holding him up. Just after a few minutes sitting there in silence, his wrists began to ache, but he didn't care, and simply ignored the feeling. He had other things on his mind.

He looked out to the view before him. Below him and Sakura, was a large field, kept from the outside by the large castle walls. It was a very steep hill they were sitting on at the moment, and if someone stumbled down and hit the wall, they'd be in a lot of pain. So he was sure that his butt and hands were firmly stuck against the grass. He didn't want to end up like Jack and Jill, did he?

"Hi," Sakura began simply, looking to Syaoran. He twisted his head to her direction and smiled, not bothering to answer. It didn't seem to bother Sakura, because she probably took his smile as a reply. That was alright for Syaoran. Just as long as he didn't speak until his speech about the way he felt for her was thoroughly thought up.

"Nervous about the wedding?" she asked. She certainly was nervous, since Yelan had spoken to her about it, and she was very curious to know if Syaoran was also. He wasn't one to be nervous most of the time, but the most strongest, silent, mysterious man in the world couldn't help the feeling of nervousness claiming his body just a day before his own wedding. Sakura was sure of that.

"Well..." Syaoran said, his gaze ripping out of Sakura's direction and into the other. "That's kind of what I wanted to talk about,"

Sakura's head suddenly flicked to the side to look at him, and he had a kind of weird look on her face. In a flash, she got out of her sitting position and stood up, and began to tower over him. Not for long, as he stood up also, to try and see what the problem was.

"Sakura," he said, a questioning look on his face, "what's the - "

"Is there something wrong with the wedding?" Sakura suddenly began, the most worried look coming onto her face and into her eyes.

"What?" Syaoran asked, holding up a hand to make her stop talking, "I meant - "

Sakura interrupted him once more, and began to talk in a high, fast voice, "Oh dear, it's the caterer isn't it? I told Tomoyo not to order the damned smoked salmon! It was too much for them! They won't show up will they? No, it's not that. It's the flowers isn't it? The cherry blossoms are dead? How? Did they pick them wrong? Were they not fed properly? What flowers am I going to have at my wedding now? No. It's basically spring! They won't die. Damnit, it's my dress, isn't it? Oh God, anything but my dress - !"

Syaoran could not shut Sakura up. She began to blabber on about what the supposed glitch was in the wedding. He had tried speaking so many times, but she had dismissed his futile attempts to speak with the wave of her hand, only began to drone on and on about what could be wrong. So, he did what he thought he should do. He shook her.

Grabbing her shoulders with both his hands, he swung her back and forth, to shake her out of her worried trance. She had immediately stopped talking, and was no screaming in protest for him to stop. She was getting fairly dizzy.

"Syaoran! What - are - you - doing?" she asked, between shakes and shoves.

"I'm trying to get your damned mouth shut!" he replied, still shaking her.

"Stop!" she screamed, a smile creeping up onto her dizzy face. Quickly, she ripped herself away from his grasp, and began to breath heavily as if she had just run the longest foot face in the world. Syaoran was smirking, and holding in a fit of giggles that he was so tempted to let out. Sakura noticed this, and glares a whole through him. Slowly, she walks up to him, and gives him a good hard shove.

Syaoran takes a step backwards because of the impact of her push. He stares at her, astonished by her actions. "You shouldn't have done that," he replies, in a fake dangerous voice. He inches towards her, as if he was going to do something even worse. Slowly, with a smile on her face, Sakura takes a few steps backwards, just to maintain a small distance between Syaoran.

"You're going to face the wrath of..." he said, the smile growing wider and wilder on his face, "The Tickle Monster!" and he closed the space in between them, and let his hands roam around her body, mostly her stomach. His fingers worked their magic, and Sakura began to laugh. He knew since he was seven-years-old that Sakura was extremely ticklish.

"Stop!" she choked out, between giggles and chuckles. "Please - haha - stop!"

"Not until you say sorry!" Syaoran replied, tickling her everywhere now. Both his hands weaved their way into her stomach, giving such a strong tingling sensation, that Sakura could no longer breathe. She didn't mind getting tickled by Syaoran, though. Getting touched by the man you loved most was something she didn't mind at all.

"Syaoran - seriously - haha - stop - hahaha," she choked out, "the - haha - the hill! We're going to - hahaha - stop!" she cried out helplessly. Not because Syaoran had gone to far with the tickeling, but because if they took one more step, they would be tumbling down the steep hill, and banging their backs into the hard castle wall.

"Why? Can't you take a little - AHH!" Syaoran began. He was cut off by his own piercing scream, as he and Sakura tumbled down the steep hill, gathering more than just grass in their mouth. He held Sakura tight to him, afraid that if he let go, he would lose her forever. So together they tumbled, one on top of the other over and over again, until they reached the bottom.

Everytime Sakura was on top of Syaoran, she had seen the castle wall coming closer and closer. She really didn't want to hit it. The castle wall was strong, and had been keeping them safe from intruders and the garden from harsh weather - imagine how it'd be if it protected itself from two tumbling humans? The outcomes were endless.

So, as hard as she could, Sakura held onto Syaoran, and pushed him against the grass. The resistance of Syaoran's back against the grass slowed them down, and eventually, they had stopped just inches away from hitting the brick wall. After a few seconds, Sakura sighed, and tried to lift herself up from Syaoran's body. She was still a little shaky, and the minute she had raised herself into a push-up position, she fell back down again, her head buried into Syaoran's chest.

She suddenly began to feel Syaoran's chest heave up and down. It felt weird at first, but now it felt as if it were vibrating. She lifted her face up from Syaoran's chest, and saw that he was laughing. At first they were giggles, but they had become loud chuckles, loud and contagious enough for Sakura to start laughing also. They were both laughing so hysterically; passers by probably would've thought they were mentally ill. Luckily, the wall kept them safe from unwanted looks or snickers from other people.

As soon as their laughter died down, Sakura had looked into Syaoran's amber eyes. She thought of the quote she had once heard when she was little. When you looked into the eyes of the one you love, they say they look different. Did he? Sakura dove in for the experiment. His eyes seemed less intense, but more beautiful. There seemed to be more joy in there than she had detected last time. Syaoran definitely looked different - in a very, very good kind of way.

She suddenly realized that she was on top of him still. Slowly and reluctantly, she lifted herself off of him, and placed herself beside him. In just a few minutes, they were in the same position they were in a few minutes ago: Sakura cross legged, Syaoran with his feet stuck out before him, and his arms behind his upper body, supporting him. Then, Sakura remembered why they had rolled down the hill in the first place.

"What was it about the wedding?" she asked curiously.

This time, Syaoran did not hesitate. "Well, Sakura. Ever since we were little, you'd tell me how you wanted to marry someone you loved. Someone you knew you could grow old with...Someone you thought could be capable and right to Father your children," he finished. Sakura eyed him with a suspicious face plastered on.

"What's your point?" she asked.

"Well...do you see that in me?"

Sakura could only stare. Was she really ready to answer this kind of question? Was she really ready to tell him how she really felt? She thought she would just tell him after the wedding, but just like his Mother, he wanted an honest to God answer. Unlike last time, would she give him one?

"I..." Sakura began breathlessly, "I...I certainly think that you have the potential to be a great husband. I also know for a fact that you will love the children that you father with all your heart, and give them nothing but the best in their life, but..."

"But?" he coaxed.

"I just don't love you that way," and with that, she stood up, and began to walk up the steep hill, by herself. She had just lied to the man she loved, and all for what? Because she wasn't ready? Because she wanted to make up some lame excuse that she fell in love with him after they got married? Or was it just because she was a coward? In her head, Sakura seemed to be going with choice one and two.

Syaoran sat on the ground, not shocked by his answer, but...He didn't know what to feel. The feelings he had once had for Sakura were crushed. After all the long hard thinking, he came up with the answer that he truly did love Sakura. But, after hearing her say that she didn't love him, his feelings quickly changed. He was such an egotistic moron. Just because the woman he loved didn't love him back, he wouldn't love and wait for her until they day she did? He was a coward. Just like Sakura.

It was all just lust, Syaoran thought, shaking his head miserably. He had allowed himself to think the other way, when really, he didn't love Sakura at all. He knew he wasn't the smartest person around, but could he really have been that stupid to think he actually loved her?

I don't love Sakura, he thought, standing up straight and beginning to climb the slightly steep hill.

Right?

Authors Notes:

He doesn't love Sakura! AAHH! What a shock! XD!

Read and Review, bizznatches.

NEWSFLASH: GUESS WHAT! I passed with FLYING FREAKING colours on my science test. I suck at science. It's my worst subject in the world. This has to be the first time that this has ever happened! AHH! -goes around screaming and running like a maniac-

Lots of looooove!

Signing Off,
Azn-blossom08