Tied by Fate
By: pnaixrose

Disclaimer: I don't own so don't sue.

Chapter 9: Musings

"S-Sakura…stop it!" Syaoran snapped. "P-People are staring!"

Sakura, dragging the poor boy by the arm, looked back at him and beamed. "Oh, nonsense. It's probably because you're smiling!"

Syaoran blushed. She was right. He was still smiling. Now he was beginning to feel like a fool actually. But he couldn't help it! That smile…just wouldn't leave! It was stuck to his face like bubblegum stuck to hair. It wouldn't leave! Every time he tried to get rid of it, the smile would disappear for one second and then easily reappear. This was especially odd for the Li Leader. He was strictly taught how to hide and conceal all his feelings, so he wouldn't think that a simple smile would be so hard to get rid of.

"Syaoran, hurry up!" Sakura said adding a giggle.

Syaoran's smile softened as she continued her dragging. She was making too big a deal of this. But he had to admit it. He was enjoying her company. He knew it was odd, but even before when they didn't get along, he always felt something around her. But now it seemed stronger for some reason. Was it her aura? Did it change somehow? Did it have something to do with their emotion bond? No…he didn't think that was it. What was it with this girl?

All he knew was that he had to hide this from her somehow. He knew that right now his emotions were wild and that she could clearly feel it. But he decided to find out a way to shield his emotions somehow later on. He couldn't let her know that he was feeling all this for her! That would be so embarrassing! Plus, he didn't know what the hell this feeling was. He couldn't let her know this feeling when he didn't know it himself.

It was then while Sakura dragged him through the high school's halls that he suddenly noticed that everyone around him was looking at him oddly with their mouths wide open, especially the girls. He groaned aloud.

Sakura heard him and giggled, feeling the uneasy feeling from him. "See? The girls are practically drooling!" she said.

"That's not a good thing!" he snapped with a whisper.

Sakura giggled, her emerald eyes twinkling. She was beginning to really like Syaoran when he was like this. He was actually fun to be around. It was weird actually. She felt a pleasant tingle deep in her heart. She had no idea what it was exactly, but it made her happy.

Syaoran heard her laugher and couldn't help but blush. Great. Now he was a smiling, blushing fool. Whispers from the other students were heard as they walked through the building towards their class. Syaoran could distinctly hear the words "going out," "hot," and "lucky." He couldn't wait to get out of the halls and actually pushed Sakura a bit to make her walk even faster. He hated this attention.

Sakura smiled, feeling the anxiousness. "Wow, you must really hate the attention," she whispered.

Syaoran just groaned.

But finally, they reached their classroom and entered it. A couple of other students were their along with Eriol and Tomoyo who were sitting together and talking. But as soon as Sakura and Syaoran walked in, everyone looked up and gaped up at them. There was the quiet, cold Li Syaoran with a nervous grin on his face and the bubbly Sakura with an even wider grin then any of her others.

"Ohayo!" Sakura said happily as she dragged Syaoran in the room with her towards Eriol and Tomoyo. She finally let go of his arm and turned to face them. "Presenting, the new Li Syaoran!"

Syaoran shrugged slightly with a sheepish grin on his face. "Uh…Ohayo…"

Eriol nearly fell off his chair in surprise and Tomoyo's face showed pure shock and was frozen in her place.

"I know!" Sakura exclaimed, her eyes glittering. "Doesn't Syaoran look cute with a smile on his face, Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura beamed so much that she looked happier than usual.

Tomoyo recovered from her shock and smiled brightly. "Yeah! Li-kun, you should really smile more often."

Sakura nudged him with her elbow as he stood there nervously. "See? I told ya!"

He just shrugged slightly with the same small grin on his face.

Sakura laughed as she saw Eriol just staring at him in surprise. "Eriol-kun! You okay?" she went over to him and waved her hand in front of his face to snap him out of it."

Eriol smiled. "I'm fine. It's just…weird."

Sakura laughed and they continued their small conversation. Syaoran took that time while she was busy talking to Eriol to glance over at her. He couldn't help it. Wow, he couldn't help a lot of things today. But the way she smiled, the way her laughter always brightened her emerald orbs even more, the way she always brightened everyone's day, just everything about her made him smile. He had no idea why though. Was that why he was smiling today? Remembering back a few minutes ago, she had called him her 'best friend' and asked him to go to the amusement park with her and he had suddenly felt the urge to smile. Was it because he never had a best friend before? Or maybe it was because no one had ever asked him to go anywhere with them. Oh well. Who cares? It just simply made him smile to see her.

Tomoyo, being as observant as she was, watched the smiling Syaoran in front of her. She almost couldn't believe it. A couple of days ago he had been the coldest person in Tomoeda and now he was smiling? Then she saw him glance at none other than Sakura who was busy talking to Eriol. It was then that she realized why he was smiling. She could see it simply by looking at Li's eyes when he looked at Sakura. Tomoyo smiled to herself. He didn't realize it yet, but he was slowly falling for the Card Mistress. Seems like Sakura was he right person to change him after all. And maybe Eriol's theory was actually right!

Syaoran suddenly became aware of someone watching him and he quickly tore his gaze from Sakura. Daidouji's amethyst eyes were set on him and she had a small, knowing smile on her lips. Syaoran's cheeks became bright red as he realized that she knew he was staring at Sakura. But luckily for him, that was the exact time that the sensei came in and ordered everyone to their seats.

Walking slowly, the Li Leader carried his school bag by the handle slung lazily on his shoulder. He had too much to think about. But it wasn't the usual thoughts that you'd think. He wasn't thinking of his father or the clan. No. None of these. In fact, he was thinking of the last thing you'd ever think he'd think about. Ever since this morning he's had this weird feeling towards the Card Mistress. Was her aura attracting him? Or was he simply just imagining things?

He sighed as he trudged towards his empty apartment. He hadn't talked to her since this morning. He grew nervous every time that she was near! It was hard to talk to her for some reason now! If only he knew what was wrong. But for now, all he could do was cover his emotions by using some of his magic like at the time at the 'Trail's Trials'. He'd have to work at it more if he was to cover these emotions for a long time though. Oh well, he just definitely didn't want to let Sakura know.

Suddenly a tap on his shoulder scared him out of his wit and he practically jumped. He turned and saw that it was none other then Sakura, Daidouji, and Hiiragazawa. He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed either Sakura's or Hiiragazawa's auras!

"Syaoran-kun!" Sakura said happily. She had been the one to tap his shoulder and was wondering why he hadn't felt her aura. In fact, he'd been a little out of it today. He hadn't even had lunch with them. Maybe something happened?

"Y-Yeah?" he answered, his voice cracking in nervousness a bit.

Sakura faked a pout. "We were looking all over for you! Eriol-kun even tried to call your cell but you didn't pick up."

Syaoran dug into his pocket for a second and pulled out a nice, expensive looking cellphone. "This?"

Sakura's eyes brightened. "Wow! That looks really nice! Why don't you ever use it?"

He shrugged shortly. No one ever called him anyway. "Most of the time only clan business matters contact me on this phone but seeing that I'm in Japan, I didn't think it would matter if I keep it on…"

Sakura smiled. "Well now Tomoyo-chan, Eriol-kun, and I are gonna contact you a lot now? Got that? So keep it on!"

Syaoran blushed lightly. "O-Okay."

Sakura looked at the cellphone with amazed eyes. "May I see it? I'll put in my number too…that is…if you want it." She blushed, realizing that she sounded like a complete fool.

But that wasn't what Syaoran thought at all. In fact, his heart was jumping out of its place when he handed her the small phone.

Sakura smiled. "Kawaii!" She held the flip phone open in her hands as her nimble fingers pressed the buttons rapidly, her eyes scanning the colored screen with awe. Her cellphone was completely boring compared to his.

She heard Eriol and Syaoran bickering a bit – something about Syaoran being loaded with money – as she roamed around the cell, curious at what he had in there. She was kind of disappointed. He had no other phone numbers saved in his phone except two. One was entitled "home," while the other was called "office." After saving her number in it, she decided to leave a small note in his "Notes" section. Satisfied, she handed the cellphone back to Syaoran just when Tomoyo had stopped the two from arguing any further by saying that Eriol was pretty rich himself too.

"Anyway Syaoran, c'mon let's go!" Sakura said, a smile on her face.

Syaoran looked at her in confusion for a moment and Sakura giggled.

"You forgot, Syaoran-kun? We were going to the amusement park right after school but we couldn't find you. C'mon! I'm so excited. I didn't go there yet," she replied with a wide grin.

"Oh…okay…"

"WAI! A roller coaster!" Sakura yelled in delight. They had arrived at the amusement park and were now standing under a huge, loopy red coaster. Feeling a breeze as the cart came by, they could hear the delighted and frightened screams of the people on it.

"And we're riding on this?" Syaoran asked his voice deepening.

Tomoyo grinned. "Don't tell me you have never ridden in one," she said, her voice teasing.

"I've seen them!" Syaoran defended. He wasn't some kind of hermit who didn't know these kinds of stuff! "I-I just never really…been on one."

Eriol chuckled. "Nice save."

"Shut up."

Sakura smiled as she took her friends' hands. "Well, there's a first time for everything, right Syaoran-kun? Let's go!"

They followed the jumpy Sakura, waiting patiently on the line; Syaoran however was one of the more impatient ones.

"You nervous or something?" Eriol asked with a smirk.

"Shut up."

"Oh you guys, stop fighting," Tomoyo said, although being pretty amused. "We're getting on!"

Sakura was practically jumping. "I heard that this was the scariest, fastest, greatest ride in Japan!" she squealed as she and her friends reached the start of the line where people were getting seated inside the coaster.

It was then that Syaoran felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had never ridden on a roller coaster before, and now he was about to get on the scariest and fastest coaster in Japan! Was he crazy! But before he could say that he was going to sit this ride out, Sakura's eyes turned to his with a small, teasing smile on her lips.

"Are you scared, Syaoran-kun?"

Syaoran frowned. Dammit. She had felt his feelings! No way could he say that he was nervous now. He would look like a complete fool! Sighing, he shook his head. But before he could utter a word out of his mouth, Sakura had pulled him onto the ride so that they were seated together. Eriol and Tomoyo followed, sitting behind the two with wide smirks on their faces.

But who could blame them for smirking? In fact, they had to contain themselves from laughing. Syaoran was pale and trembling a bit, but had a determined look on his face while Sakura told him more frightening things about roller coaster, teasing him and causing him to become even more nervous. Sakura knew that he was afraid, and was only teasing him, but they knew that Syaoran was probably scared out of his wits by now.

Eriol leaned towards Tomoyo. "He's looking a bit pale, don't you think?" he said softly. He didn't want Syaoran and Sakura to hear them after all.

Tomoyo nodded. "Another thing I'd never think I'd ever see him doing." She smiled. "That's the second strange thing from him today."

Eriol nodded. "When I saw him…I don't know…I just couldn't believe it. My face was probably hilarious at that moment."

Tomoyo giggled. "It was."

The sorcerer pouted a bit and then gave another small smile, his azure eyes burning through her amethyst ones. "He was smiling, Tomoyo…something I thought he would never do again…"

She just smiled back serenely as they stared at each other for a bit more. Eriol was happy. She was so glad to see him like this. He had been worrying for much too long than she liked and he barely smiled like this anymore; a smile that was so content yet so captivating that it made her heart skip many beats. She loved it when he was like this; no more a sorcerer, no more worrying and tense, just a content regular teen like she wanted him to be. All she wanted was him to be happy and to wear that smile on his face all the time…was that too much to ask for? Why must he be such a concerned, worrying friend all the time? But she knew that that's one of the many things she loved about him. He didn't care about himself…only for others. She barely thought of how he was the great Clow Reed's reincarnation. But still…she couldn't deny the fact that he was. If she was to tell him...would he care? After all, he's had so many experiences and who knows, maybe Clow had some secret love relationship before and Eriol would want that girl. Tomoyo wished that Eriol would love her back. If only that could happen…

"Oh," Tomoyo whispered with a short giggle as she thought about how she'd been thinking about him a lot lately. She sounded like a teen that had some kind of obsession! But it wasn't. She wasn't just obsessed. She was in love.

Eriol gave a bigger smile, their eyes not parting from each other. He didn't want this to stop. He never wanted to stop staring into those sweet amethyst pools of hers that he could just get lost in. "What's with the giggle?" he asked.

Tomoyo leaned in even closer to his face causing them to be only an inch away. Eriol's breath caught in his throat as she grew closer. Who in their right minds would blame him? After all, she was beautiful, smart, talented; a true angel from heaven. She gave him a small amused smile, but just as she opened her mouth to speak, they heard Sakura's laughter. "I'll tell you later, Eriol," Tomoyo said as they both turned to the two teens seated in front of them.

Sakura was laughing but at the same time was apologizing to the fear stricken boy next to her. "Gomen! Gomen!"

Syaoran had been ready to stand up from his seat after all those roller coaster stories. He was pale as ever and he couldn't take it anymore. "N-No! I'm leaving!"

But before another word was spoken and before he could get out of the fear coaster, the safety bars were automatically pulled over them, not allowing them to move. Syaoran's expression was stricken in fear as he stiffly sat there.

Eriol and Tomoyo were holding in their laughter as Sakura was trying to calm the boy down while giggling here and there along the way.

"Syaoran-kun," Sakura said, confining her laughter as much as possible. "Gomen! Don't worry, it'll over before you know it!"

Syaoran was still stiff as ever, gripping onto the bars until his knuckles turned white. "I-I'm gonna kill you if I survive this, Kinomoto!"

It was then that the carriage they were in started to move. Sakura's expression saddened. He called her 'Kinomoto' again. She didn't want that! The girl immediately felt truly guilty of scaring him as he gripped onto the bar tighter.

Syaoran felt her deep regret inside him and turned to her. Shit. He just realized that he had hurt her by calling her by her last name again. "Sorry, I didn't mean that," he said quickly.

She gave him a tiny smile, but a smile none the less. "It doesn't matter. Sorry I scared you. It was just really funny. But still, I'm sorry."

He shivered as the roller coaster started up a ramp…a very high ramp. "It d-doesn't matter now…I'm gonna die…"

Sakura giggled a bit. "No you won't! Besides I'm here for ya."

Before he knew it he felt her small, warm hand slide over his. His heart beat fast as he turned to the girl seated fairly close to him. On his face was an expression of true confusion. Why did he sudden feel so different when she touched him?

But before he could clear the things in his mind, they had suddenly plunged down the roller coaster tracks. He heard her squeal of pure excitement and he felt his stomach lurching. All around him, screams of fright or excitement was heard as he stayed silent just watching as the ground seemed to come nearer while his stomach felt like it was floating. They were going…at such a fast speed. It was such a frightening experience that when Sakura suddenly grabbed onto his arm, he almost didn't notice. Almost.

"Whew! I'm pooped," Sakura said as she collapsed on a seat in the food court. "Those rides were so much fun though!"

Tomoyo nodded, taking the seat next to hers. "I liked the Loop the Loop," she said, referring to the huge ride where the riders were swung around in a full circle. Then she giggled. "I bet Li-kun's favorite was the roller coaster!"

Eriol's laughter joined hers. "You were having a blast on that ride, Syaoran."

Of course, the two sly teens had seen what happened during the ride and now they were teasing him about it.

Syaoran turned bright red. "Sh-Shut up!" Wow, he seemed to be saying that a lot today especially to a certain, annoying Clow Reed reincarnation. Eriol just laughed.

Sakura was the only one who was confused. "I thought Syaoran was scared out of his wits?" she said, blinking.

"Don't listen to them," Syaoran said with an angry grunt. Tomoyo and Eriol laughed.

Sakura shrugged and suddenly heard her stomach grumble. They had spent all that time on rides that they hadn't eaten since school ended. She was really hungry and that grumbling was the proof. She blushed in embarrassment as her friends laughed.

"You should eat," Syaoran suggested. "No reason in starving yourself." Then he dug into his pocket to take out a brown leather wallet.

Sakura immediately jumped. "N-No! Don't you dare!" she cried as she pushed his hands which held the wallet away. "I-I can pay for it myself!" she laughed nervously.

Syaoran shook his head as he stood up, his wallet still in hand. "No really, it's okay. I–"

"No! I'll pay myself!" Sakura said quickly. Then with a smile she added, "Oh! I'll treat everyone to some ice cream!"

Before Syaoran or anyone else can protest, she had left the three teens behind, looking around for an ice cream stand.

Syaoran sat down and raised an eyebrow in confusion which Eriol and Tomoyo saw.

"Sakura-chan hates letting people buy things for her," Tomoyo said cheerfully. "She's kind of…well…independent when it comes to spending money."

Eriol nodded in agreement. "So unless it's a birthday present or some kind of holiday, she won't accept presents that easily. Don't be surprised with that kind of behavior from her."

"Why though? I wouldn't mind spending my money for her," Syaoran said without thinking. Realizing what he said he turned crimson and he nervously stuttered. "I-I mean…well...I-I…" He watched Eriol and Tomoyo grin and he moaned in frustration. Here we go with the teasing.

But surprisingly, they didn't tease or joke. They looked at each other for a moment as if there were some kind of telepathic agreement between them and then turned to Syaoran with a serious but serene smile on each of their faces. "What? No teasing?" he muttered. "Must be a trick."

"Li-kun," Tomoyo said calmly, "We couldn't help but notice something."

Syaoran immediately grew stiff. Did they know? He had wanted to talk to someone about this, but…it was making him nervous by talking about it. Even thinking about it made him anxious. "Wh-What?" he stuttered.

"You tell us what," Eriol replied as calmly as the girl next to him, "What do you think about Tomoeda?"

"I-It's fine…really…different."

Eriol continued. "So, we've noticed you've been making friends quite easily here."

Syaoran looked away with a slight blush on his cheeks. "W-Well…I don't know."

"Li-kun, you want us to get straight to the point don't you?" Tomoyo said with a short giggle.

Syaoran nodded. "Please do." Although he already knew what was to come.

"Syaoran," Eriol said, a serious expression on his face but with a small, knowing smile. "What do you think of Sakura?"

Sakura walked around the vicinity, looking for an ice cream stand when she found a white one with a huge, fake ice cream cone on top. As she got on line behind some people who were craving for some cold ice cream, she felt as if a nervous feeling shot up her spine. That was weird. It could belong to no one other than her amber-eyed friend. "Syaoran-kun?" she whispered.

"Miss?" She was so startled from the voice that she jumped. She didn't notice that she was the next one on line. The person at the ice cream vendor smiled. He was an old man, balding, but with a friendly grin on his face. "Hey there, miss. Looks like you got out of your reverie there."

Sakura blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry."

"It's okay, miss. Looks like you were thinking about someone pretty important since you were just staring off into space like that," he said, smiling.

Sakura shrugged, an embarrassed grin on her lips. "I guess. He's is a pretty special person, actually. He can do everything and he's really smart. He's also the talk of the school I go to right now. Well, all the girls like him," she replied. The man was really friendly, she didn't think it would be wrong to talk to him for a while.

"Wow, he sounds pretty popular. So why are you daydreaming about this boy?"

Sakura sighed. It was hard to explain, especially when she couldn't talk about the connection thing. "Well to put it simply, it seems like he's feeling…nervous or anxious or something. And whenever he's near me…he's just…weird. I don't know. Don't ask why or how, but I just can feel that whenever he's around me, he just acts really different."

The old man leaned on his cart, getting interested. "Like how different?"

Sakura put her finger to her chin in thought. "Like, jittery? And he gets all…red."

That was when the man laughed. He knew exactly what was going on. "Oh! Is that it? Well then miss, you have nothing to worry about."

Her emerald pools lit up. "Really?"

With a smile, he nodded. "Trust me."

Sakura let out a breath of relief. She had been worried. "I thought I did something wrong…"

"Sounds like you really like him, miss." The man had a hinting smile on his face but as dense as Sakura was, she didn't catch it.

Sakura smiled. "Yup! He's really nice! I wish I could get to know him better."

The vendor laughed a short laugh. "Oh I meant that you liked him as a – never mind, miss," he said. "So what would you like?"

Laughing, she looked at the menu of different flavors. She had forgotten that she had come here for ice cream! But wow, talking to the vendor really relaxed her. She thought that she had done something terrible or that the teases during the roller coaster ride had made him angry. Since then, he hadn't called her by her first name. Were they going back to last name basis again? "I'll have one strawberry cone, a vanilla cone, a cookies 'n cream cone, and…uhh…" Oh no! She didn't know what Syaoran liked! "Oh my gosh…I don't know what Syaoran wants!" she exclaimed a saddening expression covering her face. What if she got him something that he didn't want? That would make him even angrier at her!

The old man patted her shoulder as he took out the flavors that she wanted. "Hmm…I have an idea, miss. They say that you'll know exactly what a person likes by just clearing your mind. Then think of that person and what kind of ice cream flavor he would like and then the first thing that pops into your head should be what he would want," he said.

Sakura thought for awhile, clearing her head. That was pretty easy since she had to do that a lot for the Sakura Cards. Then she thought about him, his handsome face, his personality and before she knew it she had uttered a flavor from her mouth without even hearing what it was.

"Chocolate it is!" Without a minute to waste, he was handing each cone to her. With a smile he added. "With an extra scoop for each!"

Sakura beamed. "Arigatou!" But then as she went to fish her money out of her pocket she sweat dropped. She couldn't get the money! "Hoee…"

The old man laughed heartily. "It's okay, miss. It's on the house!"

"B-But…"

"Now, now. Just think of it as a present for talking to an old man like me," he said with a smile. "Now go on. I bet that Syaoran boy and your other friends are waiting."

"But…"

"Go on, then!"

Sakura sighed. The man was persistent. "A-Arigato, sir!" she exclaimed and with one last exchange of smiles, she walked off towards her friends again.

"What do you mean?" Syaoran whispered, turning even redder at Eriol's question.

Immediately, Eriol and Tomoyo knew that it was true at the sound of his changed tone. "Li-kun," Tomoyo said gently. "I think it's kind of obvious."

"Wh-What is!" he cried, suddenly jumping out of his seat. "You know what's happening to me, Daidouji-san?"

Eriol and Tomoyo were surprised at his reply. "You mean," Eriol said, "You don't know what's wrong with you?"

"No!" Syaoran said as he plopped down into his seat again. "It's annoying as hell! Sh-She's just…just…" he struggled for the right word.

"Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo suggested.

Syaoran nodded. "Yeah! I don't know what the hell is wrong with me!" he exclaimed, his feelings pouring out like a river. "Sh-She seems to haunt my mind! I feel so nervous and jittery when she's near, I start smiling whenever she laughs, my heart starts beating when she touches me, I catch myself looking at her…I-I don't know what's wrong with me! H-Her eyes, her smile, I can't seem to get rid of her image in my mind. My heart starts filling up with this weird, warm feeling and…ugh!" He covered his face with his hands in complete frustration. "And I can't let her know it. For some reason I just know that she can't know. It would feel…embarrassing. You know how hard it is to hide this from her? I bet she already knows!" he groaned. "This stupid bond thing…"

Eriol patted Syaoran's back, a slight smile on his face. Of course Syaoran wouldn't know what was happening to him. Confining himself and ignoring others didn't exactly let him experience any crushes or things like that. Glancing at Tomoyo he saw her nod. "Syaoran," Eriol said, "We think we know what's wrong."

Syaoran's head immediately shot up. "Wh-What is it! Tell me!"

Tomoyo gently reached out and touched his arm. "Don't worry, nothing is wrong with you."

"Then why am I feeling this way? Is it because that I'm attracted to her aura?"

Tomoyo and Eriol shook their heads.

"Dude, you're falling for her," Eriol said.

Syaoran stood up, knocking down the chair behind him. "Wh-What do you mean!" he demanded, his voice rising.

"Li-kun, it's no big deal! You just seem to have feelings for Sakura," Tomoyo said. "Intimate feelings."

Syaoran shook his head vigorously. "No way! Why would I! This is ridiculous!" But was it true? Was this what they called 'first crush'? He had heard it a thousand times from his chatty sisters but never before had he given it any thought. He had always thought that crushes were a waste of time by the way his sisters described it. They had sounded like chattering monkeys just talking and sighing and acting like complete fools. "No! That's stupid! Absolutely no!" he exclaimed loudly, causing some heads to turn.

"Li-kun! Calm down!" Tomoyo said, trying to calm the poor guy down. He just didn't understand. He didn't seem to know what was happening to him. But for some reason, the way he talked about her didn't seem like just feelings. Not like a crush that Tomoyo had thought he had on Sakura. It sounded…deeper…more passionate. Were crushes like that?

"Syaoran, it's not abnormal or anything!" Eriol exclaimed. "Feeling attractions for the opposite sex always happens."

It was then that Syaoran stopped yelling and just looked at the ground, his eyes unwavering from it which surprised the other two teens. "A-Attractions?" he whispered softly that Eriol and Tomoyo almost couldn't hear him. "I-I don't think that's what's wrong with me. I-It's deeper than some attraction. It's…I can't explain it." He looked up, his eyes piercing straight through Eriol's azure ones. "Hiiragazawa…this doesn't seem to be a simple crush or attraction. I don't know why."

Eriol raised a confused eyebrow as Tomoyo looked at the scene silently. "What do you mean, Syaoran?"

His amber gaze didn't leave Eriol's eyes. "A crush…or an attraction…seems…less than what I feel. I've heard my sisters talk about it. I don't think that this is what I'm feeling for this girl."

"I don't understand."

Syaoran sighed. "To put it simply, whenever I think of…my father…my heart seems to grow cold and painful. And since Sakura can feel what I feel, she always feels that pain that fills me when I think…about my past." His eyes seemed to pierce through the other boy's eyes. "I saw her once…in pain. It was because I had been thinking all those lonely thoughts again. She was physically cringing! I don't know why, but seeing her like that…I wanted to kill myself for causing that! So I tried to find something, anything, that was happy and that would stop her from feeling the hurt. I couldn't find any."

Tomoyo and Eriol were silent at this pause.

"But then I thought about her. How I had talked to her the day before and how everything had seemed so…right. She's the first one whom I had talked to so openly." He gulped, trembling a bit. "Can crushes or attractions stop your heart from hurting?"

Eriol's eyes widened as he saw Tomoyo bring a hand to cover her mouth. This was no simple crush! These were the feelings…that a person would feel if they were in lo–

"Hey you guys!" Sakura said happily as she walked up to them holding four cones of ice cream. "What you talking about?"

"Sakura-chan! There you are!" Tomoyo said as she was handed her vanilla cone. "We were waiting for you." She was trying so hard to hide the surprise in her voice.

"Th-Thanks a lot, Sakura," Eriol said as he got his cookies 'n cream cone. He was still shocked by what his friend had said. Never before had he heard him talk so deeply, so intimately about someone.

Sakura handed Syaoran his cone but noticed that he was pale and trembling and also that he was feeling extremely shaken right now. "Syaoran-kun? Are you okay?"

He looked at those emerald pools staring up at him in worry and he nodded. "I-I'm fine." Then looking at his cone he was surprised to see that it was chocolate.

Sakura saw his surprised expression and sighed. "I didn't know what flavor you wanted. I just felt like you would like chocolate for some reason. I'm sorry," she said, her face falling.

Syaoran shook his head and he momentarily forgot all about what had just happened as he felt his mouth curve into a small smile. "No, no! I'm just surprised because…you seemed to know my favorite flavor when I didn't even tell you, Sakura."

Sakura's eyes glittered as she heard him say his first name again and before anyone knew it, she had jumped into his arms in delight.

"Sakura?" Syaoran asked, his face turning red again. "What's wrong?"

Sakura shook her head, the smile returning to her face again. "Nothing."

Syaoran entered his empty, dim room and tossed his school bag aside carelessly. They had left the park and now he was alone in his humble, lonely abode again. Sighing, he collapsed onto his bed, thinking about a particular emerald eyed girl. His mind was tired from trying to think up answers to his problem and just thinking about the girl seemed to put stress on him. He groaned. He still had to practice hiding his emotions from her. Deciding that he would do that later, he picked up his school bag and opened it. Right on top, he saw his cellphone, a blinking green light emitting from the top. It was turned on for once. He smiled as he picked it up, remembering what Sakura had said about keeping it on from now on. He flipped it open and pushed some buttons, wondering what he had in this old thing. He had actually forgotten about it until Sakura had brought up the subject. Going into his cellphone phone book, he saw Sakura's name and number there and smiled. He got the sudden urge to call her, to just hear her voice but he quickly exited the place and found himself in the 'Notes' area. His amber eyes widened as he read the unfamiliar note that was left on his cellphone.

"Syaoran-kun! I'm so proud of you today! You were smiling like there was no tomorrow! haha! Don't worry, I'm not makin fun of you. Just smile more often ok? As I said before, you look really cute when you smile! I luv ya 'new best friend.' –Sakura"

Syaoran dropped the phone to the floor where it collided safely on the carpeted floor. He was deathly stiff as he just stared at the phone which lay on the floor completely still. The boy sat on the edge of his bed, trying to regain his composure after reading the note. It was such a small note, but for some reason, it just meant so much to him.

"Dammit Sakura!" he yelled, his voice echoing off the walls. He held his head in his hands in confusion. "Wh-What did you do to me?"