Chapter 7

Let's Go to the Amusement Park! (Part 2)

Syaoran ran further into the park to look for Sakura, which was torture for him since there were so much people! 'How come there are so many people today! It's not even a holiday!' Syaoran thought angrily as he pushed past couples and families.

He finally found her in front of a merry-go-round. "Sakura!" Sakura turned around at the sound of her name.

"Oh. Syaoran, where are the others?" Sakura asked looking around. "Oh… Er… They went somewhere…" Syaoran said, scratching his neck.

"Okay… Ne, let's go on the merry-go-round!" Sakura suggested as she beamed childishly.

"A merry-go-round? Demo… That's for kids!" Syaoran protested as he shook his head.

"Aw… You're no fun! C'mon! Just this once! Onegai!" Sakura pleaded hopefully.

"Ano… er… demo…" Syaoran stuttered, his face flushing with embarrassment. 'Aw man! I hoped she wouldn't do that!' Syaoran thought in annoyance as Sakura pouted at him.

"FINE! Let's go then!" Syaoran's face blushed fiercely as he grabbed Sakura's arm and led her to the entrance of the ride.

Sakura giggled in delight as she hugged Syaoran's arm, which, of course, made him blush even more (if that was even possible).

When they reached the end of the line, Sakura tugged on Syaoran's arm. "What is it?" Syaoran inquired in an annoyed tone, turning to face her direction. "A-ri-ga-to." Sakura said with a smile. Syaoran turned his head away and replied, "yeah… whatever…"

:Doki-doki:

'Nani? Was that just my heartbeat?' Syaoran asked himself in confusion. His face turned pink involuntarily. 'Nah… It couldn't be…. ne?' Syaoran shook his head to rid his current thoughts from his head.

As they waited in line, Syaoran saw a middle-aged couple watching them. He could hear the woman say to her husband, "I wish you took me to the merry-go-round when we were young, like those teenagers over there." At the statement, Syaoran lowered his head to hide his embarrassment.

"Syaoran-kun, the line moved." Sakura said, with joy obviously laced in her words. Syaoran sighed at her childish antics as he allowed himself to be pulled nearer to the entrance of the ride.

When they got to the entrance, Syaoran pulled out a couple of tickets from his pocket and shoved it into the hand of the ticket collector. During this process, Syaoran did everything he could to avoid eye-contact with the man for he knew that the man was eyeing him slyly.

'What is wrong with these people! Is it my fault that she forced me to go ride the merry-go-round with her!' Syaoran thought in frustration as he and Sakura went through the entrance. Sakura looked at him and frown when she saw his annoyance.

Sakura stopped in her tracks and bowed her head down; Syaoran just looked at her in confusion. "Ano… gomen… If you don't want to ride, you can go somewhere else…" Sakura whispered as she fiddled with her fingers.

Syaoran bit his lip, not knowing what to do. He walked up to Sakura and grabbed her hand. Sakura looked up in surprise, her faced flushed noticeably. Looking to the ground and hoping no one would notice, she allowed herself to be led up on the stair of the merry-go-round.

'I feel so bad… He's just being a gentleman and letting me get what I want… And, to think that I hated him before…' Sakura thought. Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed hold of her hips and she was lifted off the ground and onto a plastic horse. "N-nani?" Sakura stammered in embarrassment and looked at Syaoran with a questioning look.

Syaoran said calmly, "you said that you wanted to ride the merry-go-round, so here you are." He smiled gently and climbed on behind her. His arms went around her body so that he was holding on to the pole in front of her.

Sakura suddenly blushed scarlet and her heartbeat became faster. She tried thinking about something else but her mind couldn't erase the image of Syaoran's smile. Sakura gasped in shock, 'is this what they call love?'

Syaoran pulled Sakura down from the mechanical horse and held her hand in his. Seeing Sakura's surprised expression Syaoran quickly said, "So we can't get separated. It's hard finding one person in this place, you know." Sakura nodded, slapping herself mentally for thinking about other things and clasped her hand around his.

They walked around the amusement park, stopping once to buy some cotton candy and another time to ride a roller coaster that Syaoran insisted to ride.

"C'mon! I went with you on that merry-go-round, why can't you ride this one for me?" Syaoran said persistently, trying to persuade a frightened Sakura to join him.

"If you don't want to go you can wait down here but I might lose you." Syaoran said, sticking his tongue out in annoyance.

Sakura puffed her cheeks. 'And I thought he was different now!' "Fine! I'll go then!" Syaoran smiled, happy that he was finally able to persuade her and dragged her off to the entrance.

But how very bad that decision was for Sakura.

Once buckled into the seat by the bar, Sakura was frozen on the spot. Not only because it was winter, but because she was terrified of riding roller coasters. Syaoran, on the other hand, was waiting excitedly for the start of the ride.

The ride started, and the speed increased, making Sakura scream in fright. Syaoran enjoyed the ride like an excited little boy.

Gradually the ride slowed down and it came to a stop, leaving a petrified Sakura shaking and her face covered by her hands.

The metal bar was lifted and Syaoran got off his seat happily. He looked back and tapped Sakura on the shoulder. "Ne… It's over now, you can open your eyes now…"

Sakura uncovered her face, revealing the fact that she was in tears. "Aiya! Don't cry! Wait!" Syaoran said in surprise, wiping away her tears with his handkerchief. As he pulled Sakura up, who was still crying, he said, "If you keep on crying, the snow will freeze your face."

At the comment Sakura covered her face again sobbed even harder. "Matte! That's not what I meant!" Syaoran cried in panic while he led her to a bench. "Wait here, okay?" Sakura nodded slowly and Syaoran ran off.

When Syaoran came back, he was holding a cup of hot chocolate and handed it over to her. Sakura was no longer crying but her face was tear-streaked and red. She took the hot chocolate and started sipping on it as Syaoran sat beside her. "A… You should go wash your face now." Sakura nodded and headed for a nearby bathroom.

Sakura exited the bathroom; her face was now back to normal. Syaoran was waiting for her near the telephone booth.

"You okay?" Syaoran asked kindly as Sakura walked up to him.

Sakura looked at him and smiled. "Hai."

Syaoran smiled in relief and held her hand, "Come. I want to show you something."

Sakura blinked in confusion but allowed herself to be led to who-knows-where.

Syaoran threw a baseball and a sound erupted, making known the fact that it hit something solid.

"Yeah! I hit the bottles!" Syaoran cheered and waited patiently for the man to give him his prize.

The man came back with a yellow stuffed bear and handed it over to Syaoran. "Domo arigato." Syaoran said and led Sakura away.

"This is for you." Syaoran said as he placed the teddy bear in Sakura's arms. "Eh?" Sakura said in shock and looked at Syaoran.

"Nani? You don't want it?" Syaoran asked, scratching his head awkwardly.

"Iie! I like it very much!" Sakura said, shaking her head fiercely to emphasize her answer. She hugged the yellow bear closer and smiled at him. "Domo arigato!"

Syaoran grinned and patted her head. "You're welcome."

Sakura pouted and complained, "Don't pat my head like I'm a little kid or something!"

Syaoran laughed, "But you are a little kid!" This just earned him a punch on the arm. "Ite!"

Suddenly there was a loud "Ahem!" behind them and they turned around to see an annoyed Meilin standing behind them.

The two froze in shock and thought, 'Busted…'

"Why are the two of you together!" Asked an enraged Meilin.

"Look, Ling-" Sakura said but she was cut off by Meilin. "Don't you talk to me Kinomoto! You're just a baka with no mother trying to fit in with Syaoran! You have absolutely no right to talk to MY Syaoran!"

"Look here!" This time, it was a very angry Syaoran said this. Meilin shrunk back from Syaoran's outburst. "I do not ever recall saying that I was yours! You should not say that you own people." Syaoran said through gritted teeth; his hands were clenched in an attempt to control his anger. Sakura winced when his hold on her hand hardened.

Meilin opened her mouth to say something. "But I thought-" "But YOU thought! Everything is about YOU, isn't it!" Syaoran barked at her.

"And if you say anything bad again to Sakura, I'll kill you for it." Syaoran growled darkly. "No one will talk that way to MY GIRLFRIEND."

Sakura's eyes widened and she blushed. Meilin bit her lip and ran away.

Sakura's mind was in turmoil at the moment. Syaoran's last statement was stuck in her mind. '"My girlfriend"?'

A whisper beside her shook her from her thoughts. "Let's go…" Sakura followed Syaoran and noticed that Syaoran didn't look up from the ground.

They got on a red Ferris wheel carriage. The door closed behind them and they sat down opposite of each other. The Ferris wheel started moving and outside, the snow started to fall again.

There was an awkward tension between them. Sakura bit her lip in frustration. 'He was just saying that because Meilin was making fun of me… How did she know about my mom… Okaa-san!'

Tears trailed down her face and a soft sob emitted from her mouth. She hugged the yellow teddy bear closer.

Syaoran looked up when he heard the barely audible sob. His eyes softened when he saw Sakura and moved to sit beside her.

"Hey… Why are you crying?" Syaoran asked soothingly, he brushed her hair with his hand in an attempt to calm her down. Sakura shook her head and hugged the bear even closer.

Syaoran sighed and put his arm around her shoulders. "You can tell me you know…"

Sakura hesitated but then said, "Meilin knew that okaa-san died. Hardly anyone knows… I miss her so much… When she died, I never thought I'd be coming back here. When I was young, she and I used to come here often…" Sakura bit her lip and Syaoran listened intently. "But now, I can't see her again. I'm back in the amusement park with you and it reminds me of when she was still here..." She cried again.

Syaoran sighed again. "It's really my fault… I made you cry twice today already. Gomen…"

Sakura shook her head and tried to say something but no words would come out from her mouth. Her tears just kept on falling.

Syaoran laid his cheek on her head and Sakura hugged him tightly.

When all of Sakura's tears stopped, they sat in silence, watching the snow fall outside.

"Sakura…" Syaoran said quietly.

"Un." Sakura said, not moving from her position, her head resting on his shoulder.

Syaoran kissed her lightly on the forehead. The Ferris wheel stopped and Syaoran said, "You look better when you're not crying."