Author's Note: Yes, -Sighs- I know, I have to update Chapter VIII of Secrets To Hide… but I'm having writer's block at this moment. Though, I will give you this chapter to look over until I do update your wanted explanation for Secrets To Hide. This chapter, as you may have noticed, is bigger than the first one. It gives one small hint on why Syaoran and Sakura ran away. This chapter you will learn how important Syaoran is to Sakura, and maybe I might do vice-versa on the next chapter, which of course will be on Syaoran's POV. This chapter is on Sakura's POV, and I have added a nice little reminder on who's POV is at each chapter. For example, this chapter is called "Chapter 2 - Sakura" The name is on who's POV it is.

Oh yeah, a little warning for you all. This is rated T for a few reasons, one of which is language. No, strangely not from Sakura nor Syaoran… yet. Besides, it's not like every other word will be a swear… Heh, I came to realize, I have been writing rather mature fics lately… well, you don't mind, do you? -Smiles- Now, on with the fic!

-Running-

Chapter 2

I woke up. The sky was still black. I was too cold. I looked at Syaoran, biting my chapped lower lip. His lips were chapped too… in fact, they were close to being blue. His eyelashes were wet. There was clear trails down his cheeks. My hand reached out and wiped them away, and I shivered as I felt his ice-cold skin when I brushed my fingers against it. To him, it was the opposite of dry eyes… they were too watery. When he sleeps, they always form tears. Sometimes just plainly when he lied down. I leaned close to his face and forced out hot breaths, trying hard to warm his skin. We were in this together, and so I'm going to do all I can to help him, knowing he'd do the same for me. Shakily I reached my hands to his cheeks, wincing, but at least I'd give him some warmth.

A small smile curled upon his lips, making me smile back. He pulled me tighter, knowing I was cold. "Can't sleep?" He asked in a soft whisper, pressing his forehead to mine. I nodded, trying to find a way to rub the blanket closer to us. "I don't know how anyone is able to deal with these nights. The cold is unbearable." I mumbled.

"Mm-hmm." Syaoran answered, nodding slowly. A black strand of hair, his only black strand of hair, fell over his left eye. The rest of his tresses were all a dark chocolate. As you can see, many things about him are different. Though all his hair being brown, only one strand, one particularly longer strand, was black. His eyes were a dark brown, but his eyes were also the color a burnt ruby… or it could be the mixture of both. His eyes were a little more almond-shaped than mine was, and it looked good on his tanned skin. His lashes were long, but not too long. His eyes always glimmered because they were watery. His fingers twitched every two minutes or so… but that one was an accident… it wasn't much of his fault.

I slipped my fingers inside my hoodie sleeves. It was long enough to reach my thigh and the sleeves were pretty long too. Syaoran loosened his hold on me and I sat up, him following two seconds later. He too had a hoodie, even identical to mine. We slung the hoods over our heads, picked up our backpacks, and got up. Day one of being a runaway. What new things will I learn today…

---

We bought the cheapest candy bar we could. I took half and he took half. We want to save money and maybe get a job too… but I can't keep my hopes up. I looked at my surroundings a lot. There are other runaways, most of them older than us by only a little. One looked at me with a rather peircing gaze. His back leaned on the wall, looking with a rather impassive look. I shivered; everyone looked so tense. I didn't know what to do. I clasped my shaky hands on Syaoran's. Maybe he was right… maybe I'm too delicate for this.

"What's wrong?" He asked me, looking from ahead to me. I shook my head slightly and gave a weak smile. "Nothing." I replied, shaking my head the same way again. He looked as though he was going to say something, but seemed to fight against it after two seconds. A small sigh escaped his lips. "I know it's hard to get used to this… I knew we should've gotten the jobs before we ran away. Man, I'm so stupid."

My eyes narrowed. He always thought of himself as so low… sometimes I wonder if he knows that he's the coolest, smartest guy I ever met. Even though I've already told him that, he's got it etched in his mind that he's worthless. Makes me hate his mother even more… the wench brainwashed him. "No, it's okay, Syaoran… really." I assured, squeezing his hand. He stopped for a second, completely, before looking down at the sidewalk and giving a small, shy "Okay…"

I slowly came to a soft smile as we walked side-by-side. We didn't know exactly where we were going, but I didn't care. I didn't have much of a home anyway. He was my escape. People used to call us a couple for our closeness, but they don't know. They didn't know how our homes were like. They were like jails, our parents the jail guards. My left fingers found their way to the back of my head. It itched… that little itching tingle and hot feeling after your hair gets pulled. I thought it would stop after a day now, but it didn't. I let a slow shrug of my shoulders. It was going to stop soon enough.

I wasn't much of the best-looking girl, but I thought I looked pretty and Syaoran did too, and that was all that it mattered. My hair was honey-auburn, going down to an inch and a half lower than my shoulders, though still considered shoulder-length for some. It was straight, though it looked nice when I left it in a bun for too long because it waved only once in its ends. My eyes were almond-shaped, though not as much as Syaoran's, and they were green. I liked only wearing a light pink gloss. I wasn't much of a fan of make-up.

Putting my hands to my pockets, I came to realize something. I do talk about Syaoran a lot, don't I? Ever since I was little, about maybe four or five, I've known him. He knew a lot more things than I did, and sure knew how to handle himself, and I needed that, but he always put himself down, like he did a bit before. That's where I came in. I wanted him to see that he is worth something. We became friends then. Now we're inseparateable.

We came inside a store and slipped down into a corner. It was cold, so we decided to warm up. His back slid down the wall and he sat onto the floor. I sat next to him. Looking up, I noticed his lips were bleeding. It was in the middle of winter… the beginning of February, and we were only wearing thin hoodies. Syaoran licked his lips, licking the blood away. I fumbled through my pockets and found my cherry Chapstick. He raised an eyebrow.

I chuckled. "It's Chapstick. It's supposed to heal your lips when they're chapped." He smiled, and with a thanks he put it on his lips and gave it back to me. I put it on as well and capped it again, putting it inside my pockets again. The two of us sat in that corner. His body leaned into the wall and my head lolled on his shoulder. I noticed that the crook of his neck was warm, since the top of my head was against it. The heat was helping us. The heat started to envelop me, and I let out a sigh of content.

"Much better…" I mumbled, closing my eyes for a few moments. I could feel his head nod and hear a soft "mmm-hmm…" sound escape his lips. He probably closed his eyes. I know it. Touching the nails of my left hand, the bitten-down nails coated in deep red polish, I asked "How much money do you have?"

"Two dollars. How about you?" He said, sighing. I blinked and answered "Four, so that makes six dollars in total. I thought you had more." I asked suddenly. I know he had more. " I bought the candy bar, remember? Things are really expensive outside of town. We're in Tokyo now." He reminded me. I closed my eyes. "Oh, right." I mumbled.

We both opened our eyes to see the angry, disgusted eyes of the store owner. He was fat, old, and his head shined, for he had no hair. He did have a deep grey mustache, matching his grey eyes. "This isn't a place for bums! Get the fuck outta here!" He yelled, pointing his large, plump finger to the door. Syaoran stood up and sent him a glare. I bit my lip. I don't know how some people can actually look back into his eyes when he glares. Just seeing him glare at someone else already makes me shiver. The store owner seemed to wave it off, turning his glare to me, making the hair in the back of my head stand up. I never liked being glared at. I guess you can call me a people pleaser for that. "Take the girl with you too. I don't want her to make me lose my customers either." The man said, looking at me in disgust.

Syaoran handed me a hand, and I took it, not looking into the man's eyes. Yes, I guess Syaoran and I looked like bums because of our dusty clothes. We couldn't help it. We walked out of the store into the bitter cold again. Syaoran wrapped his arm around my small shoulders. "Come on." He said, starting to walk.

It really hurts me that people think I am a bum. I'm not a bum, I am a runaway. There is a difference. Bums are lazy, doing nothing even though they have a chance to be someone. A runaway can sometimes be lazy, but some just want to find a place where they truly belong, like Syaoran and I. I wish people would understand that. We stopped. I was confused. It was a bar.

"Syaoran…" I said "we're thirteen. D'you really think that someone in their right mind would allow two thirteen-year-olds inside a bar?" He shrugged. "Sakura, you and I both know that the owners of the other stores will do the same thing. This is the only place we've got. I know you don't want to, but we have to keep warm." He said, squeezing my shoulder comfortly. Frankly, I was afraid. Pleople drank in there, and I already knew and witnessed what drinking leads to… in fact, I am a result of what happens. But, Syaoran was here, and he knew me more than others. I knew he would protect me if anything happened to me. I closed my eyes. "Fine…" I muttered. He rubbed my arm gently and we came to the open door. He smiled softly at me. "Don't worry. I know you're afraid, but I'm here." I wish I could just close my eyes and listen to his voice all my life. He is what keeps me alive. I nodded.

-TBC-

Apparantly, the only place that will likely let them inside is a bar. As you can see, Sakura-chan is afraid, but Syaoran-kun tells her that he'll protect her if something happens. Hope that made it clear of how tight their friendship is. Soon enough you will all understand how did their friendship get that tight. -Smiles- It's rather sweet…

See ya!

PS: I liked playing around with the descriptions and characteristics a little. It's kinda fun, really. -Grins- For those of you that read my one-shot Angel, you might have recognized Syaoran's twitching of his fingers. Unfortunately, in this fic his reason for it is sad, and… rather painful in my opinion.