GUYS! I'M SUPER SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! School was hell. There was absolutely no time to write... except in class, of course! So here's chapter 9, written during Math, Filipino, Biology, Composition, and a few other subjects.

I'm also holding a contest. Read through the whole chapter and you'll find the details at the end.

Don't forget to review!


Chapter 9: She Has News

Admit it, you ran away again.

Syaoran stared at the seat in the row in front of him, noting how it was shaking violently from the antics of its occupants. Beside him with her knees tucked up to her chest was a pretty, primped-up cheerleader, scowling at him for some reason Syaoran couldn't remember.

Well, it would have been even more awkward if I'd stayed.

"So you're just going to sit there and rot?"

He slowly turned to look at the cheerleader. Her name was… Mandy? He wasn't sure. She was an exchange student from America, with blue eyes, blonde hair, and a very bad Japanese accent.

Syaoran shrugged. Mandy rolled her eyes.

"Listen, I sat here because I thought you needed someone to talk to," she said.

Oh, now he remembered! He'd flirted with Mandy before, at someone's party, where she had had a boyfriend and hadn't looked at him twice. Parties… I haven't been to one in ages.

"So anyway, my friend's having a party at her house tonight! Wanna come? You can bring anyone."

Syaoran grinned. "Anyone? I can go with anyone?" He wondered how Sakura would answer if he asked her to go to the party. She'd probably choke and look at him in disbelief.

"Sure, you can go with anyone you like. Just ask." She was edging closer now, batting her eyelashes ridiculously. Syaoran tried not to look put off.

"Uh, okay. I'll bring a friend or two," he said hurriedly. Her hand rested gently on his arm and then crept up to his shoulder, gripping folds of his shirt.

"You are too cute, you know that?"

Syaoran shook his head. Oh God, she thought I was flirting with her.

She laughed. "So cute." One more second and she'd be—

Syaoran took a deep breath and gently but firmly pushed her back into her place. "I'll come," he mumbled, putting his hands back in his pockets and looking out the window. Mandy sat back speechless, and then harrumphed and got up to go sit with her friends.

It's just as well, he thought, glancing after her. I'm a goddamn coward.

That afternoon… it would have been so easy to just do it and make the both of them happy.

But he hadn't.

Some suspiciously familiar noises were coming from the seat row behind him, and Syaoran put his knees on the chair and turned to look at the couple sitting intertwined with each other. Someone yelled at them to get a room, but he sat transfixed as they moaned and chuckled and did God-knows-what-else.

It's easy for everyone else. The boy wanted it, the girl wanted it. The boy doesn't usually back out at the last second.

Deep down he knew he was glad he hadn't done it there and then, because it hadn't been right. But that didn't stop him from thinking it.

That didn't even make sense.

"Dude, do you mind?"

"God, what kind of freak watches people make out…?"

I should have kissed her.

Syaoran took a deep breath as their bus drove up in front of the school's front gate. He stared out the window and scanned the crowd of students for Sakura's face, wondering if she was waiting for him.

See, I keep thinking things like this, about her, but I still—can't—do—it. He gritted his teeth as the bus ground to a stop and he got up to get off it. It's like I'm scared. Which is really stupid, considering that I've dated tons of girls before this one.

None of them were like this.

"Li-kun!" Three voices greeted him the moment he stepped clear of the bus doors, and he grinned as Meiling ran over and gave him a big hug. Over her shoulder he saw Tomoyo and Sakura come up, smiling.

"Aww, so you missed me that much?" he teased, hefting his bag over his shoulder. "It was just one day."

Meiling glared up at him. "I bet you forgot to get that book I wanted." She'd asked him to pick up a book she'd reserved long ago, last time they had a camp-out.

Syaoran winced. "The bookstore you talked about was closed, so—" He dodged when she tried to hit him and hid behind Tomoyo. "Have mercy!"

Sakura grinned down at him. "Hey there, coward." …Down at him?

"Hey, princess." He raised an eyebrow. "Are you taller than me, or what?"

"What." She pointed down to her shoes. "Check these out."

He looked down, past her school uniform skirt, at a pair of strap-up white sandals that must have had 4-inch long heels. "What are those stilts for?"

She shrugged. "There's a scene in the musical where I'm supposed to have grown taller, so I'll just slip these on."

"You can walk in those!"

Sakura laughed. "I'm supposed to even 'twirl', if Eriol's picky," she said, starting to walk towards the auditorium. Syaoran dumped his duffel bag beside the gate for them to pick up later and then followed her, relieved to see things were back to normal. The musical was the next day, and he didn't want anything else to be complicated.

She peered at his face. "Why do you keep smiling?"

"Oh." He laughed. "Nothing, just glad to be back, that's all."

She rolled her eyes, and then smiled, her expression softening a little. "Yeah, it's glad to have you back," she said quietly.

(He knew the tone of her voice was going to get things messed up. He changed the subject before she could say anything else.)

"So did you guys get it perfect yet?" Syaoran pushed open the door of the auditorium and held it open for her, nodding to a few of his friends as they walked backstage.

"No, not really," she said, shrugging. "I mean, I have everything memorized, but sometimes I just get tired and start messing up."

"Then you'd better get lots of rest before the big day, ne?"

She glared at him. "It would be easier if someone didn't call me two hours before school starts."

Meiling and Tomoyo came into the dressing room, looking very excited about something. "Sakura-chan, look what they did to your dress! Oh, it's perfect," they sighed as Eriol brought out Sakura's princess dress again. At first Syaoran didn't notice anything new about it, but the delicate frosted-pink rosebuds embroidered all over the skirt made Sakura gasp.

"Oh my gosh! Who did this?"

"Erm… umm…" Eriol's eyes met Syaoran's. "Ami-san."

Sakura made a face. "Ami! Why in the world would she want to do that?"

"I think she wanted to prove she had talent in something," Eriol said hurriedly, but Syaoran started to grin. Had he assigned this extra work to Ami because of bullying Sakura?

"Oh, then I've got to say thank you. It's perfect, ne Meiling, ne Tomoyo?" Sakura looked up.

"…Tomoyo?"

Their friend was nowhere to be seen. Sakura quickly turned to look at Eriol. "What the hell…?" Syaoran heard her mutter, and then she shook her head. "I guess we'll have to start practice, then."

"But Tomoyo said she really wanted to see this!" Meiling said sadly.

Syaoran dumped his clipboard into her hands. "I'll go get her."

"Tomoyo-chan? But she could be anywhere, right?"

"She can't have gone far. She doesn't run too fast." He nodded to Eriol. "I'll be back, Eriol. Sorry."

"It's no problem…"

Syaoran ran out onto the stage and then jumped off—it was shorter than going all the way around through the dressing rooms and props cabinets. Tomoyo was making her way up to the auditorium door, hugging her books to her chest.

He watched as a guy bumped into her as she was reaching for the doorknob. "Watch it!" the guy snapped, and Tomoyo glared up at him as if sparks would snap from her eyes this second.

"Don't tell me to watch it, you little punk," she retorted, snatching at the iPod he was listening to. "And stop listening to emo music when you're supposed to be helping them."

Whoa. Tomoyo has a temper.

iPod-guy stared at her and then nodded slowly and backed off as if he was talking to a crazy person. Tomoyo sighed exasperatedly and tried to tug open the big double doors, pulling on the right door handle instead of the left. It didn't work, of course, since the right door had been broken since two years ago.

"God, this stupid—door—won't—open—of—all—the—days—" she was muttering as Syaoran quietly stepped up and pulled the left door open.

"Oh. I forgot." She shook her head and then sighed again. "Stupid, stupid, stupid…" Without a backward glance at him, Tomoyo started stomping out, the breeze whipping her long hair around her face so she couldn't see.

"Oh, for the love of—" She had to drop her books and pull back her hair in a ponytail before continuing on. Syaoran leaned against the doorframe and grinned.

"Aren't you supposed to say thank you if someone opens the door for you?"

Tomoyo whirled around with a scowl and then saw him. "Oh." Her face blanked. "It's you. Sorry, Li-kun. I have to go now."

He shook his head. She frowned.

"What do you want! I have to get home!"

"What's up with you and Eriol?"

That question caught her off balance. She stared at him in disbelief and then started spluttering and blushing and looking anywhere but at him. "How did you—where did you—what do you want—did he…?"

Syaoran shook his head. "It's obvious, Tomoyo."

"Oh." Her face crumpled. "Yeah, I guess it is."

She actually paced back and forth a few steps and then sat down on a bench outside the auditorium. Syaoran sat beside her.

"Is it ok if you tell me the whole story?"

She looked up. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess so." Another sigh. "It's just… hard."

"What is?"

"To talk to him after… he did it."

"Did what?"

She laughed, but it wasn't a happy one. "I'll start from the start."

"A year ago I didn't have my car yet and I was still taking the school bus to and from high school. One day I missed it, and it was the first time I'd missed the bus in my life." Syaoran nodded. Tomoyo was the type to be early and on time.

"So I was there, staring after the bus, when this new student comes driving up in a broken-down old car that looks like it's going to collapse any second." She smiled a little. "He asked me if he wanted a ride. And he looked really scared to ask it, too." The smile faded. "He was different then."

"I didn't like the look of his car, but I got in because it was the only way I could get to school. My friends were all on the bus."

Syaoran nodded. He sort of remembered it. "So he drove you…?"

"Yeah, and the car wasn't so bad, and we talked and found out we had a whole lot in common." She grew a little more excited. "I mean, not big things like hobbies and favorite subjects, but the little things. The type of candy that gets us hyper, the type of person that really annoys us, the CD that we both bought thinking it was crap and then that we both found amazing instead.

"So we talked for a while and we both ended up being late to school. He was one of the first guys to get a driver's license and he wasn't that good yet, so he had to go slow. When we drove up everyone laughed at his car, but we ignored it and said goodbye. Then later on he walked up to me after school and asked if he could drive me home."

Syaoran thought for a moment. When was the last time he'd Erin a driving course? He had around 2 more days to go before he could get his license.

Tomoyo continued. "So we became best friends, and then we started dating. We were really excited because it was like one of those books. Boy and girl become best friends and then start liking each other as more than that."

Syaoran found himself blushing. "And then?"

"And then we fell in love with each other, true love, I think," she said. "I can't even remember it anymore.

"That summer he took me everywhere with him, even on an overnight trip with the rest of his family, and we hardly even kissed. It was just enough to be together. That was what I loved most," she said. "All the other guys were so physical, and it made me feel like I was just a body.

"But it wouldn't last." She shook her head. "I don't think high school sweethearts ever do."

"When summer came to an end we'd already grown apart and we were growing apart more and more each day. I wanted to fix things. I loved him. A lot." She swallowed hard, and it hurt so that tears came to her eyes. "So I tried to keep talking to him and teasing him like we always used to, and every day he'd get more and more distant, and every day it would get harder and harder to keep things normal."

She stared into space. "Like this one time. We used to play at childrens' playgrounds all the time. He would sit on the swing and I would push him. It was really funny and we'd end up rolling on the grass with our stomachs hurting from laughing too hard.

"But one day he told me to get on the swing and then he pushed me, and I sort of knew that was a sign he was different now. We were different."

Her face crumpled. "Do you want to cry?" Syaoran asked. "It's okay." Inside he was cursing himself for not knowing about this. Tomoyo had been his good friend since 7th grade or so, and he hadn't even known…!

"So just when school started he told me that he wanted to end things. That it was too hard to keep going on like this."

Then she did cry, a little, but bit it back so she could continue. "I thought—that we could fix things if we both worked to do it. Because I was trying, and he wasn't. So I went to his house one day and talked to him and asked him, please, to try for me."

"But he looked back at me and told me no, in this completely calm voice that I hated, because he made me sound like I was a kid who didn't understand."

Syaoran couldn't really imagine how it had been like. That summer he'd been in America with his parents, to Six Flags Amusement Park, and now he wished he'd stayed to be there for his friend.

"So I got mad." She smiled. "I got really mad. I told him he was lazy, and a player, and a big fat liar for saying he loved me, and all sorts of other things. And then he said he never wanted to talk to me again, so I left the house. That night there was a batch camp-out and I didn't go so that I could sneak into his bedroom and spray-paint his wall with 'LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE'." She laughed too loud, and Syaoran actually got a little scared. "It was so immature, but it made a big impression I guess."

"So this year when school started he was already 'fine'. And I was 'fine'. So I hid it." She tucked her knees up to her chest and it reminded him of Mandy. "I didn't tell anyone, and neither did he."

"But why are you so mad at him if you loved him that time?" Syaoran asked.

"Because of that day he said no." She stopped, searching for words. "He didn't even blink. It was like he didn't care anymore."

Syaoran shook his head. "I'm sure he did. He's a great guy and—"

"No, Syaoran!" she screamed suddenly, jumping up from the seat. "You weren't there! You didn't see it! You can't make any conclusions from what you see now," she jerked a thumb towards the auditorium, "Because the Eriol I knew was different. Too different."

Syaoran was quiet for a few seconds.

"Um, okay."

Tomoyo opened her mouth to talk and then her knees buckled and she let herself sink to the ground, crying. And for the second time this year Syaoran had to comfort a sad girl outside the auditorium doors.

But this time it's different, he thought. He'd been trying to not think about it, but there was no choice.

If I ever tell Sakura how I feel…

Will the same thing happen to us?

-----------------------------------------------------------------

That afternoon, when they'd finished practice, Syaoran told Sakura the story while they were walking home. Sakura seemed a little distracted, but he told himself it was because the musical was less than a day away.

"…So it was all because they argued as a couple last summer?" Sakura asked him in disbelief. Syaoran nodded. "I guess it was really bad."

"Yeah," she said, carefully. Was she… scared? She looked down and played with a page of her script, folding it and unfolding it in complex shapes. "I guess so. I don't want to go away from my friends and stuff, what more someone I love?"

Go away?

"Yeah," he said quickly. "Good thing there's 0 chance of either of us leaving!" He put up a grin, but she didn't laugh or even roll her eyes like she was supposed to.

"…Sakura?"

"Li-kun, I have something big to tell you…"


You know, I think you people want to kill me again.

Anyway, since I feel guilty for making this big cliffhanger, I'm telling you that... next chapter something big (and GOOD) will happen. The musical. :D Ahahahaha. Anyway... CONTEST! Please join this! I need ideas for one of the upcoming chapters!

Okay, so the contest is this: Come up with an idea for a Clow Card and how Sakura is going to capture it (you can just say 'she will use the card to capture the card, which has the power to .' I will choose a winner and yes, the winner's card will be included in the story.

So send in your ideas by putting them in your reviews! The chapter with the winner is two chapters away, so you have time. You can send in more than one entry, too.

AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW:D