Summary: AU-She was kind and too forgiving. Everyone picked on her, beat her. She never seemed to hear them, but it was a heavy burden. What happens when she meets Syaoran, a seemingly ordinary bully? Will she forget the past, and move on? S/S

AN: Thx for all the reviews again. I feel so luved. I know it's weird how Sakura gets bullied, but it's…..dun dun dun……the plot. Lol

"talking"

'thinking'

written/typed

flashback

Crystal Dropplets

By Dream4luv

Chapter 3-Assigned Projects

Sakura was at school again…early, sitting in the empty classroom. The world outside her seemed so hollow. She wore a clean uniform and had brought an extra uniform just in case something like the day before occurred again.

At half past seven, the school bell rang, students filed into the classroom chatting away loudly to each other.

Syaoran took his seat behind Sakura. Today, he was chatting with Yamazaki. Guess they'd become friends, or something similar to it.

"Hi, Kinomoto." Syaoran said slowly, bending down and looking her in the eye, grinning.

"Hello, Li-kun." The emerald eyed girl gave the boy a small smile.

The sound of the teacher's skirts was heard entering the classroom, and all the students sat down in their assigned seats.

Sakura wondered what Syaoran was doing, saying hi to her.

Throughout the first math lesson, Syaoran hadn't tried anything funny. She wondered what he was up to…

"Ok, that's our math lesson for today." The teacher said, smiling at the class, and shutting her textbook. Next, she pulled out an English text book. "Next, we'll start on our English lesson, please take out your texts."

Sakura reached into her backpack and felt something strange as she took hold of her book, she looked down…and saw, saw…a snake! It was tiny, and had a few red and yellow bands on it. The girl shuddered in fear and squeaked.

Syaoran laughed quietly to himself.

"Kinomoto-chan! What is wrong with you today?" The teacher demanded angrily.

Syaoran expected the girl to scream and say that a snake was in her backpack, but Sakura just put a hand over her mouth to calm her nerves as she took a shuddering breath. "I-It's nothing…I just, thought I saw…something."

"Ok, well, don't scare us like that again!"

"I-I'm sorry."

"You've been saying that a lot, but you never seem to mean it!"

"I…it won't happen again, I promise."

"I hope so. Make a promise; keep a promise, Kinomoto-chan!"

"It won't happen again." Sakura said slowly.

The teacher shrugged her words off and looked back to her text book, "Now, today, we're reading the play, 'Romeo and Juliet'…"

"…ok, class, after lunch, come back quickly so I can explain our first project."

The class rushed out the door, three girls even getting stuck in the door frame from trying to leave too fast.

Sakura smiled gloomily. Today had not been the best day. And the thought of doing the project with Syaoran Li as her partner made her want to throw up.

She carried her lunch out along with a notebook and pen outside. She'd decided eating on the bench outside today. The sun was shining, and Tomoyo's crowd never ate out here.

The girl chewed on an apple thoughtfully as she looked at her blank notebook and tapped her pen on the pad of papers.

I wish they'd accept me…

For who I really am.

What do I have to be?

Must I act the same?

For acceptance?

For a chance?

Because that's all I'm asking for.

Is it too much?

Am I the problem?

Why can't you see?

That I'm someone too…?

Sakura put down her pencil, looking at her work, awkwardly. She'd never knew she felt that way before, but when she wrote, it was like the feeling part of her mind that even she couldn't see would show itself.

The sharp piercing ring of the bell was heard, and Sakura shoved her lunch into the paper sack and threw it in the trash, heading towards class.

"Now that everyone's here, I can hand out the requirements for this project."

The teacher passed out a bunch of papers down the rows and each student took one and handed the pile down the rest of the row.

Sakura glanced at the paper.

COMMUNITY SERVICE-

YOU WILL BE DOING THIS PROJECT FOR A HEALTH GRADE. YOU AND YOU'RE PARTNER WILL BE VOLUNTEERING AT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING CHOICES, YOU MUST COMPLETE 24 HOURS!

TOMOEDA ANIMAL SHELTER

CLAMP HOSPITAL

UT (UNIVERSITY OF TOMOEDA)

MITSUKI'S COMPUTER SHOP

PLEASE TAKE THE REST OF THIS PERIOD TO DECIDE WHERE YOU WISH TO WORK WITH YOUR PARTNER.

AFTER YOUR 24 HOURS ARE UP, YOU NEED TO WRITE A BRIEF REPORT ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE.

Sakura turned tentatively towards Syaoran, and pasted a smile to her face. "So, where do you think we should go?"

"NOT where I think we should go, we are going to go to Clamp Hospital!

"But…" Sakura said, thinking if it really would be wise to not go with his idea. "I was thinking we could go and work at the animal shelter." She said as cheerfully as she could.

"Well, you thought wrong! We're going to Clamp Hospital, and that's final!" Syaoran glared at the girl.

"I…" Sakura was about to argue, but didn't want a fight to break out. She really didn't need the attention right now. "Well, ok, I'm sure it'll be fun." She said sincerely.

"That's right! Now go tell the teacher!"

"……………ok" Sakura got up and walked to the desk.

Syaoran sat in his seat, watching her. Yamazaki came next to him and whispered while smirking, "having fun?"

"Yeah, I have such an obedient little puppy." Syaoran chuckled to the other boy. He eyed Sakura as she walked back to her desk with a happy smile on her face. 'She's so stupid,' Syaoran thought, 'she always has that smile on her face. Probably doesn't even realize I'm bossing her around, or bullying her. Naïve little girl. She's so happy, with that happy smile on her face. She doesn't deserve to be happy…she doesn't understand what it's like to have life be so cruel to you…to me!'

Syaoran thought back to his father. A drunk driver had hit his car one night when it was raining heavily outside. Syaoran was only eight. He hadn't understood.

"He's never coming back, Syaoran. Never ever coming home again."

Syaoran closed his eyes at the memory. All the voices of the classroom drowned out by his mother's voice.

"Why not, Mama? Why not? He'll come to visit, won't he?" little Syaoran tugged at his mother's Chinese kimono, panic stricken, tears building in his eyes from confusion. What was his mother talking about? Baba would come home, he would!

"No, Syaoran, he won't. He's never visiting, never coming back. We'll never see him again."

Tears streaked down the boy's cheeks. He didn't understand. Why was Mama crying? Why were his sisters crying? Why wasn't Baba ever coming home?

AN: That's all for now! Please read and review! Pretty please? I'll be your best friend!

Just to get some stuff clear, Baba and Mama mean Father and Mother in Chinese, so when he said "Baba" it was his dad he was talking about.