Enjoy chapter three!
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Three: Curveball
SAKURA
"Saku," Adam said, tugging gently on my shirt. "Look." He was pointing at something. I looked over to where he was pointing, but I couldn't see anything.
"What?" I said.
"Look at the tree. Up at the nest."
"Aww!" I squealed. "That baby bird is about to learn how to fly!" I smiled and snuggled against Adam. He loved nature and he always pointed out cute things.
He kissed the top of my head and laughed.
"What's funny?"
"You. Your hair always has the same smell. But it's a good smell, of course."
"What's it smell like?"
He grabbed my chin and gently kissed me. "Sakura blossoms," he whispered into my ear.
I shivered and giggled. He always knew just what to say. "Thanks," I breathed as he leaned on me.
---
SYAORAN
"Ugh," I accidentally said aloud as I saw him kiss her.
"What is it, Syao?" Nina said, looking in the direction I was looking.
I blocked her view and said, "Oh, you know. Teachers. Ugh."
She laughed. "I know!"
I tried to laugh, but it was half-hearted. I looked over at them again. Sakura was leaning on him, smiling. He was pointing up at the sky. She laughed and said something to him. I hated the way she looked at him.
I turned away and kissed Nina forcefully, trying to take all my anger out on her lips. I pulled away from her, leaving her gasping for air.
"My, my, my, Syaoran. You're so eager today. So, are we doing something after school today?" Nina asked, making little swirls on my shirt with her fingers.
"I can't. Football practice. Coach says it's gonna be extra long because none of us are taking it seriously enough, apparently."
"What? But you've won every game! God. Which a prick," she said, rolling her eyes. She threw her sandwich into her paper bag and pushed it off to the side.
"Hey, I gotta go. I have a geometry quiz to take really quick. I'll catch you later," I said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.
"I love you," she said, kissing me on the lips.
I slipped away, saying nothing more than, "Bye." I knew she was disappointed and maybe angry, but I didn't feel that way about her. Maybe I did once, but not now.
---
SAKURA
"Oh, no! I'm gonna be late! I gotta go, Adam," I said, scrambling around, trying to gather up all my stuff. "Bye!" I dashed inside, not at all looking where I was going.
I bumped into somebody, a strong guy, and I fell backwards and scattered my stuff everywhere. I made a strange noise and hit the ground. "Oh no," I groaned. Now I was definitely going to be late for my test!
The guy turned around; it was the football quarterback. "Oh! Sa--I'm sorry!"
I smiled and said, "No, no. It's my fault. I really wasn't watching where I was going. I was...in...a hurry." I stopped talking when I noticed that he was staring intently at me; I thought he might be mad. "Um. Sorry again. I'll just pick up my stuff..."
"Wait!" he said, holding his hand out to me. "Let me help you. It really was my fault, just standing out in the middle of the hallway like that. I'll pick up your stuff."
"You really don't have to. I can-"
"I will," he said, flashing a smile at me.
"Thank you," I said.
He handed me my stuff and said, "I'm Li Syaoran, by the way."
"Kinomoto Sakura," I replied, taking my stuff back. "Thank you so much. I'll see you around!" I smiled at him and turned around, walking away from him.
A little part of me told me I shouldn't have.
---
SYAORAN
Don't walk away, I thought to myself. I wanted to reach out, touch that soft brown hair, lean down, kiss those smiling pink lips.
I kept watching her until she turned the corner. The bell rang, but I couldn't move. This is wrong, I told myself. I have Nina. She's perfect, I kept repeating. Perfect.
But maybe that was what I didn't like.
---
I could feel Nina's tongue lolling around in my mouth as we lounged around in my room after another game--which we won, of course. At this point, I would've taken it a little further with Nina, but this time, I couldn't. And I wouldn't.
"Syaoooo," Nina whined when I didn't kiss her back. "What's wrong?"
"Sorry. I'm just tired," I replied, lying to her for what must've been the thousandth time. The truth was, I was thinking of breaking it off with Nina.
"Oh. That game must've worn you out. I'm sorry for pushing you. My big, strong quarterback must be tired. I guess we can just relax for a while, if you want."
"Yeah," I said softly, closing my eyes.
"Syaoran! Syaoran!" I heard somebody saying softly. I thought it was Nina trying to wake me up. I considered not opening my eyes for a second, but I did. Reluctantly.
It wasn't Nina.
It was her. Sitting there next to me, smiling like always. "Syaoran, look!" she said, pointing up at the sky. "That cloud looks like a balloon! And there's the string!" She laughed and turned to me again. "Do you see it, Syaoran? It's so beautiful."
"Not as beautiful as you," the dream Syaoran said.
She giggled and lay down in my arms, but I knew it wasn't this amazingly beautiful girl I was holding. I was holding Nina, my current girlfriend. Nina, who was once the love of my life. Nina, who was, now, a girl that I didn't feel strongly about anymore.
"Syaoran," the dream Sakura sighed. "I--"
"I have to go, Syao," the real Nina whispered in my ear. "I'll see you tomorrow." She kissed my lips and I could feel her pause, waiting for me to wake up and kiss her back. And I knew I should've. But...
I didn't want to.
I didn't want to wake up to Nina, the girl that had lost her lightning, to me at least. I wanted to go back to Sakura, the green-eyed girl that was, for now, in my arms.
---
SAKURA
Ding dong, went the doorbell. Ding dong ding dong ding dong.
"I'm coming, Tomoyo!" I yelled, knowing that only she was this impatient.
"Hurry, Saku! I have news! Big news!" she yelled.
I opened the door and she bounded in, dressed in a short black shirt, a hot pink tube top, and her beloved yellow knee high boots. It should've looked like she'd just skinned Big Bird, but, on her, it absolutely worked.
"What? What's so big?" I asked as she whizzed past me, going into the kitchen.
"Huh?" she grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and turned to me. "Oh! Oh yeah! Get dressed! We're going out!"
"Why?"
"My gosh, Saku. You ask so many damn questions. We need to party, you silly girl!" Tomoyo said, grabbing my hand and looking at the ceiling dramatically.
"Um. Yeah. Okay." I laughed.
"And don't worry about the outfit; I brought one for you!" she beamed.
"It doesn't look like yours, does it?" I joked, glancing down at her boots.
"Ha ha. Just wait here; I'll be right back," she said, slipping out of my house. A second later, she was back, holding a plastic bag. "Change into this!"
"What--"
"C'mon, Saku, be a little spontaneous!" she smiled and waved the bag around.
"Okay," I replied, grabbing the bag.
---
Twenty minutes later, we were in Tomoyo's car, driving to a secret place. I was in skinny black jeans, a yellow off-the-shoulder top, and--I had to admit it--cute pink boots on my feet.
The trees became a blur as Tomoyo merged onto the highway and sped up. "So who else is gonna be there?"
"Like, everybody from school," Tomoyo said, smiling.
I laughed, closing my eyes and leaning back in the seat. "I'm sure this is gonna be fun, Moyo, but I really just wanted to stay home tonight."
Tomoyo's smile became warm as the words came out of her mouth. "Sakura. Things have been going bad for you for a while, and they're finally starting to look up. I just...I really want you to be happy, Sakura. So does Eriol. So does--"
"Adam," I sighed. "You're right. Thanks for caring about me, Moyo. You're the best friend ever."
"I know, right?"
---
"Sakura!" I heard a voice yell, and I thought it was Adam, but when I turned around, I realized that it wasn't. It was Eriol. "Hi, you! I haven't seen you in, like, forever."
"Are you drunk?" I asked him, holding him as he leaned on me.
"Oh, silly, silly, Saku. I am not drunk! I am simply merry! Ha ha ha! Ah ha ha ha!" he laughed and laughed until he saw Tomoyo. He straightened up, said, "Excuse me, Sakura," and walked over to her, not stumbling at all. Maybe he was just merry.
"Hey, beautiful," a voice whispered in my ear, an arm snaking itself around my waist.
"Hey," I said softly, leaning against him.
"Tomoyo drag you here?" he asked.
"Yep. But now I'm...glad I came," I said, relishing in the feel of his lips on my hair.
"Me too, Sakura. Me too. Come on, let's go get something to drink," he said, pulling me toward the stairs.
He opened the door to a nearly empty room and walked in, dragging me in, too. He shut the door behind him. "Sit, Sakura."
"Why? What is this?" I asked, looking around. There was just a bed and a floor lamp in the room, the rest of the space occupied only by dust.
"Just sit, okay?"
I crossed my arms over my chest and refused to budge. "Why should I?"
"Because I fucking said so," he said, his voice low and gravelly.
"Too damn bad," I replied, trying to push myself around him.
He grabbed my arms and pushed me down onto the bed. I kicked and flailed but he just kept advancing onto me, trying to pull down my jeans. He had almost pulled down my underwear when I finally got a good aim and kicked him right where I knew it would hurt.
While he keeled over in pain, I jumped up off the bed and ran out of the room, pulling up my jeans as I did so. I soared down the steps, searching desperately for Tomoyo.
"Tomoyo!" I cried out, not realizing I was crying until I tasted the hot, salty tears streaming down my face.
Tomoyo turned around, her face becoming grim when she saw me. "Sakura! Sakura! Oh my God! What happened?"
I couldn't say anything because the sobs had overtaken me. He betrayed me, I thought to myself. I'm so stupid!
Tomoyo hugged me and I heard her cry out, "Eriol!"
"What is it, Moy-Sakura!" I heard Eriol say, his voice worried.
I felt Tomoyo shake her head and then, even though she was whispering, I heard her say, "Find him." And I knew that the look in her eyes implied that she wanted him to do much, much more than that.
---
SYAORAN
This has to end, I thought to myself as Nina drove away, a I'm-not-happy-Syaoran-actually-I'm-fully-pissed look on her face. She had pushed herself onto me and tried to get me to go further with her, something that she had sworn never to do. I had just pushed her off, trying to tell her that I didn't feel that way about her anymore, but she had stormed off in a huff before I could say anything.
"This had to end," I said out loud, burying my face in my hands.
"What does?" my cousin, Eriol, said.
"Me and Nina," I clarified.
Eriol sprang up from my computer chair and yelled, "What? Why?"
"Whoa. Don't act like this is the end of the world."
Eriol sighed. "This is you and Nina. She's like, the second hottest girl in the school, and you, you, Syaoran, have her. And you're gonna let her go?"
"I don't feel that way about her anymore, Eriol! There's no more spark!"
"When did this happen?"
I knew exactly when it had happened. The day I saw Sakura smile at me, that beautiful pink-lipped smile. "I...I don't know, man. I've been thinking this for...for a while."
"But, dude, it's Nina! She's the head cheerleader, you're the football quarterback! It's, like, law that you two stay together! Law!"
"I don't care about that! I just--I just don't like Nina anymore!"
Eriol sat down across from me and gave me a serious face. "Who is she?"
"Who?"
"The other girl that stole your heart."
I chuckled. The words sounded so weird coming from Eriol. "Nobody," I lied as Sakura popped into my head, smiling and pointing out the clouds.
"Wow, Syaoran. That is really lame," he said, looking straight at me. "'Nobody.' Bullshit. You were, like, totally in love with Nina until a few days ago. Tell me or I will tell the whole school your secret. I swear to God."
"Idiot," I muttered under my breath. "But she has a boyfriend, Eriol. And it seems like she really likes him. Really likes him," I repeated as the lunch scene played over and over again in my head.
Eriol groaned, threw his hands up, and yelled, "JUST TELL ME!"
"Sakura!" I blurted out.
"Kinomoto?" Eriol said, his hands dropping to his sides, his eyes widening.
"Yes," I murmured.
"She doesn't have a boyfriend anymore," he said quietly, his voice angry.
"What? How do you know?"
"I'm friends with her. Her boyfriend...hurt her. Badly."
There was only one thing bad enough to make Eriol speak in that way. And suddenly I saw it. Him on top of her. But her face; I couldn't picture her face. I had never seen that amazingly angelic face without a smile on it. I could never imagine anyone hurting that innocent, beautiful soul. I couldn't say a word.
Eriol looked at me, right at me, and said gravely, "If you were to go out with Sakura, and you were to hurt her, Syaoran Li, I could promise you that you would never see the light of day ever again. And I mean that with every fiber of my being. Sakura is the most forgiving person in the world, but I am not, Syaoran."
This I could reply to. "I would never hurt her. If there's one promise I can keep, it is that one. She...she's so pure. So beautiful. She's an angel and...God I just...I want her to be happy."
Eriol's eyes softened and his voice did, too, as he said, "I think you could make her happy. You're a great guy, Syaoran. I'm sorry; I just...I really care about Sakura a lot, and I can't stand to see her get hurt anymore."
"What I want most is to hold her in my arms and protect her from the rest of the world," I said, looking away.
"No wonder you don't want to be with Nina anymore. So when are you going to break up with her?"
"Soon," I answered after a while, having forgotten all about Nina. "I feel like I'm cheating on her with my heart, you know?"
"So...do you think this change happened before you met Sakura?" Eriol asked me, looking straight at me again.
"I...I think so. But...Nina...Nina might be great for some other guy...but I feel like...for me...she's too...too..."
The phone interrupted me and I picked up the receiver, answering with a quick, "Hello?"
"I--what? I'll...I'll be right there," I said, standing up and hanging up the phone.
Eriol stood up, too and said, "What? What happened?"
"Nina got into an accident."
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Tee hee hee! Nothing much to say! I hope you liked and I hope you guys didn't mind waiting so long!
Oh, and I did good on my exams! No lower than a B!
P.S.
And if any of you are wondering, when Eriol said, "She's the second hottest girl in school," Tomoyo was his number one!
:D
Kiso