Six: Strawberry Chocolate
SAKURA
I tried to stand up when all of a sudden I fell right back down onto my bed. My head felt like a wheel, spinning out of control.
"Whoa," I murmured out loud as the feeling came again, this time twice as bad, when I walked to the bathroom. I made it to the bathroom door and then I collapsed.
My dad leapt out of his room and I felt him check my pulse and my forehead. "Sakura, honey, are you okay?"
I attempted a smile. "I-I'm fine! You go back to sleep, Dad! I gotta get ready for school!"
He frowned, his eyebrows knitting together. "Sakura Kinomoto. Have you been overworking yourself?"
I closed my eyes and bit my lip.
"You're about to lie to me," he said, a smile in his voice. My eyes stayed closed; my head felt better that way. "You have a temperature. Go back to bed, please. Get some rest. You're not going to school today."
I bolted up, about to protest, but the spinning in my head started again at full force and all I could do was close my eyes and say, "Okay."
--
SYAORAN
I opened the doors of the school and was greeted by thousands of eyes. Why was everybody looking at me? I wondered as I walked down the hall, the girls smiling at me.
Oh. Right. I was available again. I frowned. I hoped I wouldn't be available for a long time. I thought of Sakura and a smile found its way to my face. A sophomore thought I was smiling at her and she shrieked.
I passed by Sakura's locker and frowned again; she wasn't there. Sakura and Tomoyo were usually gathered by her locker, Tomoyo talking wildly and Sakura smiling and laughing. Mm…I like her laugh.
I ran a hand through my hair and headed to my locker, telling myself that Sakura would be there later. I would get to see her later, I thought to myself with a smile.
"What are you smiling about, Li?"
I turned around to face my best friend Eriol. "Just thinking about you, Hiiragizawa," I said with a sarcastic smile.
"You're too sweet," he deadpanned. We stood and glared at each other until Tomoyo bounded up and hugged Eriol. She looked at the two of us and laughed.
"You two act like you hate each other," she said softly.
"That's just because Syaoran is in a bad mood today," Eriol said in a baby voice, sticking his bottom lip out.
Tomoyo lit up and smiled a bit evilly. "Saku's sick."
I felt the blood drain out of my face. "S-sick? How sick?"
Tomoyo laughed. "Not that sick! She just said she feels all dizzy. This always happens."
I frowned yet again.
"She just overworks herself," Tomoyo said, shaking her head. Eriol twisted a lock of her long dark hair around his finger and she leaned towards him. "She doesn't know how to wind down. Maybe you can help her learn how to," she said, a glint in her eye.
Eriol laughed quietly. "Syaoran Li teach somebody how to loosen up? You are too funny, Tomoyo." She bumped him with her hip as I smacked him over the head with my notebook.
--
I sat with Eriol and Tomoyo at lunch. Another couple joined, Chiharu and Yamazaki, I think. The girl, Chiharu, stared at me as she sat down.
"It's rude to gawk, Chi," Yamazaki said as he waved his hand in front of her face.
"S-sorry, Li!" she said, blushing and looking down, her pigtails bobbing. I smiled as Yamazaki tugged her hair and kissed her cheek.
I let my mind wander, thinking about kissing Sakura and playing with her short brown hair and making her beautiful emerald green eyes shine with excitement. A smile was on my face as the little Syaoran in my head danced around with the little Sakura.
I felt so out of place, I realized as the two couples looked at me as I ate. I glanced up and swallowed my food. "What?" I asked sharply.
Tomoyo smiled. "Nothing."
I finished my food quickly and stood up, nodding a goodbye to the table of relationships. Tomoyo stopped me quickly and put a piece of folded paper in my hand.
I looked down at it and then at her.
She grinned and whispered, "Sakura's address."
--
SAKURA
I nibbled on the edge of my chocolate chip cookie, spreading crumbs all over my fleece blanket. I tried to get up to go get some milk but my head started spinning again and I was forced to lie back down.
I sighed. I hated getting sick; I felt so pathetic. My dad had gone to some meeting, and I didn't know whether I was sad that he wasn't checking on me every two minutes or if I liked that he wasn't here to see me barely able to walk.
The doorbell rang and I groaned. I got up dumbly, stumbling and tripping more than usual, finally making my way to the door and opening it, not even bothering to look to see who it was.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, I scolded myself as I looked as the person in front of me. Always look through the peephole.
"Hey, Sakura. Heard you were sick," Adam said as he started to come in. I blocked his entrance and he sighed, taking a few steps back. "So it's still like that?"
"It's always going to be like this," I said. I'd wanted the words to come out harsh and sharp, but they'd come out sounding like a third grader's. I grimaced as he took a step towards me. "Don't come near me," I said, starting to get dizzy. My head hurt. "I'm about to throw up," I said without thinking.
"Why? 'Cause I'm here?" Adam said, his eyes turning cold and hard.
I was trying to think of something to say back when Adam twisted around, his whole figure turning blurry, and then suddenly he was on the ground, all before I could blink. Then I blinked and looked in front of me. There was Syaoran with the scariest look on his face, his hand balled up into a fist.
"Hello, Syaoran," I said, the spinning of my head only getting worse. This was confusing. Why was Syaoran here? I didn't like violence, but why did I like seeing Syaoran punch Adam? Thinking only made the spinning worse.
Adam sprang up and pointed a death look at Syaoran. "Get out of here," Syaoran said sharply. "Before I fucking kill you."
Adam took one look at me, one look at Syaoran and then he stalked off and entered his car, slamming his door so hard I thought it would break off.
I blinked again. Everything started going a bit blurry.
"I-I'm sorry you had to see that, Sakura," Syaoran said. He looked so sad and so angry at the same time.
"It's--" I started but just then my headache won the battle and I dropped to my knees on the ground, staring at Syaoran's feet.
"Sa-Sakura?" Syaoran squeaked. I could see his hands fluttering around.
"Dizzy," I croaked. I felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around me and then a strong pair of legs carry me to my original place on the couch. "Thank you," I said to him, closing my eyes and smiling.
SYAORAN
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. That dick was here, talking to Sakura, who was leaning against the doorframe, looking like she might faint any second. He had some kind of fucking nerve trying to even look at her again.
Before I really even knew what I was doing, I ran up to him and punched him, punched him as hard as I could possibly manage, which was pretty hard seeing as how much I hated his fucking guts. He hit the ground and Sakura's eyes widened. She blinked and looked at me, her eyes unreadable.
He got up and glared at me, like he was about to say something.
"Get out of here," I said coldly. "Before I fucking kill you."
I watched Sakura as she watched him. Her eyes were wide, not with fear, but with surprise. She had slipped farther down the doorway, and her face was pale. Tomoyo said this happens a lot. I frowned. She turned her head towards me.
"I-I'm sorry you had to see that, Sakura," I said, hoping my voice wasn't cold to her.
"It's--" she slipped down to her knees, her shoulders drooping.
"Sa-Sakura?" I said, the word coming out as a squeak. I groaned to myself as I realized how dumb I'd sounded.
"Dizzy," she said hoarsely. She sounded so tired, I realized sadly. I didn't know how to pick her up but then I finally decided to pick her up bridal style and carry her to the largest couch in her living room, taking the opportunity to smell her hair. Strawberries, I noted with a smile. I set her down gently. "Thank you," she whispered, closing her eyes and smiling. I had really missed that smile.
"No problem. You okay?" I asked, brushing some of her damp bangs off of her forehead, hoping she wouldn't mind. Her smile deepened.
"Yep. I'm a tough cookie," she answered. She opened her eyes and lifted her head up, looking around. "Speaking of that, I was eating a cookie. Do you see it anywhere?"
I laughed, the way I laughed only around her. She looked at me with her green eyes opened wide, an innocent look on her face. I suddenly realized that she was serious. "No, Sakura, I haven't seen it."
"I like the way you say my name," she said suddenly. She gasped and blushed, pulling the blanket over her face.
I smiled. She was just too cute. "How do you feel, Sakura?"
She ran her hands through her hair, her face still covered by the blanket. "My head isn't as…um…empty feeling. So…g-good."
"Good enough to go somewhere with me?"
Her green eyes peeked out at me from underneath their hiding spot. "Where?"
"Ice cream?" I suggested.
She threw the blanket off of herself and jumped to her feet. "I love ice cream!" She blushed and slowly sat down. "I mean…that would be nice. I like strawberry ice cream. How about you?"
"Chocolate," was my immediate response.
She smiled and stood up again. "Okay! I'll go get changed really quick and then we can go get some ice cream." She disappeared upstairs and I stood up slowly, my gaze lingering on the stairs.
I walked around the living room, stopping at a tall, long table lined with several picture frames. There was a silver frame holding a picture of a green-eyed grader school girl, one of her teeth adorably gone. Then there was one holding a picture of a baby with bushy black hair, next to a picture of a dark-haired boy holding a little baby girl. So Sakura had a brother. I bent down to get a closer look at one of a family. A tall, kind-looking father with glasses, a boy smirking at the camera, a little emerald-eyed toddler holding her mother's hand, a beautiful woman with extremely long hair.
"I'm ready! Oh—you found the pictures!" Sakura said, stumbling down the stairs and making her way over to me.
"I'm sorry, I was being nosy," I started quickly, but she shut me up with a wave of her hand.
"Pictures are taken to be seen, Syaoran!" Sakura said happily. "That's my brother, Touya. He's at university. And my dad, Fujitaka, but of course I just call him Dad," she laughed. "Duh! And that…that's my mom. She was beautiful," she gently touched the picture of the family, smiling sadly.
She was beautiful. Oh. Sakura looked up at me, her smile still sad.
"Come on, I'll buy you a big strawberry waffle cone," I said, opening the door for her.
"W-what? No, Syaoran! You don't have to buy it for me! I'll…I'll feel bad!"
I shook my head as we walked out. "Don't feel bad. I…I want to buy your ice cream, Sakura," I replied, adding her name in at the end just for fun.
SAKURA
The way he smirked as he said my name! He was teasing me! I realized as we started walking to his car. Ah. I'd been such an idiot. I like the way you say my name. Smooth, Kinomoto. Smooth as gravel.
"Can we walk, Syaoran?" I said, saying his name just for fun. "There's this amazing place just down the street."
He looked at me and his eyes seemed to soften. "Sure."
We started walking down the street and I noticed that we were walking really close. I found my hand inching closer to his, burning to feel the warmth of his hand around mine. I folded my arms across my chest. Syaoran looked down at me and grinned.
"You okay?" he asked.
I nodded vigorously. "Oh. Yeah. It's just…cold," I lied. It was actually really hot out.
I wondered if he felt that weird energy that seemed to be generating around and in between us. I shook my head. No, Sakura. Stop being conceited. It's just ice cream. It's just ice cream.
I peeked up at him, trying not to openly stare at him, but it was really, really hard. He was just so…striking. His jaw was so strong, his lips perfectly formed, his tawny amber eyes burning brightly. His eyes shifted and met mine.
I felt the heat rise up to my cheeks and I opened my mouth stupidly, trying to think of something to say. "So…um…chocolate, huh?" Wow. I could've smacked myself.
But, luckily, he just grinned. "Yeah. I'm kind of a big chocolate freak."
"Really? I'm like that, too! Just with me, it's anything sweet. My dad always has to hide the desserts from me because I'll try to eat them before dinner," I laughed sheepishly.
We walked into the ice cream and the owner, an old, short man with messy grey hair, greeted us warmly and said, "What'll it be, kids?"
"Strawberry waffle cone, please!" I said, plopping down on one of the bar stools.
Syaoran sat down next to me and said, "Double chocolate cone."
I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Double? Whoa." I laughed stupidly.
He grinned but said nothing.
I thought it would be awkward, like how it usually was when I was around any other guy, but it wasn't. Not at all. Me and Syaoran talked and ate like we'd known each other our whole lives. We talked about everything. Our favorite movies, our least favorite foods, our families, just…everything. He nearly knew as much about me as Tomoyo did.
I hadn't realized it was getting dark until he pointed it out.
"It's getting pretty late," he said, glancing outside.
"Oh, yeah. It is." I tried not to let the sadness show in my voice. I really, really liked spending time with him. I didn't want to go home. I peeked up at him from underneath my bangs but quickly looked down again when I saw that he was looking at me.
SYAORAN
Stupid nighttime. Why did it have to come so fast? I looked at Sakura and saw she was staring up at me, not in a flirtatious way like most girls, but in a shy, adorable way.
"Ready to go?" I asked, hopping off the bar stool. I couldn't believe that we'd talked for…hours. Whoa.
"Sure," she said, a bit sadly, I thought.
Walking next to her, it was hard to resist the pull that my hand was feeling towards hers. I stuffed my hands in the pockets of my jeans. We were quiet as we arrived in front of her house. She lingered on her bottom porch step, biting her bottom lip.
"Do you want to hang out Saturday?" I blurted out.
She looked kind of shocked but it went away quickly as she said, "Sure!"
"Okay. Saturday morning. I'll be here," I said, deciding where to take her, a place I thought she would like.
"S-Saturday morning?" she blushed.
I nodded but then added, "Unless you're busy or something."
She shook her head. "N-no, not busy. Just wondering what's going on in the morning."
I winked and said, "You'll see. Good night, Sakura."
SAKURA
Kami-sama, did Syaoran Li just wink at me? I tried not to faint as I said, "G-good night," and watched him walk away.
Just when Syaoran had become a mere speck in my vision, the porch light went on and my dad stepped out of the house.
"Sakura," he started sternly. "Where have you been? You're sick! And you just run off somewhere!" I was about to explain to him what happened but then he asked, "And who was that boy?" I felt my face turn hot and I knew that I must have been apple red. My dad smiled. "Ah. I see. Well, he looked nice."
I glanced back at the direction that Syaoran had walked away in and smiled. "Yes. He really is."
--
Did you like it? Hate it? I hope it's the former!
I don't deserve your kindess!
lhaine07: Ah your review made me smile!
winterkaguya: Yep! Nina really does understand what love is all about; she's a good girl. But I don't think many people liked her character! Thank you for reviewing!
PrincessNevermore: Awww yay! A dedicated reader! Thank you! That makes me so happy!
dilly-sammas luver: No Syaoran didn't see the picture of himself. Sakura uploaded it to her computer and erased it from her memory card. She's smart when she wants to be! I really like your reviews!
Thank you to everybody who took time to review!
(: