"Where is Eriol?" Sakura asked as she sat down beside her best friend under 'their tree' to have their lunch.
"He is with Riyo again," Tomoyo replied.
"You okay with that?" Sakura asked, looking concerned.
She glanced at her, frowning, "Yes, I am Sakura. Why wouldn't I be?"
"No reason at all." She threw a glance at her boyfriend who just shrugged.
A group of rowdy boys walked by. It was Mito and his entourage who was consisted of seniors and members of his soccer team.
"Hi Tomoyo," Mito greeted her.
"Did Mito Dojima just talked to you?" Sakura shrieked. Tomoyo thanked that Sakura waited until Mito and his friends are out of hearing distance before asking.
"More like greeted her actually," Syaoran said.
"Since when were you in friendly terms with him? Tomoyo you're keeping secrets from me!"
"Well…There's nothing really to tell." It seems that she hasn't told Sakura about a lot of things lately. The poems, being with Mito at the rooftop and Eriol walking her home.
"Tomoyo, you've liked him since first day of freshman year, remember? He walked you to your classroom then."
"And never talked to her again," Syaoran said. Sakura glared at him.
"Maybe he took one look at me that day and pitied me. I am alone, waiting for my best friend who promised me she's going to school early that morning since it's our first day of high school."
"It's not my fault that Syaoran decided to suddenly surprise me that day. He just arrived from Hong Kong then," Sakura reminded her.
"Besides, I think its because his parents are friends with Mother why he's so nice at me then."
"Don't you remember what Yamazaki said? About the lavender roses meaning love at first sight?" Sakura asked.
"What does it have to do with anything?" Tomoyo asked.
"Mito could be your secret admirer Tomoyo!" Sakura said, looking at her best friend as if this should be obvious to her.
"Him?" Tomoyo managed to say, dumbfounded.
"It's possible that he fell in love with you that first day of freshman year."
"And why did he ignored her since than until now?" Syaoran pointed out.
Sakura considered this. "Maybe he thought that it was uncool for him to go out with a freshman. He suddenly has a change of heart and wanted to tell Tomoyo how he feels that's why he's been sending her roses."
"It fits. No one would consider it weird why he would suddenly be hanging around Tomoyo's locker because it's right next to his. And he started talking to Tomoyo just when someone began sending her roses."
"I don't know Sakura. There is something about Mito Dojima that's bothering me. I don't like him," Syaoran said, glancing at Tomoyo.
"Syaoran, you know this and your weird vibe about other persons? It's usually wrong. Remember you didn't like Miss Mizuki and Eriol at first. Turned out your wrong about that."
As Sakura and Syaoran continued to argue, Tomoyo tuned them out. She was thinking, is it really possible for Mito Dojima to be attracted to someone like her?
Tomoyo was walking home, alone. Basketball practice isn't over for another hour and Sakura needed to go home early.
"Tomoyo!" a voice called. She looked back and saw Riyo Mori walking towards her.
"Yes?" she asked in a polite voice.
"Do you have a sec?" Riyo asked.
She was never good at lying. She wished at that moment the she was. She hoped that she could say that she was busy, that she was going to meet someone, anything just to have an excuse. But she's not like that which is why she found herself nodding and saying "Umm…Sure."
Riyo led her to a coffee shop. Tomoyo wondered if this is where Riyo brought Eriol that morning she asked him to have coffee with her. She looked around and found the coffee shop very nice, comfortable, and homey. The only problem was there was nothing comfortable being there with Riyo who have not muttered a single thing since they entered.
They just sat there, Tomoyo looked everywhere but Riyo and Riyo just staring at her.
"You wanted to talk to me about something?" Tomoyo asked, unable to contain the silence any longer.
"How much do you know Eriol?" Riyo asked. Tomoyo leaned back, surprised. Why she was surprised. She should have known it was Eriol Riyo wanted to talk about. He was basically the only thing they have in common. Except for cheerleading. And she didn't think that Riyo was about to ask her for advice about her cartwheels.
She knew that Eriol was the reincarnation of Clow Reed, he has magic, very good at playing the piano and he used to be involved with Kaho Mizuki.
He always carries a blue handkerchief and he has a habit of wiping his glasses when he was thinking of what to say. He loves sweets. His favorite ice cream is chocolate flavor. He doesn't like almonds in his chocolates. He usually spends his afternoons playing chess with Spinel Sun.
"Pretty well I guess," Tomoyo answered, wondering where this was going.
"How long did you know him?" Riyo asked, still looking straight at Tomoyo.
"Since elementary, when he first moved here in Tomoeda," Tomoyo replied.
"Did he ever write to you, called you, all those years he was in England?"
"He never called. He usually called Sakura. We didn't really communicate all those years. We were not really close when we were in elementary. But he sent me cards every Christmas and flowers for my birthday. Sakura was more of his friend than I was."
"Flowers?" Riyo said.
"Lilies. Eriol knew they were my favorite. He was a very thoughtful guy. He remembers everything."
Riyo looked out at the window. She didn't speak for a long moment. "He never called me. He never send me a single Christmas card or a flower on my birthday," she said. Tomoyo didn't know how to answer that.
"When I was still a kid, I think I was twelve and I was sitting at the sidewalk, crying. I lost my dog. Suddenly, there was this boy standing in front of me and he held out his hand. He led me to the riverbank and there was my dog. I never found out how he knew that I was looking for my dog and where it was."
"Then he brought me to his house and he gave me milk and oatmeal cookies. I spent the most wonderful afternoon with him. He was my first friend. See, I am kind of a loner when I was young."
"After that I usually come over his house every afternoon after school. One day, I went to his house and suddenly he was gone. He moved out. Without saying goodbye."
She looked directly at Tomoyo and said, "I realized then that I was in love with that boy. My first heartbreak. That boy was Eriol."
Tomoyo was speechless. She didn't know what to say to that. Her, who always have the perfect answer for everything was now groping for words.
"I'm sure Eriol has his reasons."
"Did he say goodbye to you?"
"Yes."
"What could be his reason for suddenly leaving without a word?" Riyo asked, her voice bitter.
"Maybe it was too painful for him to say goodbye. It was better to leave without saying anything."
Is really that it? Did Eriol found it too painful to say goodbye to Riyo? Why did he never called or wrote to Riyo?
Tomoyo remembered the Ferris wheel ride. I was in love with someone else, Eriol told her. Maybe Riyo was the girl he was talking about. Maybe that's why he never contacted Riyo all these years. He was trying to work out things with Kaho and Riyo might break his resolve. Is it possible that Riyo was the reason he came back here?
Possibilities.
What does it have to do with the feeling of tightening in her chest?