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Chapter 11: Off Her Feet

Her eyes clouded with unshed tears. Why did it need to hurt so much?

"Tomoyo!" Sakura was leaning towards her. Concern was very evident on her face.

"Sakura…" She was in pain. All she wanted was for it to go away and for everything to go back to normal. To the way it was. But now, not even her best friend can comfort her.

"What happened?" Sakura asked her.

"My ankle hurts," she managed to breathe out. She was sitting on the floor of the basketball gym with the cheerleaders surrounding her.

"What happened to her?" Suddenly, Eriol was standing in front of them, looking very worried.

Sakura answered Eriol, "I think Tomoyo twisted her ankle."

"Can you stand up?" Sakura offered her hand to her to help her to get up. She reached for the hand of her best friend and tried to stand up and she winced.

"I don't think that was a good idea," Eriol said. Then he scooped her up into his arms.

Feeling suddenly conscious that all eyes were on them, "I'm all right Eriol. Really. You don't need to carry me."

"You shouldn't put on more weight on your foot," Eriol said to her. He was apparently oblivious to the fact that all the cheerleaders and the basketball team were staring at them.

He turned to Sakura and said, "I'll bring her to the clinic. Don't worry, I'll take care of her."

Then they walked out of the gym. Well, Eriol walked out of the gym, carrying her.

As soon as the gym doors closed, the chatter started.

"Did that just really happen?" Chiharu asked.

"Yes, Eriol was so sweet," Naoko answered.

"It's got to be the sweetest thing that happened during our cheerleading practice," Sakura said.

"Tomoyo was swept off her feet, literally," Chiharu said.

The three girls sighed.

"What are you girls doing there chattering about? Go back to practice!" Riyo barked. Her pretty face in a scowl.

"What's her problem?" Naoko asked.

"The green-eyed monster," Sakura murmured.

Tomoyo was very uncomfortable. Not that Eriol was hurting her in any way.

Their unplanned nearness was wreaking havoc on her emotions. She was suddenly conscious of everything.

That Eriol was a boy. Well, she always knew he was a boy. But she suddenly became aware of the fact that Eriol was a boy. And a good looking one. He also smells so good. Her heart was beating so fast, she was afraid that Eriol might hear.

She can feel the steady beating of his heart. Apparently he has no problem whatsoever in their nearness.

The throbbing in her ankle has eased. "I think I'm well now Eriol. I can walk from here."

"Why do you insist on doing that? It may worsen your ankle," Eriol replied.

Flash.

Eriol and Tomoyo looked up. Rika was standing a few feet away from them, a camera in her hand.

"Sorry, can't resist. The two of you looked so good together," Rika said, noticing that Tomoyo's face reddened, she asked, "Tomoyo, are you okay? You look kind of flushed." Turning to Eriol, "Are you going to bring her to the clinic?"

"Yes, Tomoyo twisted her ankle during cheerleading practice," Eriol replied.

"Well, I'll go with you but I'm already late for my photography club meeting. Hiiragizawa, take care of her. I'll just call you later Tomoyo. See you!" She hurried inside the school building.

"What's that all about?" Eriol asked.

"Rika is a member of the photography club. She takes pictures of almost everything. Now, I understand how Sakura must feel when I took videos of her almost every time."

"I remember. It almost drove her crazy," Eriol laughed.

Tomoyo playfully hit him in the chest, "Maybe I'll bring my video cam again and I'm going to take videos of you to drive you crazy."

"Just don't make costumes for me like you did for Sakura," Eriol replied, laughing.

Tomoyo was sitting in a reclining chair, her ankle propped up, reading a book in her room when someone knocked.

Putting aside the book she said, "Come in."

It was Sakura and Syaoran. She was expecting them. Sakura was carrying a box of cake.

"Hi Tomoyo! This is strawberry shortcake. Syaoran and I baked it. Well, Syaoran actually did most of the job," Sakura said, putting the cake at the table.

"How are you feeling Tomoyo?" Li asked.

"The swelling in my ankle reduced. I should be fine by Monday. I thought Eriol was coming with you?" Tomoyo asked, shifting, looking behind Sakura and Syaoran as if Eriol was hiding behind them.

Syaoran glanced at Sakura before answering, "Something happened."

"Is Eriol okay?"

"Nothing bad happened. We were at his house ready to go when suddenly Riyo arrived. She insisted that Eriol help her with her English project," Sakura said.

Feeling disappointed, Tomoyo tried to smile and say, "That's okay, I suppose. I'm not really sick. He have done enough yesterday. Bringing me to the clinic and all."

"Coach was fuming when Hiiragizawa left practice. He said that he just can't leave practice because 'his little girlfriend' hurt herself," Syaoran said.

"Your coach was nothing compared to the way Riyo was acting yesterday. She was suddenly like a Nazi," Sakura said, rolling her eyes.

Eriol's little girlfriend? That should explain why Riyo was like that.

Suddenly, someone knocked. The maid came in carrying a large bouquet of lavender roses.

Opening the card, it only said five words.

-

-

-

Get well. See you soon.

"Mito might have heard what happened to you and send you flowers," Sakura said dreamily.

Giving Sakura a look, Syaoran said, "We are not really sure that Dojima was Tomoyo's secret admirer."

"Do you know something we don't know Syaoran?"

Syaoran gulped, "Nothing. I just don't think it was Dojima, that's all."

Her secret admirer was thoughtful, wishing her well. And Eriol couldn't even spare a few minutes to check on her. He didn't even call.

She wished that the flowers were lilies and not roses. She prefers that very much.