Wow... I got 34 revews OVERNIGHT! I just want to thank the following people:

yukyungtang, Marine Brother Shran, Cherryblossom93, Pure Hope, Isis-Nufu, ffgirl-07, starangelxviii, SxSLova, Noir Rose, XoXoMoon TribalXoXo, thereviewergirl, lozipozivanillabean, kenshinlover2002, perttie, Jienko, Kenshoumaru, daddieslittlesatr, cHeRrYbLoSsOmZrOcK, Lucy, youkaigirl, Mishu, Vampire Jazzy, Susspirinho, cookiemonster (I dunno, but it would probably work), ccslover4life, RogueDestiny, Rouge With A Blade (and friends), xoxohugsandkissesxox, sakurablossom54, AnimeJunkie228 (reviewer 200!), Foyx-chan, asiangirl666, kity, and last but not least, Eternal Starlight

Ok, I've been asked a few questions, and have been hit with a few suggestions:

1. No, I do not have my chapters already written, I begin writing one when I post the last chapter. So when this chapter is up, I'm writing chapter 13. I just write pretty fast.

2. No, I don't think 20 revews is too much, especially when 44 people have it on alert, and 33 have it on favourites. Plus all the anonomous reviewers I get. You are lucky I don't make it 30. But I'm too nice to do that. And just look at how many I got overnight! You people have nothing to worry about! If I don't post, it's because I've got writers block, or something is preveting me from updating. Or I just haven't finished writing the chapter yet.

3. Sakura is nearing her 16th birthday. The rest of them are all either 16 or 17. Takashi, Naoko and Syaoran have only just turned 17. If you want age order, then it goes; Takashi, Naoko, Syaoran, Meiling, Eroil, Tomoyo, Chiharu, Rika, and then Sakura. Have I cleared this up for everyone?

4. There will NOT be any lemon in this story. If you want lemon, please read the fics by MzEvilBlossomz. You'll either find her name in my fav authors section, reviews, or just search it. I think her latest was 'Getting "Hot" in Class'.

Chapter 12

Comfort in His Arms

THE NEXT MORNING

"No! I'm not gonna!" Sakura shrieked, running around the mansion like crazy, "You will not get the chance to show the others that tape again!"

"Give it here!" Tomoyo raced after her, just as madly, "I. Want. That. Tape!"

"No!" Sakura took up the stairs two at a time, and ran around the corner.

"Oof!" Meiling stumbelled back a few steps, as Sakura ran into her.

"Get that tape!" Tomoyo yelled at Meiling, motioning to the black cassette that Sakura had in her hand. Meiling stood there for a moment, perplexed, but then an evil smile spread across her face. She reached out, and cornered Sakura against the wall.

"No!" Sakura shreiked as Meiling began to tickle her, "Meiling! Stop!" She shreiked at the top of her lungs. She laughed so hard, that she dropped the cassette. It slid along the floor, and right to Tomoyo's feet.

"Why, thank you, Sakura!" Tomoyo said, as evil as the Devil himself. She bolted into her room, and latched the door behind her. Sakura could have cried with mortification.

"Bitch..." Sakura muttered, pissed off and embarassed at the same time.

"Now, now, Sakura," Meiling pretended to scold her, "Such language is not tolerated under my roof."

"Bite me." Sakura said irritably, stomping off down the stairs.

"Well, thank God everyone else went out shopping for Sakura's presents." Syaoran drawled, seeming to find the sight of his dear cousin and his crush argue quite amusing, "I shudder to think what a house full of deaf people would do to each other in the night."

"I heard that!" Sakura called out from the bottom of the stairs, sounding quite disgusted. Syaoran chuckled.

"Get your mind out of the gutter!" He slid down the rail on the stairs to land right next to her a few seconds later.

"Make me." She smiled sweetly at him. Syaoran gulped. Since the other morning, he had become more nervous and fidgity in front of her. But, the ironic thing was, he was also a lot more daring, as well. He had caught himself doing things to try to impress her a lot more often than usual. Take sliding down the rail just then. That wasn't something he normally did.

"Nothing to say, Syaoran?" She smirked, and then walked outside, "Are you coming or what?" She looked over her shoulder at him, expecting him to follow her.

"What makes you assume that?" Syaoran crossed his arms, and stood right where he was. Why would Sakura want him to go anywhere with her?

"Well... After I just insulted you..." She thought, "You always did it before."

"Well, that was then, and this is now." He said matter of factly, "Anyway, where are you going?"

"Out for a walk." She said, exasperated, "Do you want to come or not?" She had her hand on the knob, ready to go.

"Yeah, why not?" Syaoran shrugged, and followed her outside.

LATER

"Thank you, and have a nice day!" The girl behind the counter was trying to flirt with him, but he wasn't interested. After all, he was with Sakura.

"Thank you." Syaoran took the bag, and went to sit and eat with Sakura in the food court of the mall, muttering, "Idiot girl."

"Oi." Sakura feighned hurt, as she took her lunch off him, "Why are you calling me an idiot?"

"Oh..." Syaoran went red, "I... I didn't me-" Sakura erupted into peels of laughter, and almost choked on her food.

"Don't worry, Syaoran." She giggled, "I know what you meant. Geez, whats wrong with you today? You can't seem to catch my sarcasm."

"I... I don't know." He lied. Oh, he knew. He just didn't know why it was happening to him.

"I'm sure you'll get better soon." She was mocking the family doctor that they shared, like she had once for her mother while they were in the waiting room one month previously, "You just need the right medication, and..." She giggled.

"And?" Syaoran cocked his eyebrow.

"Don't worry." Sakura shook her head, "It's nothing. It would sound really retarded."

"No, come on!" Syaoran whined, earning more laughter from her, "Tell me!"

"Well, well, well..." A sinster voice drawled from the table next to theirs, "What do we have here?"

"Hello, Rose." Syaoran's eyes narrowed at the sight of her, his good mood evaporating immeadiately at the sight of the blue eyed, bottle blonde.

"Syao," She cooed, "Why are you wasting time with this bitch. You said yourself, you hate her." Sakura looked hurt.

"Ok, first of all," Syaoran was really mad by now, "I've gotten to know her better. Second of all, we're friends now. Third of all, I never hated her." Sakura beamed as he said this.

"Oh, yeah... now I remember!" She snapped her finger with a grin that would make the Devil look like an angel, "You said that you hated her when someone brought up the topic of your humungo crush on her!"

Silence.

"Well, is it true or not?" Rose demanded, leaning back in her chair, taunting him, "Or shall I tell her everything I know about you? Including baby stories." Syaoran went redder. He had to get out of there. So, ignoring Sakura and Rose, he took off, terrified of what Sakura would think of him.

"Syaoran! Stop!" Sakura yelled out to him, but he just kept on running. Sakura sat there, stupefied, as he ran out of sight.

"Well, that was fun." Rose laughed, "What an idiot!"

"Why I oughta..." Sakura stood up threateningly, seeming very tall in her anger, "It's people like you who push people to far! You have no right to say those sorts of things! If he wanted me to know how he felt, then he would have told me!" She turned around on her heel, and stalked away from the horror-stricken girl. People gawked at her as she took off.

"What?" She demanded, and everyone went back to what they were doing before.

Sakura walked around the entire shopping mall, looking for Syaoran. She sighed. He was probably long gone by now. She headded outside, hoping that he had gone back to Meiling's house. She decided to take the shortcut under the underpass. it would cut off about ten minutes of her walk.

SYAORAN

"Idiot... idiot... idiot..." He muttered, banging his head against the wall of the underpass, "Should have told her before now... Now she knows... Probably doesn't want to be friends with me..."

"Syaoran?" Sakura walked up to him, concern in her eyes, "You shouldn't do that. You'll hurt yourself..." She used her thumb to wipe off some of the dirt on his forehead from banging it on the wall.

"So?" He asked, not caring about himself anymore, for the second time that month.

"Look, if it's about what Rose said..." She said softly, "I... I already knew."

"How?" Syaoran asked, horrified, "How did you know? I've never told you!"

"Someone else told me." She whispered.

"Who?"

"I promised I wouldn't tell." Sakura looked him in the eyes, "I made a promise."

"Oh." A thought struck him, "Is that why you've been so nice to me?"

"Well, at first, yeah." She admitted, "But, after a few hours, I found that you're a really nice guy, when you wanna be. I'm glad I did!" She added quickly. Syaoran hung his head.

"Let's just go back to Meiling's." He muttered. Sakura's heart panged as she saw him like this. It cut her deep.

"Alright." And then they walked slowly through the sunshine, back to the mansion.

LATER

Sakura laid on the bed that she shared with Syaoran that night, not able to sleep. She tossed and turned, but it was no use. So she just laid there, counting invisible sheep. She almost squeeled as Syaoran rolled over, and put his arm around her in his sleep. Like he was cuddling her.

Now, unlike she would have a few days ago, she did not scream. She did not slap him. She did not move away. What she did... surprised even herself.

She snuggled closer to him.

As she got closer, he muttered something in his sleep, and tightened his hold around her waist. She smiled, and set her hand lightly on his arm, not wanting to wake him up. Strange... this felt right. Like it was meant to happen. She felt so comfortable and safe in his arms.

She was just drifting off into sleep, when a thought came to her.

If she felt like this, did that mean she liked him?

Well? What did you think? Sorry I didn't add any make-out sessions. I don't think there will be any fully-fledged make-out scenes for a while. Maybe a peck here and there, but not making-out.

THREE DAYS TILL SAKURA'S BIRTHDAY!

Don't forget, I need 20 reviews to continue! No reviews, no post!

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