Sorry it took so long. Enjoy~ No beta ._. forgive my grammar and diction again D:

Chapter Eleven

"Her Sweetness and Perseverance"

Syaoran continued chewing, while Sakura watched with her hot cheeks. "What?" Syaoran asked her after swallowing his food.

"Nothing, I was just–"She was cut off by the sound of the door.

As soon as the door opened soft laughter were heard. "Sorry, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo began as she entered the room, "there were so many people at the cafeteria. Their cheese breads almost got sold out! Thank goodness we were able to buy some."

Eriol put what they had bought on the table. He unwrapped the paper bag and got the cheese bread Tomoyo was talking about. "Here," as he handed it over to Sakura, "it's really good."

"It's okay. I was able to eat something anyway. Thanks, Eriol-kun." She took the bread and felt the melted butter and warm dough in her fingertips.

"Eat it while it's warm," Eriol suggested.

Just as when she was about to take a bite, she heard Syaoran call her. "Sakura-chan, do you still want the cake? There are only a few bites left." He offered the plate with his left hand and the fork with his right.

"Oh, right." She moved closer to him and took the plate. "You sure you don't want it anymore?" Knowing that chocolate is his favorite food, she had to make sure.

He smiled. "If you want it you can have it."

She placed the bread besides the cake and cut what was left of the cake in half. "Here, you can have the bigger half," and offered it to him.

"No, no, you have the bigger half."

"But it's your favorite."

Syaoran was surprised that she remembers such little detail. Speechlessly happy, he grabbed Sakura gently on the wrist and led her beside him. Sakura sat on the bed beside Syaoran.

Sakura took the fork and fed herself. After doing so, she handed the fork over and Syaoran did the same.

Both Eriol and Tomoyo caught sight of one another. They couldn't help but smile to themselves as they watched the two in silence.

When Sakura was handing the fork over for Syaoran's last bite of the cake, "Feed me," he said in a straight voice. "Please?" And then changed his tone of voice to a cuter, childish one.

Sakura smiled – to what Syaoran thought as something sweeter than the cake he was about to be fed with – and obliged. Syaoran couldn't help but stare at the girl sitting in front of him, arm extended with a sweet smile on her face. He opened his mouth and chewed slowly.

Afterwards, Sakura stood up and put the plate in the sink.

Syaoran looked at her from behind, his thoughts and feelings confusing him. He did not notice that Eriol grabbed the cushion and threw it at him.

"Stop ogling, man; you kind of have a girlfriend!"

The cushion hit him straight on the face, bringing him back to reality. "Thanks," he replied sarcastically.

Sakura looked behind her with the cheese bread on her hand.

Eriol laughed out loud, seeing it unusual that his cousin did not throw the cushion back.

"I never really liked her anyway," Eriol said.

"Who are we talking about?"

"Your girlfriend."

This made Sakura swallow what she was chewing.

"Are you alright?" Tomoyo rushed towards her best friend.

"Yes– I'm– sor– ry–"

Eriol laughed out loud and Syaoran could not help but chuckle in secret. "I'm sorry," Eriol apologized for laughing. "But the cheese bread's really tasty, right? It's the best one I've ever tasted."

Sakura smiled in acceptance of the apology. "Yeah, is it not expensive?"

"No, it's kinda cheap, actually."

Syaoran butted in, "aren't you going to offer me some, Eriol?"

Feeling guilty, Sakura offered what was in her hand. "Oh, I'm sorry," she walked to him, "here."

This was not Syaoran's intention, but he was going to make most of it. When Sakura approached him, he opened his mouth. He could feel his cheeks burning, and it was turning red.

Blushing as red as he was, Sakura fed him.

When Sakura looked at her watch, it was already 7:26 in the evening. "Hey, Moyo-chan."

"What is it?"

"Uhm, it's getting late. I think we should go."

Tomoyo looked at her phone. "Oh, yeah, right." Both of them stood up. "Eriol-kun, we'd better go. It's getting late."

"Oh, okay. Sorry, I forgot about the time. Come on, I'll take you home first, then come back for Sakura. I'd hate to leave my oh-so-helpless cousin by himself." Eriol stood up and grabbed Tomoyo's bag. "Will that be alright, Sakura-chan?"

"Yes, I don't want to leave him alone either," her head was filled with guilt, but her heart longed to stay.

"Good night, Sakura-chan," she hugged her lightly. "Get well soon, Syaoran," following it with a friendly smile.

"Good night."

"Night."

Eriol opened the door for Tomoyo, "this won't take long," Tomoyo waved goodbye, "I'll be right back." And Eriol closed the door behind him. Sakura caught a glimpse of Tomoyo's face the door closed; she was holding back her tears for some reason.

Sakura sat down on the couch, and fixed her things. She pondered over the teary face of her best friend.

"Won't your father be worried?

She did not notice Syaoran speak.

"Sakura?" His voice was louder and sounded concerned.

This broke off her train of thought. "Oh, sorry. What is it?"

He let out a soft sigh. "Won't your father be worried?"

"Maybe, but he knows I'm a big girl now," she replied smiling to herself.

Syaoran was tongue-tied. He did not know what to say or ask her.

Unaware of the awkwardness, Sakura broke the silence between them. "Aren't you tired? You are supposed to be resting."

"A bit, yeah. Don't worry, I'm a big boy." He followed it with a chuckle. Sakura laughed, too. "How about you?"

"Same," as she faced him. Amidst the usual stress, Sakura was burdened emotionally. She remembered that tomorrow she had to do what she was ordered to do. This made her more stressed.

"Then go ahead and rest, I'll wake you up when Eriol arrives." He straightened up, about to leave the bed to give space for Sakura.

"No, don't!" Syaoran stopped, and then looked at her, puzzled. "This couch is fine, thank you for the offer, though." Sakura couldn't help but smile widely.

Although willing, Syaoran obliged. "So, how was school today?"

Sakura did not want him to worry, though she doubted that he will. "It was as usual, you know, homework and stuff."

He knew that she was hiding something, but decided not to pry.

When she was done tidying up her things, she laid down. Syaoran opened the television in a low volume, so that Sakura could rest.

Sakura, tired and worried about tomorrow, closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

Syaoran, on the other hand, found the image of the sleeping girl on the couch more interesting than anything shown in the television combined; no game show, cartoon, music video, documentary, no anything could match up to this girl. Her image was so serene yet fragile; he could not help himself picture her wrapped around his arms so that there would be no threat to her. Nothing but him.

After a sometime, Sakura still couldn't sleep; she has too many things on her mind. When she heard the deep and slow breathing of Syaoran, she took a peek and saw that he was already asleep. As quietly as she could, she stood up and grabbed her bag nearby. I was already 8:29 and Eriol hasn't come back. A soft sigh escaped her lips.

The television was still on, so she went and searched for the remote. Unfortunately, Syaoran was still clutching it with his hand. Sakura gently moved his fingers, but soon enough, Syaoran woke up. "Wha–"

"Shh…" Sakura quickly grabbed the remote. "Sorry for waking you up. I'll be going now. Good night," as she turned the television off. Syaoran fell back asleep instantly. He must be exhausted.

Sakura left him, closing the door behind her.

Upon arriving at the entrance, she approached the security guard. "Sir, excuse me," the guard turned around to face her and greeted her.

"Good evening, ma'am."

"Good evening," she replied in courtesy. "Excuse me, but have you seen a blue-haired boy arrive? He has moon-shaped glasses and is about," she estimated his height and set her hand about 1 foot above her head, "about this tall."

The guard though for a moment. "Oh, yeah, I saw him earlier, but he hasn't come back."

"Oh, okay. Thanks anyway," she left angry at Eriol for not showing up.

She went outside to look for a cab. It was already dark. She hailed the cabs that passed by but all of them were full. She did not know how to walk back either. After about half an hour of waiting for a cab, she went back and asked the guard for directions.

"Excuse me," she felt shy for approaching him again.

"Oh, hello, ma'am." The guard couldn't help but look surprised for he thought that Sakura would have been gone after asking him the first time.

"Sorry, but can you tell me how to get back to Tomoeda highschool?"

"Ah, why don't you take a cab? It's late and the streets are not safe at this hour."

"Yeah, but I can't find a cab. I've been waiting for almost half an hour outside."

"Well… I really prefer that you wait for a cab."

Sakura was grateful of this stranger's concern. "It's alright, I can take care of myself," she said in a tough-ish tone of voice.

"Then just turn right as soon as you pass by the main gates, then go straight until you see the waiting shed. I think it's about two blocks away."

She kept the directions in her head, repeating it over and over. "So I just turn right, then go straight for two blocks, right?"

"Yep, that's it."

"Thank you very much," she bowed in gratitude, and then followed his instructions.

After passing by the main gates, Sakura turned right. It was dark and there were a couple walking opposite of her. She gathered enough strength to continue walking forward alone. She walked a block away from the hospital, and noticed a group of men drinking at a nearby food stall. They were about to leave. Sakura felt scared because they stopped their tracks upon seeing the girl walking alone.

"Hey, Tatsuka, isn– hick that your sis– hick ter?" as he sluggishly points at Sakura.

The man named Tatsuka moved closer, inspecting the girl frozen in front.

As he moved closer, Sakura slowly walked back. Her heart was throbbing faster and faster. "Hey, Kinou!" She heard them call out, but she was already brisk walking back to the hospital.

She could breathe easily again. Her heartbeat started slowing down. The hospital was again in front of her. When she looked at her watch, it was already 9:13.

Worried about her family, but more about the guy she left alone, she called at home.

The phone rang, and somebody quickly answered it. "Hello, Sakura?" The voice from the other line said.

"Yes, onii-chan," she heard Touya breathe in relief, "I'm so sorry, but I got caught up."

"You should have called earlier. We were worried about you."

"I'm sorry."

"Where are you right now?"

"Oh…" she tried making up an excuse when she remembered that Touya loathes Syaoran's guts. "I'm at Tomo–"

"Their maid said Tomoyo still hasn't come back, I called 10 minutes ago."

Sakura's heart fell. Tomoyo still wasn't home. She did not know what had happened to her. "I- uh- we just arrived," she lied and for the first time it was quite convincing.

Touya sighed. "Otou-san, Sakura's at Tomoyo's," she heard Touya speaking away from the phone. "Hello, Sakura I'll pick you up there. Wait for me, okay?"

"Uh, no, it's okay. I'm sleeping over at her house. I'll just go home tomorrow morning to get changed," she could not hide her anxiousness.

"You sound worried. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, something came up and I need to stay here with Tomoyo."

"Okay, then. Next time, call earlier, you hear?"

"I'm very sorry. Yes, I will."

"Good night, then."

"Night."

Sakura hang up the phone and when back to Syaoran's room.

Her heart felt heavy because she did not know why Tomoyo looked upset. Is she upset with me? Did I do anything wrong? Did she find out what happened earlier?

She stood in front of Syaoran's door, undecided whether she would enter or stay outside. As much as she did not want to disturb Syaoran, she needed to find where Eriol and Tomoyo were.

Silently, she twisted the knob and entered the room. It was as she left it. Syaoran was still sleeping soundly. It felt bad having to wake him up.

But she was desperate. Finding Tomoyo seemed more important than her conscience.

Gently, she shook Syaoran's arm. "Syaoran, wake up."

"Stop it, Eriol. I'm–" He moved his arm away. "I'm tired."

Sorry. "Syaoran!" Sakura shook her harder.

Syaoran straightened up, angry. "What?" He opened his eyes and saw that it was not his annoying cousin that woke him up. "Oh, Sakura, I'm sorry," as he rubbed his tired eyes, "I thought you were Eriol."

"I'm sorry for waking you up, but I really need to call Eriol."

Puzzled, Syaoran handed his phone. "Why, is there something wrong?"

"It's just Tomoyo. She isn't home yet. I'm getting worried."

"They- what?"

"I called at home and told them that I was staying at Tomoyo's, but Touya told me that he called Tomoyo's house and their maid said she wasn't home yet."

Syaoran was still trying to keep up. He felt woozy from suddenly waking up.

The phone just rang, nobody was picking it up.

"He's not picking it up," Sakura's voice was worried.

"Maybe they just went out on a date?"

Sakura kept to herself what she saw earlier. Anxious to know what happened, Sakura redialed.

Nobody picked up.

After about three trials, Syaoran interrupted her. "I'm sure they're fine," as he held the phone resting on Sakura's now sweaty ear. "Let's just give them some privacy, okay?" Sakura gave him the phone, wiped it with her blouse and kept silent.

The silence was becoming eerie. "So," Syaoran started, "uh, how are you going home?"

"I-" Sakura could not answer.

"You can stay here," following it with a smile.

Sakura noticed him standing up, "where are you going?"

Syaoran went on, "just getting water."

"Here, let me." She went and got him a glass of water. "Here," as she handed him the moist glass.

"Thanks." He finished it and Sakura took it and placed it on the sink.

"Just sleep on the bed, and I'll-"

"No," Sakura sat on the couch, "I'll sleep here."

"But I really insist that you-"

"I'll sleep here, thank you."

Syaoran found her persistence both entertaining and bothersome.

"Well, okay." Syaoran gave up.

Sakura smiled at him, feeling triumphant. She did not know, however, that Syaoran was plotting something against her.

Feeling quite dirty, Sakura felt the urge to get changed. Syaoran noticed, rather, he waited for this moment.

"Uhm…"

Yes. I thought so. "I have shirts there," Syaoran pointed at the cabinet near the washroom. "Just take whatever you want," trying to hide the smirk he had on his face.

"I'm so sorry," as she went and got a plain shirt on top of the pile of clothes. "May I?" Sakura showed him the plain shirt. She was about to go to the washroom when Syaoran answered.

"No, you can't."

Sakura looked surprised, "I'm so-"

This made him laugh out loud. "I'm just kidding; you don't have to apologize all the time. Geez." And he laughed again, only weaker.

"I'm sorry!"

"And there she goes again," he chuckles.

To avoid anymore embarrassment as her cheeks started feeling hot, she entered the washroom to change. Sakura washed her face first. Because she did not know that things would turn out that way, she had no extra clothes except the shorts for their physical education class. She removed her skirt and wore the shorts she brought. The length is standard for physical education, but it was too short –too, too short – for this surprise sleepover with a guy.

Although embarrassed, she had to wear that instead of the dirty skirt. She changed to Syaoran's shirt and it was quite loose and it covered up the shorts she wore. She looked at the mirror.

Okay, this is too much.

She opened the bathroom door, "Syaoran?"

"Yep?"

"Can I borrow your pajamas?"

There was silence. "Syaoran?"

"Uh, I have one."

"Oh, please can I borrow it? Is it in the closet?"

Silence again.

"Syao-"

"It's on me."

Sakura was speechless. The image of Syaoran wearing boxers filled her head. She felt her cheeks fire up. Nervously, she slapped herself on the cheeks.

"Oh, never mind, then." And she closed the door.

She looked at the mirror and saw her cheeks red as apples.

To her humiliation, she unknowingly threw the dirty skirt she was holding.

It fell straight on the toilet bowl.

Sakura screamed out as reflex.

"Sakura? Is everything alright?"

She immediately took it, "yes, just- I'm okay!"

Crap. This will really have to do.

Trying to clam herself down, she washed the skirt and hang it up.

She turned the lights off and went out.

"I hop-"

And to her surprise, Syaoran was already lying on the couch.

"Hey that's not fair!"

Syaoran laughed to himself, he acted as if he was already asleep.

"Syaoran?" Sakura called out.

He ignored it, keeping his eyes closed.

Sakura let out a sigh, and sat on the floor.

Tired as she was, after a few minutes she dozed off.

Syaoran opened his eyes, hearing nothing but Sakura's deep breaths.

He was surprised to see that she fell asleep while resting her back on the wall. A smile escaped his mouth.

She never fails to surprise me.

He stood up and woke her up. "Sakura, okay, you win, go and sleep on the couch."

Sakura opened her tired eyes, grinned at him and lay down the couch.

Instantly, she fell back to sleep.

Syaoran covered her with an extra blanket, and lay on his bed, too.

He closed his eyes, unable to swipe the smile off his face.

Sakura was smiling, too; her face triumphant.

"Good night, Sakura-sama."

FORGIVE MEEEEEE.