I Bet You Love Me

Chapter 4

Well, well…here's the next chappie! :D Sorry it's a bit short, though. :l

A drop of sweat rolled down my cheek.

"Did you…?" I asked quietly, my eyes narrowed as they studied Ikkaku's expression intently. His face was spread into a shark-like grin, his head tilted to the side. Clearly he was ecstatic with what he had discovered.

"Well, well. Little Syaoran has decided to betray us, hmm?" He stepped forward and circled me slowly, sizing me up. "What will Azusa think when he finds out that his little buddy has been lying to him? Ohh, he's going to be so disappointed." He stuck his bottom lip out, pouting mockingly.

He stopped moving when he was in front of me again. I ground my teeth and clenched my fists. "You…"

He leaned forward so his face was right in mine. He replaced the pout with a satisfied smirk. "Me what? Me nothing. You're the one that hasn't been telling the truth."

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I knew he was right, really. I was the one that hadn't told them everything, even though I'd promised I would. I could've come up with an excuse like 'I just found out now,' but I understood that Ikkaku wasn't a retard. Instead, I just glared at him, my palms sweaty.

Excitement glittered in his eyes. His sharkish grin returned. "I'm glad we had this talk, Li. I feel like I know you a lot better now." He nodded his head, his eyes big. He fixed my collar and patted my chest. "Well, I'll see you around," he said, and then laughed to himself.

I took a deep breath, and let it go slowly. The hallway was empty now; I was officially late for class. I let out a loud, frustrated grunt and hit the locker as hard as I could. Then I ran like hell before a teacher could come and yell at me.

I avoided pretty much everyone for the rest of the day. Azusa, Sakura, Ikkaku. I concentrated as hard as I could on my work. I didn't want to think about what was going to happen. Ikkaku would tell Azusa…Azusa would tell his dad…it'd be all over the news, and then who knows what would happen with me and Sakura?

When I thought about Sakura's reaction to the truth, my hand trembled. To make it stop, I pressed my pencil down harder on the paper; the lead snapped, making my heart skip a beat. Then my heart started to pound faster and harder. I clenched my teeth as I stood to sharpen my pencil. I knew Sakura would end up finding out about the bet sooner or later…I pictured her face, heartbroken, devastated…or maybe that would be my own expression?

I stopped turning the pencil momentarily, thinking deeper. If and when she did discover the truth…she'd never trust again. Ever. And I knew that.

My heart sank, and my stomach didn't stop doing nervous flips for the rest of the day. It was horrible.

The end of the day finally came. I had planned to sneak out without seeing Sakura, but she caught me.

"Syaoran!" I heard her call. I turned around and forced a smile.

"Hey, Sakura," I greeted.

"I thought about what you said," she told me, blushing a little. "And you're right. We can get through it…or I can." She grinned up at me. "As long as I have you."

My heart crumbled. My mouth hung open. Don't. Don't say those things to me! I wanted to scream.

"Syaoran…?" Sakura asked, noticing my dark expression.

"I…I'm sorry, Sakura," I said, looking down at the asphalt. "I…don't feel well."

Sakura hesitated, but brought her hand up to my forehead. "It doesn't feel like you have a fever…" she mumbled. "You should get home and sleep."

"Uh…right," I muttered. "Bye, Sakura." I spun around on my heel and started walking quickly back to my house. It felt like I was choking. I had to stop and gasp for air at one point. Then I picked up the pace and ran the rest of the way home.

I flipped on the six o'clock news at exactly five fifty eight.

Sure enough, one of the headlines was 'Kinomoto Sakura – Amamiya Nadeshiko's outcast daughter!'

A lump formed in my throat. It explained a lot about Sakura, and about Nadeshiko's affair.

"They didn't have to say outcast," I said weakly to no one.

I watched the rest of the newscast, and then took a bath and crawled into bed. I stuffed my face into the pillow, my stomach twisting in guilty, regretful knots. It took me a long time to get to sleep, and when I finally did, I dreamt of Sakura's disappointed face.

The next morning, I didn't know what to do. Where to go. I kind of just stood there, in the school grounds, waiting for the bell to ring.

I thought Sakura would approach me, but she didn't. I didn't see her anywhere, not even under her tree.

I did see Ikkaku and Azusa, though. Azusa was giving me a weird look, and Ikkaku was standing there, grinning, with his arms crossed over his chest.

Finally, the bell rang and I dashed into the building.

I managed to go the whole morning without talking to anyone…literally. No one. If somebody said something to me, I'd pretend I didn't hear them and walk away. But I kept seeing Ikkaku, grinning maliciously at me. I knew something was up, and it had something to do with the bet.

As lunch was ending, I spotted Sakura. She was leaning up against the wall, looking weary. I slowly made my way over to her.

"Hey, Sakura," I said quietly.

She looked up at me, tears in her eyes. She froze for a moment, then frowned and pushed herself off the wall. I blinked in surprise at her angered expression, and opened my mouth to say something. But I was cut off as Sakura raised her hand and slapped me sharply.

I was stunned; my cheek was tingling and stinging from the blow. I turned back to Sakura. She looked furious, her fingers still spread from the slap. Then she straightened, curling her fingers into a ball as the tears spilled over her lashes.

"Sakura…what…" I sputtered, my eyes wide.

"I trusted you," she growled. "I trusted you so much it blinded me. I thought I finally had a friend, someone who truly liked me for me. Someone I could tell anything to. Who didn't care who my parents were, a real friend." She took in a shaky breath, and continued in a whisper. "…Or maybe more."

I felt my stomach flutter briefly. Or maybe more…? But I certainly didn't have time to get excited about that.

"Sakura, wait, I – "

"Sh-shut up!" she snapped. "You were never really my friend! You only did for – for the bet, and your stupid reporter friend! Well, now you can be happy because you won your stupid bet, and now you don't have to have anything to do with the lonely loser girl anymore!" She spun around quickly on her heel. "Don't ever speak to me again!"

I reached out in an attempt to grab her wrist, to stop her. But she dashed away before I could manage. I could see flashes and heard yammering; the media, I guessed.

My knees nearly buckled, and I had to lean on the wall for support. I touched my cheek where she had slapped it. It still burned.

I clenched my teeth; it had all been ruined. Because of my carelessness. She'd even said she might've wanted more…?

I laughed dryly. "To think we were on exactly the same page…but I let it slip through my fingers."

"Yeah," a voice said, "so sad."

Something hit the back of my head, and everything went black.

When I finally came to, I immediately tried to get up. My head throbbed, and I flinched. I looked around; I was in a warehouse. I heard footsteps, and quickly turned to see who the source was, ignoring the pain.

"Ikkaku!" I barked angrily.

He grinned. Azusa was right behind him, along with some other guys. "Hello, dear Syaoran," he said, hopping up onto a box and making himself comfortable.

"What do you want from me?" I growled.

"Well, Syaoran, dear, you didn't tell us the truth, did you? We sent you on a mission, and you failed. You decided your little girlfriend was more important than your guys, and your promise, and our bet." He jumped off the box. "And now you'll pay." He swiftly stepped toward and punched my face, hard. Then he laughed.

He was about to land another one, but Azusa stopped him. "W-wait!" he called out nervously. "We'll…we'll, um, give you a chance to redeem yourself," he suggested.

"Huh…I guess so," Ikkaku shrugged. He pointed at me. "Then maybe you can bring Kinomoto here, and we'll hold her for ransom." He broke into his shark smile. "Then we'll spare you."

I hesitated, but nodded slowly. "All…right."

Ikkaku's eyes flashed. "Good boy."

Cue scary music! :O (Dun dun duh!) Mwahaha. Please remember to review! Thanks so much to everyone who has been! ;)