I Bet You Love Me
Chapter 5
Wow…it's been a while, huh? Sorry. ^^" But anyway…here's the last chapter! ^^ I really hope you like it, I worked hard so it wasn't stupid and such. ;D Please remember to review, thanks for reading and reviewing this story! ^^
I stood at the door of the warehouse, feeling regretful. If I hadn't agreed to this stupid bet, neither of us would be in this situation. But, then again, I wouldn't have gotten to know Sakura like I did.
A bittersweet smile crossed my lips as I stepped through the entrance and maneuvered around some boxes. I had no idea what was going to happen to me now . . . or maybe I did?
Ikkaku, Azusa, and a couple other guys I didn't recognize were spread out in a little clearing between the rows of storage. They all grinned maliciously, except for Azusa, who was turned away, his shoulders shaking. I stood proudly before them, my back straightened and hands coolly shoved into my jeans' pockets.
Ikkaku's grin faded slowly into a glare. "Where's Kinomoto?" he asked, trying to keep his voice level.
I smiled, meeting his icy stare.
"Sakura," I emphasized, "is somewhere safe, I would hope. Did you really think I would bring her to you just like that?"
Ikkaku's face lifted gently again. "Huh . . . so, this means you lost the bet," he told me, his sharkish grin spreading across his cheeks.
"Does it look like I care, Ikkaku?" I asked, keeping my gaze steady.
"You're pathetic," he hissed, gripping the side of the box he was leaning on until his knuckles were white.
I smirked. I was already pissing him off, and I'd barely said anything. "Sure, I may have lost the bet. But you know, Ikkaku, I should thank you. I didn't see anything in Sakura before, neither did anybody. Because I was too scared to talk to her. But now, thanks to you . . . I've found the love of my life."
His shark grin faltered, and he gripped the box harder. "You . . . you better pay off the bet. Or else—"
"Or else what?" I challenged fiercely, throwing my hands out in emphasis. I grabbed my wallet from my back pocket. I gripped some bills, not caring how much it was, and threw them into the air. They scattered around the clearing, gently floating back to the ground. "Take it! Fine! I don't care!" Especially since there was only like 1800 yen in there, anyway . . . I jabbed my finger at him. "You are a sick human being, Ikkaku. And I am sick of people being thrown around by you."
"Oh yeah?" His smile returned, only now it was turning on the maniac side. "What are you gonna do about it?"
I flexed my fingers, and then charged towards him. He raised his hands to protect himself, but not before I could clock him in the nose; I heard a sickening crunch, and warm liquid trickling down my fingers. He shoved me away, cringing, and raised one hand to his nose, a flash of panic shining in his eyes. He quickly dismissed it, though, and pointed at me with his other hand. "Get him!" he growled; his voice broke from the pain. I nearly laughed out loud. I noticed his shades were askew and broken, and felt satisfied.
But then I realized the other guys I hadn't recognized were coming towards me. One got me with an uppercut to the jaw, and another kicked my legs, causing me to fall. Then they each kicked my stomach in turn. I spat out blood, and tried to keep a poker face so it would be less amusing for Ikkaku.
After a while, they got tired of hitting me with their hands and feet, so they dragged a chair over. Panic surged through me; this could do some serious damage.
The one with the chair ran at me, raising the chair above his head. As he was about to smash it down on me, somebody knocked him out of the way. I took my chance to get up while they were distracted, and looked over to see Azusa. I glanced over at Ikkaku; his rage was boiling over, it was obvious.
"AZUSA!" he bellowed furiously. I raced over to my friend and grabbed his hand, dragging him along behind me.
"Thanks, man," I breathed as dipped out of the warehouse as fast as we could.
"No problem," he panted, and winked at me. I grinned; it was nice to have at least one good friend. (But let's not forget Shota and Kageki from chapter one . . .)
I don't know how, but we somehow escaped. Maybe it was the police station we passed . . . yeah, we might have clued them in on some of it . . .
The police insisted on cleaning us up, so we left with some bandages. Azusa had some bumps and cuts, as well as me.
As we strolled along, Azusa turned to me. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this. I didn't think it would go this far . . ."
"Naw, it's okay, man . . . although, the person who got hurt most here was Sakura," I replied, shaking my head.
"Yeah." Azusa looked regretful. "You should go to her now."
I blinked slowly. "Yeah . . . I should." I slapped my friend on the back. "Thanks again, dude; I'd still be getting pounded if you hadn't stepped in."
He smiled. "Sure."
I raced off, wondering where Sakura might be. I pulled out my phone and punched in her number. It rang continuously; not like I thought she'd pick up, anyway. She had every reason to hate me. I knew Ikkaku had told her about the bet, but she had a right to know about that.
Knowing it was hopeless I hit redial. She didn't answer again—but I heard the familiar Lady Gaga ring tone coming from behind a tree in the park. I smiled and dashed over to the tree, which seemed to be the source of the music. Sure enough, there she was, hugging her knees to her chest, her emerald eyes red and puffy.
"Sakura," I breathed.
She looked up at me, surprised. She frowned, and planted her hands on the ground, gripping the grass with her fingers. "What are you doing here?" she spat.
"Sakura . . ." I was breathing heavily from all the running, and I felt blood dribbling down from my forehead. One of the wounds must have started bleeding again.
"What happened?" she asked nonchalantly, as if she didn't care too much.
I picked up her hands, and held them between mine. Gazing right into her big pools of emerald, I whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
She stiffened, and her brow creased. She opened her mouth to say something, but I didn't let her. I squeezed her hands gently.
"I don't know if you can ever forgive me, Sakura." I spoke softly, not trying to conceal my anguish at the thought of her hating me. "Just, please know that I am very, very, sorry. And that . . . whatever my original intentions were, I hung out with you because I wanted to. So . . . so badly. I am truly happy . . . ecstatic that I was able to get to know you." Hesitantly, I reached up and pushed a loose lock of auburn hair behind her ear. Then I couldn't help myself; I wrapped my arms around her in a long-awaited embrace. I breathed in her scent; like strawberries.
She whimpered, and put her hands on my chest. After a moment of uncertainty, she pushed me away. Tears threatened to flood her cheeks.
"But you lied to me!" she cried, rubbing at her eyes angrily. "You told me I could trust you—but you betrayed me! And now—now everyone knows!"
"I know . . . I know!" I put my face in my hand for a minute, to recover myself. I looked up. "I didn't mean for it to get out. Ikkaku overheard us talking on Monday. I wouldn't have told, I promise you. By then . . . by then I was already in love with you," I murmured.
She opened her mouth, but no words came out. The tears reappeared and rushed down her finely drawn face.
After a few moments, I met her gaze again. "I'm sorry," I whispered again before capturing her lips softly with my own. I slowly folded my arms around her again in another embrace.
When I pulled away, I didn't let her go. I looked at her uncertainly; her lips trembled, and she giggled a bit, wiping away her tears. She shook her head, smiling, and jumped onto me, pressing her lips against mine and wrapping her arms tightly around my neck.
I noticed flashing, and chattering and yelling, but I blocked it all out. In some corner of my mind I knew it was the paparazzi but I was rather occupied with other things. Sakura didn't seem to care, either.
We pulled away, gasping for breath. I let out a strong, relieved laugh.
"Are you really in love with me, Syaoran?" she asked.
I looked down at her. "I love you," was my answer before pushing her gently onto the grass and kissing her again. Her fingers gingerly played with my hair, and I rested my forehead against hers, grinning to no end.
I walked Sakura home, my hand in hers. She opened the unlocked back door and led me to the kitchen, where she was startled to see both her mother and father. Her father, leaning against the counter, fixed her with a cold stare. Her mother stood straight with her arms crossed over her chest, waves of fury crashing about her. She snatched up a TV remote and clicked it on with more force than necessary. On the news channel, she and I were the top story, being replayed over and over again.
There was an awkward silence; Sakura stared at the ground, her shoulders shaking. I coughed loudly and tried to smile.
"Well, then . . ." I chuckled awkwardly, widening my smile. "They must, uh, not really have anything to report, huh? If, uh, if this, this is their top story, right?" I chuckled awkwardly again. The two hardened adults glanced at me, studying me skeptically.
Amamiya Nadeshiko inhaled sharply. "You have disgraced me," she scolded harshly, glaring at her only daughter. My eyebrow twitched; that's just cold. When Sakura didn't respond, she swiftly raised a hand. As she brought it down in a backhand, my muscles moved automatically. I grabbed Nadeshiko's wrist, as gently as I could, and I met her cold gaze.
"That is wrong and unethical. You should be ashamed of yourself," I said, my voice even and confident, which I was quite happy about. I dropped her hand lightly, and put my arm around Sakura's shoulders. "And let's not forget about your own little scandal, hmm?"
A shadow crossed the politician's face. "How dare you," she breathed, sounding as if she was going to explode. "How dare you!" She jabbed her long, slim finger at me, her curly hair dancing around her shoulders. "I forbid you from seeing my daughter. Sakura, never speak to this boy again."
"Fine, if we can't speak, we'll simply kiss," I retorted, and Sakura snorted, unable to stop herself. I couldn't help the smile that broke out at that, either.
"What?"
"Would you like an example? I don't mind, really, it's no trouble."
Nadeshiko sighed dramatically, flopping into one of the chairs gracefully. She rubbed her temple with her hand, looking irritated.
"What do you think of our daughter?" I was surprised to hear Kinomoto Fujitaka's deep voice.
I blinked. "I'm in love with her," I said simply.
His expression didn't waver. "How do I know I can trust you, an ignorant, arrogant teenage boy?"
I swallowed. "Because when Sakura slapped me and told me she hated me, a knife went into my chest and ripped it open. And when she kissed me and forgave me, that hole filled up with . . . with . . ." Unable to describe the feeling, I smiled and went with something simple. "Sugar and spice and everything nice," I concluded.
I nearly gasped when a smile cracked his stone face. He walked over to his exhausted wife and put his hands on her shoulders. "Believe it or not, son, when I discovered my wife was cheating on me, that same hole opened inside of me. But I loved her too much to even consider divorcing her."
I smiled warmly at him. "I know exactly what you mean, sir."
He nodded curtly. "I'll allow you to see my daughter. Nadeshiko?" He looked down at his wife questioningly. She was red from Fujitaka's 'confession', and from the casual acknowledgement of her affair. But she nodded, anyhow.
"I may just learn to like the boy," she muttered. "What's your name?"
I bowed, wondering if it was a dream that they accepted me so easily. "Li Syaoran. And I'm delighted to receive your, er, blessing."
It was prom night. It was after the formal dance, and we were at a beach house. I had to drag Sakura away from all of her friends, laughing at the comparison to the months before. I was right; she was very outgoing, but just wasn't sure at the time how to express it. But now, we both had plenty of friends. No one could resist Sakura's bright smile. No one could say 'no'.
I pulled her out onto the beach. I stroked her cheek; the wind blew her hair every which way. "You look beautiful," I whispered, smiling as I glanced at her strapless red dress that flared out just above her knees, and at her grinning face.
"And you're rather handsome, my dear prince," she murmured back, gazing warmly into my eyes. Those big emerald orbs still hadn't changed.
I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her. Her soft, pink lips hadn't changed, either.
A camera flashed, blinding me even though my eyes were closed, enjoying the moment. I heard Tomoyo's giggling.
"Tomoyo," Sakura groaned playfully. Tomoyo was Sakura's newfound best friend; they had been in the same class since fourth grade, and they had always been dying to talk to each other. Sakura wasn't allowed, and Tomoyo was just scared.
Tomoyo had her arm hooked through her boyfriend Eriol's arm. He laughed, his glasses flashing along with Tomoyo's camera. Azusa patted me on the back, chuckling along with Eriol. Other people were starting to spill out onto the beach, and Shota and Kageki jumped in for a picture with Azusa, Sakura and me. Tomoyo, not wanting to miss out on the fun, asked someone else to take the picture so she and Eriol could join. We were an inseparable group now, and it almost seemed strange.
In one photo, we all stood grinning at the camera, holding up peace signs.
In the second, everyone cheered as Sakura and I kissed tenderly again.
A night I'll never forget.
Whew! It's over! I hope you liked it, I can be a bit sloppy with endings. Anyway, please review! ;D Thanks for everyone whose been tagging along, I know it wasn't long, but hey, I hope it was enjoyable while it lasted! ^^ Thanks again, and please, entertain yourself with another CCS fic from my profile! ;D (As for Ikkaku, he got sent to a detention centre for all his creepy stuff ;D In case you were wondering.)