I cannot even begin to express how sorry I am for leaving this story and never coming back to it. I have a hundred excuses and none are good enough.

I would like to dedicate this chapter to: Annzy Bananzy

Her review is the reason I'm updating right now. Thank you Annzy, for reminding me that this story means something and deserves to be updated and eventually completed.

Here we go.

Recap: "What's for dinner." She asked excitedly.

"Whatever you want." He smiled. She smiled back.

"I'll have anything, as long as it's not pasta." She laughed. Syaoran laughed as well.

"I promise you, I wont have pasta made." He assured her.

"Alright," She laughed. "I'm content then." Tomoyo quietly observed the exchange. She'd never seen Syaoran so animated. So happy. She knew nothing of this girl, but whoever she was and whatever she did… it brought out the absolute best in Syaoran. It was rare that Syaoran brought a girl home. Not even herself had gone into Syaoran's house. She smiled to herself as she watched the two. Their relationship was blooming so nicely. It was a lovely as the cherry blossoms themselves. She only hoped that they lasted longer than the cherry blossoms do. Only time will tell.

Fallen Angel

Chapter 7

"Li!" A manly voice called after him.

"One second." Syaoran smiled to Sakura.

"Sure." She smiled. Syaoran walked over to the source of the voice.

"What's up coach?" He asked casually. His coached gave a sad sigh.

"Li… you're going to have to stop skipping practices. The team needs you. You're the captain. I can understand if you're distracted" – He looked pointedly at Sakura's slim figure as she paced gracefully a few feet away – "you are a young male with urges and desires. But you are the star player and soccer has always been important to you so no matter how tempting certain… distractions are, you need to pull your weight and show up to practice." The coach looked Syaoran in the eye trying to make it perfectly clear that if he didn't stop playing hooky that there would be consequences.

"I understand." Syaoran said. Lately he and Sakura had been going to art shows and movies and museums after school. Call it bonding, they would leave school as soon as the bell rang and rush off on some sort of adventure. He hadn't really thought about how much practice he'd been missing and how it was going to affect him or the team but it looked like it as time he decided what he wanted.

"Good! So I'll see you tomorrow after school." The coach gave a big grin at the prospect of having his star playing back. "For the record, she is one hell of a distraction." The coach smiled again before walking away. Something about the way he called Sakura a 'distraction' irritated Syaoran, it was like he was putting her on a lower standard than soccer and that just wasn't right. She was something different entirely and didn't even belong in the same category as soccer.

Syaoran turned back towards Sakura, she was still walking in tiny circles trying to entertain herself. He chuckled a little at the pout imprinted across her mouth, obviously she was bored.

"Sorry about that." He said to her once he'd reached her side again.

"Hmm?" She said startled by his appearance. "You're back." Syaoran chuckled out loud.

"Yes, I'm back. And I believe I owe you some ice cream." He winked. Sakura's eyes lit up at the idea of the cold goodness. Then her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"What was that about?" She motioned her head towards where the Coach was only moments before.

"It was nothing, just a friendly chat." He lied easily.

"It didn't look too friendly from where I was standing." She retorted.

"Then perhaps you should have tried looking from a different angle." Syaoran smiled while draping his arm around her small shoulders. Sakura rolled her eyes but the suspicion didn't leave.

"You know, what you really owe me is dinner." She changed the subject. "You were supposed to have me over to your house last week for dinner and you cancelled and ended up eating at my house again."

"Yeah…" He trailed off, "Sorry about that."

"What was that about anyways?" Sakura asked as they started up the hill towards her house.

"I told you, my mom came home suddenly." He stopped at the top of the hill and Sakura paused beside him.

"I've already met your mom once." She commented, "remember she stopped by the house that one time?"

"How could I forget?" He said grimly.

Sakura laughed, "Oh come on she wasn't that bad!" Syaoran gave her a look that clearly said he thought she was crazy.

"If she's home that means that my sisters are home… and not just that…" He trailed off again.

"Meiling." Sakura finished his thought. "Your fiancé of sorts."

"She is not my fiancé." He protested. "She's my childhood friend and I refuse to marry her."

"Let me get this straight. I can't come over for dinner because you're not in love with your childhood friend?" Sakura looked at him incredulously. "Make sense much?"

Syaoran ran his hand through his chestnut colored hair. "You don't understand. Between my mom and my sisters and her… it's not safe for you at my house. Plus I'd much rather eat at yours."

"Whatever." Sakura rolled her eyes. There was a pregnant pause. "Why are we standing here like idiots anyway?"

"This is where I stood when I first saw you." He said. "Over by that tree." He pointed towards a cherry blossom tree across the street and a few yards away. "I thought for sure I was looking at an angel. That's why I started coming here after school." Secretly he thought about all the practices he'd missed those days too. This girl was seriously not good for him. He looked down at the girl beside him.

Sakura's green eyes were sparkling while she looked at the dormant cherry blossom tree. Her hair was just past her shoulders and blowing lightly with the wind. She still looked like an angel, even now. It was incredible that he was standing next to her right now. Incredible that she'd let him in. Even if she wasn't good for him, he wasn't going to let her go.

"You were so irritating those days." She spoke. "You still are."

"You know… I want curry for dinner." Syaoran changed the subject abruptly.

Sakura stared at him, "Curry?"

"Yup. Curry." He repeated.

"I think I can pull that off." She said thoughtfully. "I'm assuming you're staying for dinner again tonight." He nodded.

"If you keep eating at my house your family is going to think you don't like them." Sakura chided.

"If only." Syaoran joked. He lead her across the street and through the familiar path towards her quaint house.

Sakura jabbed him in the side for his comment but Syaoran could tell she was laughing on the inside. Even though she'd kind of sort of met his mother indirectly when she was too unsocial to so much as talk to her own family, he'd told her stories of everyone in his family including Meiling and she'd laughed through all of the horror stories from his childhood. She understood to some extent that his family was a circus and her meeting them would be a disaster.

"I like your new look." Syaoran teased. Sakura blushed a light shade of pink.

"Tomoyo has been creating a wardrobe for me." She mumbled. "It's embarrassing." She was wearing a white dress that ended just inches from her knee and a pair of off white high heels that were leaning more towards a pinkish tint than white. It was a particularly revealing outfit, it had thick straps and had a square neckline that didn't show any amount of cleavage, but Syaoran had noticed that throughout the day she had been nervously pulling at the end of her dress as if she was trying – and failing – to make the dress longer. Even know her hand was clenched to the dress trying to keep it firmly against her body.

Syaoran gave a small chuckle and put his hand over hers.

"Release." He said softly. Sakura looked up at him and he raised his eye brows in an attempt to make her hurry up. Taking a deep breath and exhaling she slowly uncurled her hand and let the dress flow the way it was supposed to.

"See, that wasn't so hard." He smiled. Sakura didn't say anything but the light 'hmph' that escaped her mouth drifted through the wind and into his ears. She didn't attempt to remove her hand from his. And he didn't pretend that he wasn't glad of it.

Sakura couldn't look at him. She felt like heat had spread through her entire body and if she wasn't so embarrassed by the entire situation she might have had the courage to pull her hand out of his and say something witty and tease him. She was worried that he would feel it, feel her body temperature rising and even worse… feel the blood pumping through her veins while her heart beat sped up to a speed that was becoming more usual than unusual.

They walked to her house in a comfortable silence. Syaoran was careful to walk extra slow, he knew that once her house was in view that the moment would end. He also knew that there was something beyond friendship between them and that he liked it. But he also knew that if he pushed her too hard it would have a negative effect.

"I'm home!" Sakura called into the house. Silence answered her. "Weird." Syaoran settled himself down on the couch as Sakura wandered into the kitchen looking for either her father or her brother.

"I'm having dinner with my girlfriend. Have fun Kaijuu. – Touya." Sakura read off the paper as she re-entered the livingroom. "I am not a Kaijuu" She mumbled in irritation. "Have a business dinner, there's food in the fridge and money on the counter just in case. Love you, Dad." Sakura looked at Syaoran and then fell onto the couch beside him. "Looks like it's just me and you for dinner tonight."

"So it's a date." Syaoran said.

"No. It's a dinner between friends." She said defiantly as she laid her head on his lap.

"Sure." He laughed. His hand automatically started running through her hair. She sighed in contentment.

"Are you sure we have to eat?" She asked him. "Can't we just not? And just stay like this until one of them gets home?" It actually surprised him how much he was okay with that proposition. How much he wanted it.

"Sure." He replied. And then he heard her stomach growl. "But apparently your stomach doesn't agree." Sakura groaned.

"How about I make dinner." Syaoran smiled, "I know how to make curry. You look exhausted." Carefully he lifted her head up and stood up. "After all it must be difficult going to a new school so late in the year. Especially when you went because you're so in love with me." He winked at her from the kitchen doorway and narrowly missed the flying projectile attempting to collide with his head. Syaoran looked at the couch pillow that Sakura at thrown at him. If she'd had better aim he would have been demolished by it.

Syaoran was humming to himself while he prepared dinner. He was fairly sure Sakura had fallen asleep sometime after the pillow missed its target but he had started making dinner anyways. It surprised him that he knew where everything was in her kitchen, he'd never cooked at her house before and yet he seemed to just instinctively know where to look for the things he needed. It didn't bother him, it simply amused him.

It was around the time that dinner was in the final stages that he caught a glimpse of himself. Dark blue denim jeans, forest green t-shirt, black slippers and a feverishly pink frilly apron wrapped securely around his waist. He blinked at his reflection.

It was then that he realized that he was in over his head.

Short and Simple.

There's a lot of things I have planned for this story.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Thanks for reading.

As a policy of mine… you are free to say whatever you'd like if you'd like. I do not force reviews. I appreciate them as does everyone, but I believe strongly in freedom. And you are free to read and not review : )

I believe I will go to bed now… 7am… I'll probably end up sleeping all day. Damn. Oh well...

Lots of love to all my readers and all my reviewers.

I adore you all.

Jiade 103