Chapter Three

"Sakura, do you know him?"

"No fair! He's so cute!"

"You have a boyfriend already, Sakura!"

"Let us have him."

I shrugged. Over their heads Syaoran held up his lunch box.


"Girls are like animals," Syaoran said as we ate our lunch outside. The females of my class, accompanied by Satoshi, were staring at us through the window. I don't understand why they didn't just come eat with us.

I stared at my bento. My dad had made my favorite lunch.

"Hey, why aren't you eating?" he asked, leaning close to me.

I stood up and the lunch box spilled to the ground. I wasn't hungry anyway.

"Where have you been? What makes you think you can act like nothing happened?" my voice was rising to a shriek.

It was too much too soon for me.

"And why did you never respond? I did everything," my face felt hot as I continued yelling. Was I crying? "And now look at me! I don't know what to do with you! How do I respond? I have a boyfriend now, for goodness' sake! We're not kids anymore!"

I stopped and breathed deeply. Something wet was rolling down my cheek. Syaoran was staring at me, dumbfounded.

"Sakura, I knew this wouldn't work out perfectly, but if you'd let me explain—"

How could he be so calm?

"That's enough," Satoshi said from behind me.

He walked up and put an arm around me. Syaoran stood up quickly and frowned.

"I don't know what happened between you two, but please stop bothering my girlfriend. You've made her cry," he said, patting my head. I sniffed in a very unattractive manner.

"Sakura, I love you. That's why I'm here," he said firmly.

My heart skipped a beat against my will. Satoshi took a step in front of me.

"I said, that's enough," his voice was soft and menacing.

Syaoran looked as though he would fight him in a heartbeat. Desperate, I busied myself with picking up my lunch from the ground. It was mostly ruined. Both of them stooped to help me and a heavy silence settled over the three of us. Syaoran had trained in martial arts, and while Satoshi was pretty athletic, I knew he didn't stand a chance.

I felt a light tug on my neck and looked up. Syaoran was holding the Star key, staring into my eyes.

"What happened?" I whispered, curious in spite of myself as to why he'd left me alone.

"I can't say until I know it's safe," he said cryptically.

He locked eyes with Satoshi over my shoulder and released my necklace. The key felt warm as it touched my skin. It hadn't felt this warm in a long time.

We stood up slowly. Syaoran looked around casually. Next to me, I could sense that Satoshi was still fuming.

"Things have changed. I didn't expect you to be like this," he said. There was a note of challenge in his voice and instantly the ten-year old Syaoran was standing in front of me, asking me for the Clow cards.

"I'll show you," I whispered. They both looked at me in surprise.

I turned and went back to class, the two boys trailing behind me.

I have to confess, I'm not the type to sulk or hold grudges. I really am a cheerful person. Syaoran would come to understand that I really hadn't changed all that much.

Syaoran had got my blood boiling again.

It felt good.

DM: Thanks so much for all your reviews! They make me so happy! Just a note if you find Sakura OOC. I think if the one you loved abandoned you for five years and suddenly came back, you wouldn't handle the situation much better than this. Anyway, from next chapter on, the old Sakura will be coming back. Please review, and tell me, should I make the chapters longer or do you like them like this?