Alright, It's done. I'm warning you guys now that this chapter gets really emotional. I'm interested to know what you all think about what happens. Sorry it had to be a day late. Hope you enjoy.

Sakura's POV

The bell rings mere seconds before Syaoran shoves the door aside and we go tumbling into the classroom. Our entire class turns and stares at us.

Syaoran and I stand side-by-side in front of the door panting. Well, I'm panting and probably red-faced, whereas Syaoran barely looks past being winded. If that weren't so entertaining, I'd undoubtedly be pissed at him.

"Kinomoto, Li; Detention." Damn it. Here I though that since we were so close, maybe Mr. Terada would let us off the hook, but apparently I was wrong.

I grumble under my breath and follow Syaoran to the back of the room. Tomoyo eyes us as we sit down.

"What happened to the two of you? Did you have to outrun a pride of lions or something?"

My attempt at a laugh comes out as more of a painfully awkward mutation between a cough and an exhale. "Not exactly." I glance back at Syaoran and find him staring back at me. Startled, I zip my head back to Tomoyo. "Do you mind if I steal you during lunch today?" I ask as inconspicuously as I can. She raises an eyebrow, but nods.

By the time lunch rolls around, I'm sweating bullets. Syaoran's presence behind me is seriously stressing me out. He's like a wolf stalking its prey, just waiting for the chance to strike. So as soon as the bell rings I turn to Tomoyo and practically drag her out of the classroom.

We've reached the end of the hall and rounded the corner when she comes to a stop and I'm forced to end me march as well.

"Whoa, Sakura! I can tell something's going on, but why are we running?"

I relax my grip on her. "Sorry, Tomoyo. It's just that sitting in there with him was shooting my stress levels through the roof." Other students turn the corner and begin to walk down the hall. "Speaking of the roof, can we go there now? I really need to talk to you, and I think you know why."

"I've got a pretty good idea." She follows my gaze to where the other students are. "Alright, let's go." She gestures for me to lead the way, and I do so happily.

Tomoyo's POV

The second I close the door to the roof, there are words tumbling from Sakura's mouth.

"Alright, so do you remember how last week I passed out and spent the night at Syaoran's place, and how I've been avoiding him ever since."

I kind of figured that whatever it was it had to do with Li. Seeing them come running into the classroom together earlier this morning set off warning bells in my head.

Nodding, I walk over to where she sit, and lowering myself down next to her. "Of course. How could I forget?"

"Right, well-" I cut her off.

"Hold on a second, Sakura." She blinks as if taken aback. "Did you two talk?" When she nods, I feel my heart leap. "Was it a good talk or a bad talk?"

Sakura's lips curl up in disgust. "Bad. Very bad, Tomoyo."

I raise an eyebrow. "How so?"

I watch as Sakura's gaze shifts to something off in the distance. "He's making me talk to him about what happened after he left."

Ah. It all makes sense now. Sakura has been acting strange because of Li.

All I can manage to say is, "Oh." Sakura doesn't seem to mind, though.

"It was awful, Tomoyo! He just suddenly showed up on my doorstep this morning and forced his way into my house." I momentarily think I heard her wrong, but judging from the look on her face, I can tell I didn't. "I don't even think what he did was legal." Now that she mentions it, neither am I.

"He basically forced me to talk to him." To mask my curiosity, I take a bite of my food. Ah, yes, this rice is absolutely delicious. "He was even calling me by my first name," she says, waving her hands dramatically.

"The nerve," I say sarcastically. Sakura just glares at me.

"Anyways, the problem is that he said we weren't done talking about it."

"So there's going to be more?"

"Well, no, not if I can help it, but he sure seems to think there will be." Sakura angrily pokes at her food. I allow my chopsticks to rest on my lunch while I watch her. Her brow creases as she shoves food into her mouth. Very unflattering, but she clearly doesn't care about that. Then again, nothing Sakura does is ever truly distasteful.

Finally I dare to speak. "Would it really be such a bad thing?"

Sakura stops, mid-bite, and looks up at me. "Of course it would," she says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why?" I know I should stop, but I can't.

Sakura carelessly tosses her lunch onto the ground. "You know why." Her gaze is intense.

I look her up and down, making mental note of her posture as I say, "I do know, Sakura; I just didn't think that you did."

At first she's surprised, then she looks hurt. Not mad, but hurt. It's way worse. All I can do is sit and watch as she slams the lid down on her lunch and stands up.

"Sakura," I say slowly and tiredly. She knows that I didn't mean to hurt her, but I still did, nonetheless.

"It's fine, Tomoyo." Her tone says otherwise. I reach out and catch her hand before she can turn away from me.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. I shouldn't have gone there."

She looks me in the eyes for a moment before she sighs and shakes her head. "No, it's okay. Can we not talk about that, though?"

Not wanting to push her, I nod. "Of course." Sakura sits down next to me again, and in an attempt to change the subject I ask, "So what do you usually do when I'm with Chiharu at lunch nowadays?"

I'm relieved when I see a fond smile play on Sakura's lips. "I actually met someone really nice in the library."

"Oh my gosh!" That smile, the way she phrased that- could it be? "Is it a boy? How come you didn't tell me earlier?" The idea of me talking to Sakura about her love life feels surreal.

Sakura looks at me as if I've lost my mind. "No, it's a girl. She's a senior from class A."

"A senior? Do I know her?"

"I don't think so. Her name is Yanagisawa Naoko." When my eyes widen, I can tell Sakura is confused.

"Yanagisawa?" I repeat.

She nods. "Yeah, do you know her?"

"Not personally." Sakura's head tilts to the side, and it becomes clear to me that she doesn't realize who the girl she's been spending lunch with is. "How have you not heard of her?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Naoko Yanagisawa has the highest grades in our class," I explain.

Sakura's eyes widen and she leans away. "What? I thought that Syaoran did."

I tap my cheek. "I don't know for sure. They're always switching from one to the other. Point is, every time exams come around, her name is always one of the top three on the board."

The 'board' I'm referring to is a bulletin board in the main hall that lists the names of the top fifty students after exams. The teachers use it to encourage students to study more and do their homework, but a lot of us just find it to be a torment on those of us who aren't especially bright. Some students are super competitive, though. Personally, I don't care for the board much.

"That's insane." Sakura tilts her head back in thought. "It sure explains a lot, though." She looks at me again. "The girl is a genius. She's always reading and writing. Not only that, she even looks super mature. I mistook her for a teacher when we first met."

"No surprise there." I take a sip from my juice box. "I'm impress, though, Sakura." She raises her eyebrows, and I continue saying, "That you are making new friends. I didn't think you were interested in that sort of thing."

Sakura just shrugs. "I decided a while ago that I wanted to make the best of my senior year by getting closer to Rika. If I meet other new people along the way, then all the better." The idea brings a smile to my face.

"Well good for you." There's a crinkling sound the next time I take a sip from the juice box. Looking down I realize it's empty. Placing it on my lunchbox, I say, "I'd like to meet her sometime. If you don't mind, that is."

Sakura's eyes light up and a small smile tugs at her lips. "I'd love that."

For the rest of lunch we sit and talk about a variety of different topics. As lunch comes to an end, I can't help but think how much of a pity it is. Sakura and I rarely get to just sit back and talk anymore. It's a shame.

Sakura's POV

On any other day of the week the ringing of the final bell would make me ecstatic. Today, however, not so much.

I get a sense of déjà vu as I watch Tomoyo leave the classroom. It's just Syaoran and I left in the room when Mr. Terada motions us to sit up in the front. Off to my death sentence, I think as I rise from my seat and head up the isle.

At the front I sit down in Rika's seat in the first row, and Syaoran sits down next to me. Mr. Terada takes a seat at his desk. Two fingers pinch the bridge of his nose for a moment before he looks up at us.

The first thing out of his mouth is, "How's tutoring?" The question throws me.

"Its-" I'm not sure what to say, but apparently Syaoran does.

"She's progressing, but we've still got a ways to go." As he says it, he glances over at me. It's a harmless motion that makes me uneasy.

Mr. Terada nods, satisfied with the answer. He doesn't speak again until somewhere around twenty minutes later when the door to the classroom slides open, making me jump.

The teacher of class C stands in the doorway and observes the scene before her. She turns to the man in charge and says, "Mr. Terada, I'm sorry to interrupt, but the printer seems to have gotten jammed again. You're the only one who knows how to fix it, so," she gestures down the hall, "when you get the chance..."

Mr. Terada nods. "I'll be right there." To Syaoran and I he says, "You two wait here and stay silent. I'll be back in a few minutes."

I watch helplessly as the only person standing between Syaoran and I exits the classroom. I have to summon all of my willpower stop myself from reaching out and begging him not to leave. At the door, he turns and looks at us one more time. Then the door closes, and I'm left alone in a silent classroom with Li Syaoran.

Syaoran's POV

As soon as Mr. Terada is out of the room, I spin in my chair to face Sakura. She leans slightly away and looks me up and down from the corner of her eye.

"So," I start.

"So..." She glances around the room as if looking for an escape route. As if she'd have the nerve to leave detention. As if I'd let her. No, she's not going anywhere.

"Let's talk," I suggest.

"This is detention. We aren't allowed to talk."

"The teacher is gone." I gesture around the empty classroom. "There's no one here to stop us." She finally looks at me full on.

"Please, can you just drop it?" She begs. The desperation in her eyes is overwhelming.

"No. You're begging me to drop it; Well, I'm begging you not to."

I can tell now that she's getting tired of my constant nagging, because she finally gives in and says, "Fine. You wanna talk about it, then let's go ahead and talk about it. I already said all I had to say this morning, though."

"That's wonderful, but I didn't, so listen to me." I take a deep breath. "There's something I need you to understand about when I left." Sakura doesn't pull away when I reach out and take one of her hands in mine. "Leaving you was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. When I got that phone call from my mom, the first thing I though of was you." It makes me feel a little better when Sakura turns a bright shade of pink.

"Then why didn't you ever tell me?"

Unable to hold back anymore, my grip tightens and I say, "Because I was scared!"

Sakura's eyes go wide. "W-what?"

"I was terrified of facing you. More than that, I was terrified of what my leaving would do to you. I was scared of what you would do."

"What did you think I was going to do? Commit suicide?" The way she spits the words out at me tells me that the thought disgusts her.

"The thought may have crossed my mind. Can you blame me, though?" She shakes her head as if too disappointed to speak. "Your mom was in the hospital with cancer for crying out loud!"

"So you thought I'd just give up," she snaps. "You thought that I would put even more strain on my family by doing something like that?"

"Maybe I did." My mind replays the evens of seven years ago. "I still remember getting that call from Daidouji telling me she was gone." Picking up that phone and hearing the words that my best friend's mother was dead... I tried to deny it. Tried to tell myself it was all just a bad dream. "I knew that I had to come back when she told me that." I look at her hand in mine. "Of course, by then it was too late." My grip loosens. "I let you slip through my fingers." Her hand falls and limply hangs in the air until she moves and holds it in the other.

But there's something else. Something that sticks out in my mind more than any of the other things.

In a purely serious way I look up at her hand ask, "Do you remember what you said to me the day of her funeral?" The ways she looks down at her lap tells me that she does. "You told me that you felt like you could die." I lean down to catch her gaze. Her emerald eyes look at me through auburn bangs. "Do you have any idea how terrified that made me?"

Even now, I remember it like it was just yesterday.

The funeral was held at beginning of winter. The first snow of the season had grazed the tips of every blade of grass, making them sparkle like gemstones. For a funeral, it was an uncharacteristically beautiful day with the white snow being greatly contrasted by all the people adorn in black.

On that one day, I shared an intimate moment with strangers. People who I had never met before were grieving around me. While most of the faces were ones I didn't recognize, there were a few I did. The whole group from school was there. Tomoyo, Chiharu, and Takashi all stood in a side-by-side holding hands as if to support each other. Tomoyo's mother held onto her daughter's hand and shed silent tears over the loss of her dearest cousin. I stood near them, but not entirely with them.

For most of the ceremony I just stood there and watched the family. My eyes naturally drifted to Sakura, but I vaguely remember her brother and father, too.

Sakura's father, Fujitaka, looked empty. It was as if someone had stuffed out the light in his eyes that used to shine so brightly. From that point on his body was the host of a lost soul.

Her brother, on the other hand, stood tall and stolid. He was the only one that managed to stay composed. It was clear he had to, though. The others were relying on him for support that would've otherwise come from Fujitaka.

Sakura's expression was similar, but not identical, to that of her father. She stood emotionlessly staring at the casket that held her mother. She looked so fragile and breakable; Just like glass.

As the funeral came to an end and the others began to go their separate ways, I hung back. When it happened, Touya had been pulled away to speak to some of their extended family, and Fujitaka was standing in front of the gaping hole in the ground. I had followed Tomoyo and the others to where Sakura stood apart from all of the others. Chiharu, Takashi, and I all watched while Tomoyo stepped up to Sakura and pulled her into a hug. She whispered hushed words to Sakura, but I never caught what it was she was saying.

After a few minutes of this, Tomoyo released Sakura, turned to looked at Chiharu, nodded, and walked back to where her mother stood waiting for her.

Chiharu walked up to Sakura still holding Takashi's hand, but didn't say anything. They just stood there staring at each other until Chiharu finally broke eye contact. It wasn't until Takashi guided her away that I realized she was crying.

With the others gone, I was unsure of what to do. Back then, I was only ten. I had no idea what to do or say to make Sakura feel better. The only funeral I had ever attended was my fathers, but I was an infant at the time. Sakura, however, spared me from having to figure out what to do. At the time, I wished she hadn't.

"I feel like I'm going to die." She said it with the same emotionless expression that made me shiver. The words raised a red flag in my head. "I feel like I'm going to die, Syaoran."

That was the last time I ever heard her call me by my first name. Until a few days ago, that is.

Returning to reality, Sakura bites her bottom lip and doesn't look up. "You still went back again, though, Li." Her words stab my heart.

I wish I had never heard her call my name that night. Would it hurt this much if I hadn't? No, it wouldn't. I had finally grown to tolerate her calling me Li, but now, after Friday night, I can't stand it.

In response to her words I say, "I did, but for those months while I was there, I watched you. I used to follow you to and from school because I was so paranoid of what you might do while I wasn't watching."

"You were stalking me?" She looks so horrified that I wince a bit. I'd never really thought of it as stalking, but I suppose I was more or less obsessing. "That's kinda creepy."

"My reasons were justified." I say it partly to convince myself.

"You don't still do that, right?"

"What? No! I stopped when I left to go back to Hong Kong for the second time."

I left her twice. The first time was the hardest. She had ambushed me at the airport and almost begged me to stay. The second time I left was a few months after the funeral. Sakura hadn't spoken to me at all since the day of the funeral, so when my mom called and insisted I return, I had no real reason to stay.

"Good. Although you never should have done it in the first place. I can take care of myself, you know."

"I'm aware of that now, but back then I wasn't so sure." I can tell that she still doesn't see what I mean so I say, "What would you have done?"

"Well for one, I wouldn't have left in the first place." Frustrated, I stand up and pace the front of the classroom. "I'd have stayed and been there," she says to my back as I run a hand through my hair and look out the window. "Like any decent friend would have." That's it. Now she's gone to far.

I spin to face her, and march over to her desk. When I get there, I slam my hands down on the desk, making her flinch. My voice is low as I say, "I may have done some really stupid shit, but don't you dare tell me I wasn't a good friend to you." She opens her mouth to protest, but I don't allow it. "I called you every day that I was gone. You never once picked up, but I still called. So don't you make it sound like I didn't care. I cared enough to try." I lean back, my fingertips still grazing the desk. "More than I can say for you."

Her emerald eyes go wide. Hysterically, she says, "Excuse me," as if she's too awestruck to say anything else.

"You heard me. At least I tried. I clung onto what we had. You just kept on shutting me out, though. You're still shutting me out."

Her jaw hangs slack until she pipes up and says, "I shut you out to protect myself! I had no choice. How was I ever supposed to accept you back in my life after that?" In her rage, I can still hear the desperation in her voice.

"You always have a choice."

Furiously, she shakes head. "No! Not after that."

"Oh yeah? And why is that?"

"You wouldn't understand!" I hear her voice crack, but don't stop.

"Try me," I challenge.

Glaring up at me with tear brimmed eyes she shouts, "You broke my heart that day, Syaoran! I loved you, and you broke my heart!"

What? Everything seems to spin. Love? She loved me?

I stumble away from her while she buries her face in her hands and cries. I fall back into the chair I was sitting in before, and stare at her. In under ten seconds she had said the two things that I'd wanted to hear from her most. She both called be by my first name again and told me she loved me. So why does my chest ache so much?

At that very moment the door slides open. Mr. Terada freezes in the doorway and looks from me to Sakura who is sitting hunched over in her chair bawling her eyes out.

"What the-" Realizing what he's about to say, Mr. Terada stops. He composes himself first before entering the room and walking over to Sakura. "What happened here?" He looks at me, but I just stare back too dazed to respond. Seeing that I'm useless, Mr. Terada turns to Sakura. "Kinomoto, come with me." Sakura's finger's part a little as she looks up at our teacher. "Ms. Mizuki is probably still here. She'll see you." He gestures for Sakura to follow him. It takes a while, but she eventually stands and follows him to the door. Her arms wrap protectively around her slim figure as she goes. Not once does she look at me.

After Sakura is out the door, Mr. Terada turns to me and says, "You can go for now, Li," before vanishing the same way as Sakura.

Even though he told me I could go, I stay rooted to the spot where I sit. I'm too numb to move. All I can do is sit and stare at the door.

She loved me. As in she used to, but not anymore. Still, to think that back then... All that time... She had felt the same way about me that I felt about her.

My mind races. What if I hadn't left? Where would we be today if I had stayed with her? If I hadn't been such a coward, would we still be friends? Or would we be something else? Something more.

My stomach twists dangerously, and I feel like I'm going to be sick. I should never have pried. Why couldn't I have just left it alone? Anything is better than this. Wondering what we could've been. Longing for it. And most of all, knowing that it can never be.

There you have it. I did it. Well, kind of. Sakura's deep dark secret has been revealed. Let me know what you all think.