Sorry that this is a day late, guys. Don't have much news today. Oh yeah, this chapter is 100% Sakura's POV, but Syaoran will be back soon.

Sakura's POV

I said it. I actually said it. My deepest, darkest secret that I've never told anybody, not even Tomoyo... I just told the one person who I swore never to let find out. Now he knows. Syaoran knows, yet, oddly enough, now that I've cooled off, I'm not really feeling much. I don't feel anxious or on edge as if I'm waiting for it to be said, because it's already out there. Sure, I know I should still be worried about what's going to happen next, but I just don't. Not now, anyways. Maybe a little later when the reality of it all sinks in I'll start feeling jittery again, but until then all I feel is relaxed. It's as if a weight has been lifted.

As I lay on the bed in the nurse's office staring up at the bland ceiling, I feel more relaxed than I've felt in years. My peace is cut short when the curtain leading to the rest of the office is pulled back. Ms. Mizuki stands there in a long white trench coat with her hair tied back, and a stethoscope slung around her neck. Stereotypical nurse; The only thing she's missing is a clipboard.

"Are you feeling any better?"

"Much," I tell her with a smile.

"Good. If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

Not even bothering to hide it, I simply say, "Syaoran." Ms. Mizuki nods as if that explains everything. "I told him how I felt about him when we were kids." I watch the older woman pull away in shock. "Yeah," I say with a sigh. "It wasn't intentional, it just kinda came pouring out. I don't regret it, though. It feels like a weight has been lifted." My gaze shifts down to my hands as I twiddle my thumbs. "I just wonder what's going to happen next."

"I'm sure everything will turn out alright. You and Li used to be best friends, but that was years ago. The two of you aren't the same people you were back then."

She has a point. Syaoran and I have spent years apart molding into different people. I don't harbor those same feelings for him that I used to. I don't still love him. Sure, I still care for him more than I would like, but what I feel for him isn't love.

"Yeah," I agree, staring up at the ceiling again. "That's very true."

My arrival at work isn't very well received. Mrs. Matsumoto doesn't bother asking me why I'm late, and Chiharu won't even look at me. Ruby asks me if I'm alright, but even she doesn't seem too concerned.

At the end of the day, Chiharu heads out before me, and I run out the door to catch up with her. "Chiharu!" She stops and turns. "Can I talk to you?" There's a moment of consideration before she nods.

"Is this about the other day?" I nod; She sighs.

"Look, I just wanna say that I'm sorry. The truth is that something did happen, but I just didn't want to tell you about it." She seems to relax a little hearing me say it aloud.

"Well, does that mean you're going to tell me now?"

"Only if you want to know."

She eyes me. "What do you think?" Of course she's too proud to admit that she really does.

"The thing is that Syaoran walked in on me the other day while I was painting, and the painting was of me and him."

"So?" She makes it sound like no big deal.

Wow. She really isn't getting this at all. "So it deeply portrayed how I felt after he left."

Chiharu shrugs and says, "We all know how you felt. You were pissed. It's not exactly news."

"Should've told Syaoran that. He barged into my house this morning and insisted I explain myself to him." Now I've got her attention. She actually looks rather amused.

"He broke into your house?" She doesn't bother hiding her smile.

"More or less, but that's not the point." I consider telling her about what happened this afternoon. "There's more, too, Chiharu." No reason to hide it from her. Syaoran and I are probably going to have to start interacting more now, anyways. "We had detention today and," I pause, "something happened. Before I tell you what it was, though, I need to ask you something." Chiharu nods. "That day when you said you couldn't take it anymore, you were talking about how I always came to you and vented my problems, right?"

She doesn't seem too surprised by the question, nor is she too reluctant to give me and answer. "Yes."

"I figured," I mutter. It wan't hard to guess. There isn't really anything else she could have meant. "Chiharu, I don't want to make you feel suffocated by me like you did then. That said, do you still want me to tell you what happened? Because I'll tell you now that we didn't have a lighthearted conversation about what the weather was like outside."

For a moment Chiharu just studies me; Then she looks away. Her eyes glaze over as she stares up at the sky above us. My gaze follows hers, and I watch the setting sun illuminate the clouds giving them a pinkish glow.

"Sakura, back then the reason I couldn't handle hearing about those things wasn't entirely because of you."

"Did it have to do with your parents?" The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.

She looks down at me. "You knew?"

"Something you said that day I went to your house made me start to wonder, but I didn't know for sure until now."

"Oh. Well, yes. My parents had just started fighting, and it was really effecting me. I couldn't go to you and talk about it, nor could I go to Tomoyo. The two of you already had so much going on that it just didn't seem like it would be fair for me to worry you both with it. In the end, Takashi was the only one who I told. Tomoyo didn't find out until a lot later. At first I was able to juggle the two lives- home and school- but eventually I just couldn't. To be honest, Sakura," she looks ashamed, "I started to resent you."

Her words knock the wind out of me. Sure, maybe she did have every reason and right to, but I still can't help the feelings of hurt and betray. I also feel a bit guilty, too. I hadn't even noticed the change in Chiharu. What kind of a friend does that make me?

"I'm sorry, Chiharu. For everything I put you through," I say earnestly.

Chiharu shakes her head. "It's fine, Sakura. I'm over it now."

Her ability to let things go so easily is a quality I don't possess. It's one of the things that I envy about her.

"So yes; I would like to hear about what happened with Li-kun if you're willing to tell me."

"Alright then." I gesture for us to start on our way home and proceed to fill her in on all that happened after Mr. Terada left the classroom to fix the printer in the faculty room. As my story comes to end, Chiharu looks incredibly intrigued.

"So, what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know," I admit, kicking a pebble with my foot. It skids across the pavement and stops a few feet away. "Probably nothing. Odds are Syaoran will do all the work for me."

"What do you mean?"

"He never lets up. Once he's got his mind set on something, he doesn't go away until he's got it."

"But didn't he already get everything he wanted from you? He finally got the talk he wanted, didn't he?"

I laugh an empty, emotionless laugh. "Yeah, so you would think. It's going to be so weird. How do you react to something like that, anyways? When someone goes up to you and says, 'by the way, I used to be head over heels in love with you' is there really a good way to respond to that?"

Chiharu considers this. "Not that I can think of. Just go on like normal, maybe? What's there to do when they're feelings that you don't still have?" She says, referring to me. "If you still felt that way, it would be totally different." She looks at me a little worried. "You aren't still in love with him, right?"

"Of course not!" Sure, I blush every once in a while, but how can I not? Especially when he does things like hold me close so I don't fall. Just thinking about it makes me feel warm.

I can tell she's not convinced, though. "Right." I'm about to object when she continues. "I don't know what to tell you, but if it were me, I'd probably just wait and see how it plays out. If Li doesn't bother you about it, then I think it's safe to say nothing much will change."

"And if he does?" Chiharu pauses mid-stride.

"Then you'll just have to see what he has to say."

The advise itself is good enough, but not quite what I was hoping for. I don't want to have to sit around waiting for Syaoran to do something. That would seem too much like I'm throwing in the towel. There's got to be a better way to do this... But do I have the courage to take matters into my own hands? Guess I'll find out soon enough.

Unbelievable that so much has happened this week and yet it's still only Thursday. I spent all night thinking about what Chiharu said yesterday. Maybe she's right. Should I just wait and let Syaoran make the first move?

"Gah, this is way too stressful," I holler, clutching my head and rolling over in bed. Burying my face in one of my pillows, I grumble, "Can't I just stay here in bed forever?"

I'm not expecting the voice that answers. "No, you can't. Now get up."

"Huh?" I shoot up in bed and stare at the door. Touya stands in the doorway to my room watching me with a meek expression. "What the-" I jump up from bed and wag a finger at him. "What are you still doing here? You should be at work."

"Good to see you, too, little monster." Little monster? Who does he think he is?

"Stop calling me that! Why are you still here, anyways? You're usually out the door by now."

"I only work a half day today. Yuki has something he needs my help with, so I'm going in late."

"Oh." I lower my arm, then remember where he's standing. "What do you think you're doing barging into my room?"

"You were making so much noise that I was starting to think you were being abducted." He pauses. "That or there was someone in here with you."

Oh, please say no more. I already know where he's going with this. "Well there's not," I hiss, "so get out."

Touya shrugs and turns to go. "There are scrambled eggs downstairs if you want any," he says over his shoulder at me. The thought of food makes my mouth water. Scrambled eggs is perhaps the only thing Touya can actually make that tastes half decent.

"I do, so don't eat them all. I'll be down in ten."

"Whatever you say, kiddo." I decide to let that one slide.

Touya walks down the hall to go downstairs as I head to the bathroom. After a hasty shower, I head downstairs to find him sitting at the kitchen table with a piece of toast hanging out of his mouth. I plop down opposite him and dish some of the eggs onto my plate. When I look at the clock, it reads quarter to eight.

Truth be told, I haven't given much thought to whether or not I'll go to tutoring today. On one hand I could go, face Syaoran, and get whatever there is coming to me. That, or I could skip again like the coward I am and have that much more to deal with when I see him next. Although the later would not be for my midterm grades.

I sigh, and across from me Touya asks, "Something on your mind?"

The question makes me debate whether or not to tell him. Of course, I know that I can't explain the situation to him without him freaking out. If I openly told my over protective big brother that I used to be in love with with my best friend who is now my tutor and the person whose house I spent the night at last week, he would go an a rampage. Worse than just that, he would probably command that I never see Syaoran again, which, as nice as it may sound, isn't an option. There's no taking the easy way out of this problem.

So, in the end, I decide just to say, "Not much. Midterms are coming up, though, and they've got me pretty stressed."

"Oh." Whenever I bring up something at school, it makes Touya uncomfortable. I assume it's because he dropped out and it's a touchy subject for him. "Alright then." He goes on eating another piece of toast.

I spend the next ten minutes chewing on eggs and a piece of toast. Afterwards, I head upstairs, finish getting ready for school, and make my way back downstairs to where Touya stands idly in the kitchen staring out the window.

"Hey, I'm heading out now," I call, pulling him out of his trance.

He turns around and says, "Alright. I'm going to be home late tonight, so don't stay up."

"Got it. Bye!" I open the door and walk outside, not bothering to put on my roller blades.

Now outside, I lean back against the door and sigh. "Great, what am I supposed to do now?"

"Talk to me if you don't mind."

"Wha-" I slap my hand over my mouth to silence myself. A certain amber eyed tutor stands at the end of the driveway watching me.

Glancing over my shoulder at the house, I imagine the horrors of what would happen if Touya were to walk out and find Syaoran standing in front of our house.

When I turn to Syaoran again, he's pushing himself off the wall and running a hand anxiously through his hair. "I-I think we should probably talk about..." He pauses, so I pipe up.

"About what I said yesterday?" He nods. "Alright, but not here." I walk over to him, and lead the way down the street and away from the house.

"Oh. Um, okay." Wow. He's really nervous right now. Glancing over my shoulder at him, I see he's got his head down and his hands stuffed awkwardly in his pockets. Even his shoulders are hunched. It's quite a sight to be seen.

We're no longer the view of my house when I stop in front of a bench along the sidewalk and gesture for Syaoran to sit down. He does so, and when I don't follow suit, that only seems to make him even more jittery.

"Relax, would you? I'm not going to start yelling at you this time." I can tell he doesn't buy it. "Don't forget that you're the one who started all this."

"Yeah, I know I did, but I never thought that you would tell me something like that you-"

"That I used to be in love with you?" I surprise even myself with how easily it comes out. He just nods and looks away. "Well I wasn't expecting it either." My arms fold themselves across my body. "I want to make one thing perfectly clear, though, Li." He looks up at me as if something I've said has caught him by surprise. "That was years ago. I don't still feel the same way I did back then. My feelings for you don't change anything."

Syaoran clearly disagrees. He quickly objects. "Of course they do! You can't just tell me that you used to be in love with me, and not expect it to change anything."

"There's nothing you can do about it now." It's not as though it would have changed anything then, either. Syaoran never saw me the same way that I saw him. If he had, he wouldn't have left. "You missed you're chance to do anything a long time ago."

There's something in the way his face hardens that makes me hopeful despite knowing it's not for the reason I secretly wish it were for. He didn't feel the same way, right? I have to mentally slap myself. Of course not. Don't let yourself ever think otherwise, Sakura.

"Still..." He sounds desperate.

"Still nothing. You can't turn back time, Li."

I'm not sure exactly what it is about what I've said, but suddenly he stands up and steps close to me. "You're right. I can't turn back time." I step back an lean away. Why is he suddenly so serious? "But I can still change what happens next, so I would like to make a proposal." What does he mean, 'a proposal'? "How about we call a truce?"

I stare blankly at him. "A truce?"

"Yeah," he says. "Don't you see how much easier it would make things?" My head falls to the side. "I'll take that as a no. How can you not see it, though."

"See what?"

"How much of a hassle all this is!"

"All what is?"

Syaoran groans and tilts his head back. "For crying out loud, you're so dense."

"Hey!" Of course he ignores me.

"Just think about it, Sakura." I'm about to protest when he continues. "It would make things easier for everyone. You and Mihara are talking to each other again, right?"

I think back to yesterday. It finally feels like I'm close to her again. Like we could become friends again if we tried. "Yeah, but what does that have to do with us?"

"If we weren't avoiding each other all the time, there'd be nothing separating you from the rest of us."

"Are you referring to lunch? I'm not going to suddenly start eating with everyone again just because you make a peace offering."

"That's fine," Syaoran says quickly. "I don't expect you to." He says 'don't' as if I've already agreed to it. "Don't forget about Daidouji, either."

Tomoyo's face pops up in my mind. "Why?"

Syaoran shakes his head and says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world, "She suffers the most from this whole mess. Haven't you noticed how much effort she puts into being friends with both you and Mihara at the same time?"

I think about it. Sure, Tomoyo goes through a lot to be friends with Chiharu and I, but we both understand and respect that she isn't going to choose sides. It's not as though we pressure her to give one of us more attention than the other... Right?

"Then there's us." I wait for him to elaborate, and sure enough he does. "We still have to put up with each other everyday for tutoring. If we can't deal with this problem once and for all, there's no way that we'll ever be able to pull that off, and we both know that's not an option."

He's got a point. I we can't keep on seeing one another every day without being open about everything that was said.

"We can't dance around the topic anymore." I wince at the thought of having to talk about it again, and he quickly adds, "Not that we have to talk about it all the time, either." This time I nod in approval. We can't avoid it and pretend it didn't happen, but I'm not ready to just start talking about it on a day to day basis as if it's nothing.

"Look," he says, and I meet his gaze. "I'm not asking you to suddenly forgive me for all the crap I put you through over the years, but I am asking you for a fresh start. We put the past behind us and act like the young adults that we are." Then Syaoran takes me by surprise. He offers me his hand. "So, truce?"

I stare at the hand for a while. I can tell he's starting to get uneasy when he shifts his weight from one foot to the other, so I look up at him and say, "Alright, fine." I reach out and take his hand. The contact sends electricity shooting up my arm. "If that's the case, though, then I should tell you that even though I'm willing to try to work this out, I'm never going to forget about what happened."

My heart races when Syaoran leans forward, lets go of my hand, and whispers with his face inches from mine, "I would never ask you to."

Thanks for reading. Happy (one day early) Memorial Day!