Goodness. I did not want to edit this chapter. Seriously, it was dreadful. Even after editing it, I don't think that the flow is that good. Oh well, though. This chapter is basically just meant to foreshadow events of the upcoming chapters.

Important: There won't be an update next weekend. I'm going to be going on vacation next weekend and have no idea if where I'm going will have wifi. Even if it does, I'm going to be trying to relax, so if I don't feel like writing, then I don't want to force it.

Sakura's POV

Two hours. That's how long I've been sitting in the backyard of the Daidouji residence listening to Tomoyo go on and on about her date with Eriol. She keeps on sighing and staring dreamily up at the sky.

I haven't even had a chance to talk to her about Touya's plan for after my graduation because she won't stop long enough for me to bring it up. Although, right now doesn't really seem like the best time. She's so happy and peppy. If I tell her now, I'll just ruin her day. The only problem with waiting is that Tomoyo has been outrageously busy lately. Aside from school and phone calls, this is the first time I've gotten to talk to her in the past few weeks.

"Oh, if only you could've been there to see it. He was so charming."

This has to be the hundredth time she's said that.

"And the way he looked in those blue-jeans," she says, dreamily holding a hand to her cheek and looking off into the distance.

Again, she's already said this. Apparently Eriol wore a very casual outfit to their date yesterday. It's kind of hard for me to paint a mental picture of it after hearing Eriol talk all poetically every day. I can picture him in a suit and tie easy enough, but jeans and a t-shirt is a bit more tricky. According to Tomoyo, the look really worked well on him.

"Um, that's all really interesting and all, but there's actually something I need to talk to you about, Tomoyo."

"Yeah, okay. Oh, but I almost forgot, my mom is taking me to one of her meetings at the company today. It's at five, I think." She turns her wrist and looks down at her watch. "Crap! It's already four! Sorry, Sakura, I gotta go!" She leaps to her feet.

"Now?" Geez, I listened to her for two hours, and now I'm not even going to get to talk to her about the matter at hand?

"Yeah. I'm so sorry. Can whatever it is wait?"

It can, but shouldn't. "I guess," I say slowly.

"Thanks, Sakura. You're the best." She leads me back into the house and we split ways at the staircase as she races up to her room, leaving me to see myself out. With a sigh, I make my way over to the front door.

So much for telling her today.

Syaoran's POV

"And so she spent the entire two hours telling me about her date with Eriol."

"Wow, Eriol already asked her out? It was just a matter of time, but come on, he's only been here for two weeks!"

Sakura shoots me a dark look. "Not the point, Syaoran."

"Right, you were saying?"

She immediately returns to her initial rant. "So, like I said, the entire time I was there she just went on and on about how good he looked in jeans. Like, I don't need to know every single minute detail about how beautifully the shade of his jeans matched his hair," she says dramatically. "Seriously, I don't even think their date lasted as long as it took Tomoyo to describe it."

I give her a perplexed look. Sakura finally glances over at me and then does a double-take. "What?" She demands.

"Why does it feel I'm becoming the guy in a movie that the main character goes to so that she can complain about her female companions to?"

All I get is an eye roll. "I'm going to ignore that. If you were listening, you'd get that I'm telling you this because I still haven't been able to tell Tomoyo about the thing."

"The thing?"

"Yes, the thing. That's what I'm calling it now."

"Nice name," I say sarcastically. "Real creative."

She stops painting for a moment to glare at me. "You know, if you are supposed to be that guy like you said you are, and I'm the main character, then you really need to work on that attitude."

"Why? I thought the guy was supposed to be charming."

Sakura scoffs. "Charming? Give me a break, you're a far cry from being charming."

"That's a matter of opinion."

Sakura shakes her head and goes back to her work. There's a long pause before she finally asks, "So, is this going to become a regular occurrence? The morning visits, that is."

Oh great. Here we go again.

"I mean, wasn't one of the whole motives behind getting me to pass midterms so that we wouldn't have to see each other every morning?"

"You know, I honestly can't tell whether you enjoy spending time with me or absolutely hate it. You've opened up to me, yet it bothers you that I come here in the morning to study."

"You come in here and just sit there reading from that stupid textbook the entire time. It's distracting!"

"Sitting and not saying anything is distracting?"

"Yes."

Wow. Why did I have to fall in love with someone who's logic is so complicated?

"Seriously, do you want me to leave you alone?"

She stops with the brush inches away from the paper, and looks over at me, deep in thought. "No," she begins slowly. "It's just a little... You know..."

"No, I don't know. I can honestly say that I have absolutely no idea."

She groans. "Never mind."

Sakura places the pallet down, stands up and stretches. "I need to go grab some paper towels from the bathroom. I'll be right back." That's all she says before walking out of the room.

Sakura's POV

"Hm." I sigh as I close the front door behind me.

It's been a long day. At lunch when Tomoyo and Eriol mentioned that they went on a date, the girls all turned to me for answers since apparently I'm the number one person to go to when it comes to information on Tomoyo's personal life. Kind of disturbing.

Then, Tomoyo stopped by the cafe, but left early to hang out with Eriol. Go figure.

Finally, just to top it all off, Chiharu dragged me out of work early to go to karaoke with Rika and Naoko. Apparently Rika and Naoko joined forces to brighten up our days. They claimed that we work too hard and our lives are too 'stressful'. For a while they were planning to get Tomoyo, too, but after hearing about her outing with Eriol, they quickly gave up the idea. Unfortunately, it was deemed that one day in the all-too-near future that we would all set aside a day to get together and sing karaoke together. And by everyone, they mean everyone. The three guys included. However, I'm fairly certain that Syaoran won't be too thrilled at the idea.

I contemplate wether or not I'll be able to escape from them as I wander down the hall to the stairs. My leg raises, and then I freeze, my foot on the first step, about to head up.

Something's not right.

My eyes scan my surroundings. I haven't seen any signs that someone broke in, yet for a second I felt like I was being watched. I didn't even notice it at first, but now I have this strange feeling that there were eyes on me just a moment ago. Could it be that I simply imagine it?

Brow creased, I bring my foot back down and slowly return the way I came. Reaching the living room, I pause and lean into the room, keeping a firm grip on the doorframe. Everything is normal.

Letting out a relieved sigh, I shake my head and rub my arms to make the hairs on my arms lay flat again. Yeah, I must have just imagined it.

Much to my dismay, just as I'm starting to relax, I feel it again. This time it's the hairs on the back of my neck rise, and my entire body goes rigid.

Nope, defiantly didn't imagine that.

After last night, I may be acting a little paranoid. And by a little paranoid, I mean that when Syaoran opened the art room door a bit louder than usual, I might have screamed a little. That earned me a look. Then when he slapped closed that stupid textbook of his, I jerked and almost left a long blue streak on the painting I was working on.

When Syaoran asked what was wrong, I shrugged him off, but from the way he's been eyeing me today, I can tell that he's not convinced. What am I supposed to tell him, though?

'Hey, Syaoran, I'm fairly certain that there was someone in my house watching me yesterday. Oh, but all of the doors and windows were still locked, and everything in the house was just the same as it was when I left in the morning.'

I'm fairly certain that would just make me sound schizophrenic.

So, in short, I'm just going to keep the events of last night to myself. Unless, of course, it becomes a regular occurrence. Then I'll start to worry about whether or not I should tell someone.

Syaoran's POV

"So, Eriol, I hear that you and Daidouji went on a date this weekend," Takashi says with a wide grin on his face. We're sitting up on the roof again, eating lunch. The girls are over by the door and us three guys are on the opposite side of the roof.

"Everybody heard, Takashi. They let it slip the other day during lunch."

"Yes, I know, but I was in the restroom relieving myself when that happened. By the time I got back, I'd missed all of the details."

I roll my eyes. Of course Takashi wants to know the details. He has no sense of boundaries. That and all he ever seems to do is gossip. It's kind of creepy.

"Well," Eriol begins.

Oh great, he's actually going to tell him about it. I really don't want to hear this. Sakura already told me about how Daidouji was obsessing over Eriol's jeans, which was already way too much information. I do not want to be sitting here while Eriol gives Yamazaki the rundown of how their date went. At least I can count on Eriol not to drag it out for too long.

"I took her to a ramen shop and then we talked for a while. If I might be so bold, I'd say that it went rather well."

Wow, that was even shorter than I was expecting. A mere two sentences. Impressive.

Takashi frowns a little. "That's it? Did you at least kiss her goodnight?"

Like I said, Takashi doesn't know the meaning of boundaries.

"I'm quite fond of Tomoyo and would rather not do anything to make her feel pressured or uncomfortable."

"So that's a no."

I roll my eyes again. "Geez, Takashi, leave the poor man alone. Hiiragizawa doesn't have to tell us about how his date went. Besides, he's only known Daidouji for two weeks."

"Compared to you who's know Sakura for ten years, but still hasn't done anything? From what I can tell, it's best to nip it in the bud."

My eyes narrow. "My relationship with Sakura is totally irrelevant. Not to mention a terrible comparison considering seven of those years she wouldn't even speak to me." Well, she spoke to me, it's just that she always looked about ready to rip my throat out.

"Yeah, but you were in love with her the entire time."

I'm about to retaliate when I'm interrupted.

"Hey! You three, come over here!" From the other end of the roof, Chiharu waves her hand, motioning us over to her. "I've got news," she says excitedly.

We get up and relocate next to where the girls sit. I walk up behind Sakura and sit cross-legged next to her. She watches me, but when I glance over at her, she looks away.

"Have you guys heard? Apparently we're taking a school trip to some beach."

"What?" Practically every one looks surprised. This is news to me, as well.

"Yeah. The teachers have been talking about it. From what I hear, it's supposed to be sometime right after New Years."

"Huh? But it'll be winter then!"

Agreed. I hate winter.

"I know, it's insane. You would think they'd be concerned about our health."

"Wait," Sakura abruptly intervenes. "How do you know that we're actually going? Couldn't this just be some rumor?"

Chiharu hesitates, but Naoko quickly speaks up. "It's true. The student council has been helping out the teachers with working out all the details."

"Really?" Daidouji grins excitedly.

"Yeah. All of the seniors in the council have been going crazy."

"Just the third years?"

"You didn't hear? It's a trip for our class only. They say it's because of how well we did on our midterms."

"They're taking us to the beach because we did well on midterms?"

"I know. It's strange. Still pretty exciting, though." Naoko glances at the rooftop door and then leans in closer to the circle. "Just between us, I don't think it has anything to do with midterms." Chiharu and Rika ask her why, and she smiles slyly. "I think it's just because they like us."

There are a few snickers and agreements. I just lean back and think to myself. The beach, huh? Sounds interesting.

Naoko's POV

"That's it! I can't take it anymore, you're coming with me." I look up in time to see Sakura angrily grab hold of Li and pull him towards me. "Naoko, will you please help this annoying jerk find an actual book to read?"

Strange request, but I don't see why not. "Sure." This should be interesting. I stand up and follow Sakura as she heads to the library, pulling an irritated looking Li along with her.

As we walk, Sakura explains the situation. "I'm sorry about this, Naoko, but Syaoran has been reading from this stupid textbook for over a week now, and it's driving me insane. He needs an actual book."

"Don't I have a say in this?" Li demands.

"No," Sakura states bossily. "If I'm going to share the art room with you every morning, then you're at least going to get an actual book to read. Oh, and none of that nonfiction crap."

Li rolls his eyes. "This is ridiculous."

"You'll be thanking me later on," she states confidently and pulls open the library door.

Amused, I watch the two bicker back and forth as Sakura forces Li towards the bookshelves. I have to hold back a laugh. How am I only just now noticing this? These two are like an old married couple.

"Now, work your magic, Naoko," Sakura says grinning happily.

I can't help but smile back then turn my gaze to the man standing begrudgingly beside her. "Alright, Li-kun, is there anything you have in mind? A genre maybe?"

All I get in return is a shrug.

"In that case, give me a general idea of what you like. Fantasy or science fiction, for example."

Li cringes, then looks over at Sakura as if expecting her to know the answer. She just looks back up at him with narrowed eyes. "Well, what are you looking at me for? How the heck should I know?"

It's actually kind of funny how uncomfortable he looks. "I don't know. Both, I guess. I don't really have a favorite."

"Wow, you're really trying to make this difficult for me, aren't you? In that case, do you like romances?"

Pft! Li glares down at Sakura while she covers her mouth in an attempt to muffle her snickers. She catches my look and quickly explains, "Sorry, it's just that I can't picture Syaoran reading something with romance."

"How come?" I ask curiously.

"Well," she glances up at the amber-eyed boy, "he's just not exactly the 'romantic' type."

Okay, this is getting ridiculous. I look between the two for a moment before finally asking, "Are you two secretly dating or something?"

"What?" They both shout. Way too loud for a library.

"No!" Sakura waves her hands out in front of her. "No, no, no! Absolutely not! Why would you even think that?"

So many reasons, and I've only just now noticed how these two act around each other. Either I'm losing my touch, or I've been way too wrapped up in watching Tomoyo and Eriol.

"You give off that vibe."

"Well, no, we aren't. Strictly friends. I've never even had a boyfriend."

Li looks rather pleased by the statement. However, when Sakura notices the satisfied look on his face, she quickly snaps. "Oh, don't look so smug. Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

Well, this conversation has sure taken an interesting turn.

Li hesitates. "I've been on dates." Key word dates. Meaning he's been gone out with girls before, but never had a girlfriend. I wonder why.

Sakura looks hurt for a moment, but then quickly composes herself. "Not the same thing."

Li shrugs.

As I watch the two interact, a question forms within me. Unable to help myself, I say, "If you don't mind me asking, I'm a little confused as to what your relationship is. I thought that you two had been friends since elementary school."

Being new to the friend circle, I still don't know all of the details of their relationship. Before I met Li, Sakura would speak of him as her evil tutor who was out to get her. Then I found out that they'd know each other since elementary school. Needless to say, I'm still pretty confused about the dynamics of their relationship.

Sakura shifts her weight from foot to foot. Li looks equally as uncomfortable. "It's complicated," Sakura says slowly. "To summarize, I used to-" She hesitates, glancing over at Li before sighing and telling me, "I used to have feelings for him."

Oh my gosh! What? Okay, clearly I'm losing my touch. How have I not noticed this before? Looking at them now, I can see it clear as day. From the way that Li's face is filled with regret, I get the feeling that Sakura wan't the only one with feelings.

"But you know guys," Sakura quickly says in a lighter tone. "They're not exactly the brightest at times." She casts a glare in Li's direction. That just makes the regret even more noticeable. Well, to me, but not Sakura, apparently. He's even cringing a bit. "To put it mildly, he did something that led to me no longer speaking to him. After that, our friendship basically ended." Before I can ask, she adds, "Up until a few weeks ago, that is. But as for my feelings for him, they're totally gone."

And clearly that's a lie. Li doesn't seem to know that, though. It's like she just stabbed a knife through him and then pulled it right back out. Sakura is obviously trying to get under his skin, but I don't think she quite realizes the effect it's having on the poor guy. Seriously, I feel bad for him.

"Anyways, I more or less been ignoring him for about seven years before that happened. There's a little more to it, but that basically sums up what you need to know."

"I'd really appreciate if you didn't tell people that story while I'm standing right next to you. Now you're just trying to rub it in my face."

"Yes, that is exactly what I'm doing. How'd you know?" Has Sakura always been this sarcastic?

"Wait. Did you know she had feelings for you?" I ask Li.

Sakura answers for him. "I told him a few weeks ago." She doesn't let anyone say anything as she turns to Li and says, "Now, would you do us a favor and just pick a genre already?"

Li's eyes run along the row of books. Took long enough, too. "Action and adventure... Maybe?"

Smiling, I walk over to the shelf that he and Sakura are standing in front of. "Well, that's a good enough place to start."

"Finally," Sakura mumbles, stepping around Li and looking over the books. "It's too bad they don't separate books by genre."

"Don't the computers have a catalog of all the books in the library?"

"Yeah, but the computers are a hassle to use," I tell him. "Plus, you don't know exactly what you're looking for."

Sakura grumbles and pulls a book from the shelf. "This is going to take longer than I expected, isn't it?" She flips the cover open and skims over the little blurb before shoving the book back onto the shelf.

"Should've just left me and my textbook alone," Li comments, pulling books a fraction of the way out, glancing at the cover, then sliding them back into place.

"I'm actually finding this entertaining."

Sakura leans forward, looking around Li and giving me an odd look. "Why?"

"You two are are fun to listen to." Sakura just makes a face, telling me she still doesn't get it. "The way that you two talk to each other is amusing. Even when you're bickering."

Sakura and Li exchange looks. "Is that supposed to be a good thing?" She asks him. He shrugs.

"It is," I assure her. "Even though it seems like it's all you two do."

Li's attention shifts from the books to Sakura. "Yeah, why is that?"

Looking annoyed, she shoves a book at him. "You tell me. And while you're at it, see if this sounds interesting."

Li looks down at the cover and cringes. "Did you even look at this?"

Looking over to see what the big deal is, I break out into laughter. Sakura immediately looks up and over to the book. Her gasp just makes me laugh even harder.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" She grabs the book out of his hands. "This is that book!"

"You've read it?" Li teases.

"No! When I first started coming here during lunch, I was looking for a book and accidentally picked it up. I specifically remember thinking it shouldn't' be in a high school library."

"I can see why."

"It was over there, though!" She points off to somewhere else in the library.

"Sure it was," Li says, taking the book back and placing it on the shelf for her.

"It was! Naoko, stop laughing!"

"I-I'm sorry, Sakura." I try to suppress my laughter. "I-it's just the-the look on your face!" I burst out laughing again.

Sakura groans and lets her head fall forward until the top hits one of the shelves. "Fine, I give up. You were right, Syaoran. I should have just left you to suffer with your textbook."

"I'm glad you see things from my point of view, but we're here now, so let's just get this over and done with." He turns to me. "Yanagisawa, do you have any suggestions? Something you've read in the past, maybe?"

"Hm." I tap my chin thoughtfully. "Well, there might be one... Wait here, I'll be right back!" I race off down the isle. This is way more fun than reading all throughout lunch.

Sakura's POV

Why does it seem like every day that I've come home this past week, I've been worn out? Book hunting for Syaoran turned out to be a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. And Naoko even asked if we were secretly dating! That was probably one of the most embarrassing things anyone has ever asked me. Mainly because Syaoran was standing right next to me at the time.

As I open the front door, I make sure to lock it behind me. I've been taking extra care when it comes to locking doors ever since I got home and felt like I was being watched. I pull of my shoes and head down the hall as quietly as I can manage. I only make it to the living room.

Creak! I nearly jump out of my skin at the sound of a door being open behind me. The petrified shriek dies in my throat the moment I turn around. My eyes land on the two doors behind me down the short hallway. One of them is slowly pulled open. Everything seems to slow except for my racing heart. My mind screams for me to run, but my legs stay rooted in place.

There really was someone watching me. I hadn't imagined it like I'd hoped I had.

Inch by inch, the door opens and I can begin to make out the person on the other side. Tall, slim and pale. Then, less than a second later, I see his face, and my heart nearly stops in disbelief.

Very timidly, I take a step forward. Is this real?

Brown hair with a hint of red and sad but alert chocolate eyes framed by wire glasses. So familiar, yet, at the same time, so strangely foreign.

"Dad?"

You all have no idea how much I just want to entitle this chapter foreshadowing. That's basically what almost all of it is. Because, yes, I am finally going to be doing something with Sakura's father. He's a huge part of the story. Very important in developing characters. He's got his own little miniature plot... Kinda. Plus, I need him if I'm ever going to do anything with Touya.

Alright, so as far as when the next update will be, I doubt it'll be on the ninth or tenth (of August) since I'll have just gotten back. It'll probably be closer to Wednesday, which is the thirteenth. I'll be sure to update my profile before I go and when I get back so that you guys have a general idea of when it'll be.

Sorry I had to leave you guys with a cliffhanger. It's not that bad, though, right? I don't really think it is, but what would I know? I'm the one writing it. Not exactly like I don't know what happens next.

Anyways, hope this chapter wan't too disappointing. I'll see you all in two weeks!