24

Li's sitting at one of the dining room chairs, as his football teammates are sitting in the rest of the chairs, and they all chat lively while playing jenga.

Li looks at me, smiles at me as he says hi, and tells me to get close to him.

I do as he says, but at soon as I get next to him I notice there are no free seats, and it seems none of the guys are planning to move, since it seems they all take jenga matches very seriously.

So, I have no other option.

Knowing Tomoyo's at the other end of this open space layer (still sitting in the sofa with her friends), and she's eyeing every move we make, I hold my cup filled with cherry coke, and sit in my fake boyfriend's lap.

Li looks at me, visibly surprised, but he soon composes himself, and hurries to hold me by my waist, as he makes sure I'm sitting comfortably and there's no risk for me to fall. Once he's sure I'm not going anywere, he even kisses my cheek.

I smile at him, a dumb smile, and pretending I'm sipping cherry coke from my cup, I look towards the sofa, where I can see Tomoyo's looking at us, not even blinking. She seems mad.

Happy with this result, I can't help but kiss him back, this time on the lips, and he's so shocked that the jenga piece he was going to place on top of the pile ends up knocking everything down. Everybody around us proceeds to laugh happily.

I eye her again, and can see how Daidouji gets up from the sofa, and walks away with her friends following her.

I call this success.

Li's gonna drive me home, and since he's the designated driver, he hasn't drink not even a sip of alcohol. However, after the jenga match, my fake boyfriend says he's very thirsty, and after telling Yamazaki to keep an eye on me, he heads towards the kitchen to get himself a cup of soda.

Yamazaki ends up having a conversation with Terada about this year's football season, so I limit to sip from my red cup, sitting in the chair that Li offered me, when I see Yukito walking towards me. Since the jenga match is over and now there are lots of empty seats, Yukito easily grabs one and sits beside me.

"Hi, Sakura-chan." He says in his sweet voice.

I love his voice. It's so soft it feels like a warm hug… But this time, I also feel a little bit of tension. And I brace for the worst.

"I don't want to scare you." He says. "But Li and Daidouji are both in the kitchen right now, and it seems they're having a fight."

I look at him, visibly confused. That's good, right? It means our plan did work. Tomoyo's jealous… Li's probably defending me, and as soon as he come back, he'll congratulate me for the job well done…

But Yukito's worried expression tells me his train of thought is not as positive as mine. All this boy stuff is so new to me, so I end up asking:

"Why are they fighting?"

"I didn't get close enough to have a good listen." He replies, as he drinks from his red cup, and leans closer to my ear. "But fighting is never a good sign, Sakura-chan. Fighting means they still care, they still have feelings."

Then, he pats me on the head, as if I was a five-year-old well behaved kiddo, and stands up.

"Be careful, Sakura-chan."

"Thanks." I reply, not sure I get what he's talking about. Maybe Yukito thinks Li will break my heart?

It's at that time that Li shows up. He seems mad.

"Ready to leave?"

But he doesn't wait for me to reply, and just grabs me by my wrist. He slightly pulls, making me stand up, so I place my red cup on the table, and follow him towards the front door.

Ah, Yukito~~

Ribo~