the homecoming bet//a cardcaptor sakura fanfic

ᴅᴇᴀʀ ᴅɪᴀʀʏ

Monday, September 1st

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Syaoran returned from his first day back at school refreshed rather than tired. He hadn't expected lessons to start so quickly, or that he himself was expected to turn in his summer assignments. Those would be some permanent stains on his record, stains that could only be mended by the scholarship he deserved.

Today was Syaoran's lucky day, as he had found a tin box of cookies in the pantry to eat after school. They were small with little chocolate chips dotted on them, his favorite especially with a glass of milk. Pulling out a chair for himself, he brought his attention to the sparkly notebook on the floor. It must have been what he had heard falling down as he rushed out the door that morning.

He shouldn't have done it, but he neglected to stop himself from opening the notebook to read the contents and hopefully get a good kick from its passages.

If found, please return to Mei! (*≧∀≦*)

This had to be good. Wetting his finger slightly, Syaoran flipped to the most recent passage of the diary, biting his lips hard in anticipation. 

Sunday, August 30th

Dear Diary,

      Syaoran let me stay over for the night! Imagine that, plain little Mei getting a night with him! Well, only that I'm not plain, nor am I little. My goodness, I'd love to just cuddle with him and smell his hair for hours on end. Feeling his toned, muscular chest and his strawberry shampoo, oh, my, I'm drooling!
      Well, there is a chance he might never return my feelings. We've simply known each other too long. He probably sees me as a sister or something. I disagree, though. If two people have known each other since they were diapers, they should be able to work as a couple. There's no valid reason that they wouldn't.
      There's just one thing in my way that's stopping me from making him mine, not that she's really a threat; Sakura Kinomoto. She might not talk to Syaoran much, but I see the way he looks at her jump, and I see how she watches him play. They've got eyes for each other, but I'm determined to stop it from happening at whatever cost. I've simply known him too long and held such old feelings that I can't allow it.
             It would hurt my heart too much to let them be.

                  - 7:30 PM

Somehow, Syaoran wasn't surprised by her less-than-poetic thirst for him, but the true shock was that Sakura Kinomoto's starry eyes and adorable demeanor wanted him of all people. Sure, his touchdowns were nothing to hide away, but at the root of his being, he was a simple boy with simple desires. Get a football scholarship, apply for a national team, and have it made. His mind worked linearly like that, as a point A to point B type of guy.

Sakura's complexity always mesmerized him, and Syaoran took great notice of her amazing management capabilities and how far they would get her. Her eyes shone in a liquid shade of chartreuse, and her lightly tanned skin stood silkily in his canvas of a mind. "Syaoran, what the hell are you doing with my diary?"

"Eh?"

"That's my diary!" Meiling lunged at him, wrestling for it back. A grim look overtook her face as she shook him sufficiently to send the notebook flying into the air and tumbling onto the floor.

"When did you get here?"

"I came back for the diary, the one you were so rudely snooping through!" 

"Oh. Sorry." Syaoran's eyes were avoided by Meiling as she packed it in her book bag. Frustration rippled behind her expression, her face a veneer disguising a confusing set of feelings. 

"I can forgive you, you know, as long as you don't go around spilling." 

"I didn't read past the first page where you talked about your day," Syaoran lied, backing away from her feebly. He subtly hoped his limited acting skills would be adequate.

"Oh," Meiling appeared relieved in a heartbeat, her body in a state of tranquility. "Just don't scare me like that, okay?" Guilt chipped away at Syaoran's dignity, hidden under his poised demeanor.

"I won't, I promise." Syaoran patted her on the back, leaving the room swiftly to see if he could get at least something done if not his homework. Sakura Kinomoto had a crush on him.

Maybe he could like her, too.

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Sakura lay on her bed, her thoughts remaining furtive and wary. She had considered calling Tomoyo, but that wouldn't have worked with her garment-making schedule. The stupidity of her, to make such a bet!

Kero arose from his nap moments later to come and cuddle with her, his wet nose and perky ears providing a sense of comfort to her. He did smell of dog and kibble, but that didn't stop her from nuzzling her face into his tummy. 

Sakura cast a glance about her room and resolved to write out her plan in her favorite pink notebook. Perhaps she could try and meet him after football practice; That could work well to steal a conversation.

Syaoran's vocalness about his less-than-satisfactory grades could be a catalyst for a visit to his home. Sakura was an A-student, she took great pride in that, but she hadn't had any experience in tutoring.

She was quite popular; The worst would be that he would say no to a homecoming dance proposal early in the month. Locking him off-limits would prove beneficial to her, and detrimental to her counterpart. Sakura opened her bag to begin her homework, after all, she did have much free time on her hands to do it. Slyly, a small envelope had made its way into her water bottle sleeve.

You're gonna have to try real hard, Kinomoto. 

Meiling's endeavor had to have been planned. Sakura was trapped with no way out, of course, unless she would forfeit.

No. She stamped the thought out of her mind. She would do whatever it took to get to Syaoran Li's heart.