- Disclaimer -

CCS belongs to CLAMP. The title of this story is not related to anything outside of this story.

- Summary -

"You look better with your glasses on, Sakura." It was a complete lie. All he wanted was for him to be the only one to see her true self, and for her to look at him the way he looks at her. All she wanted was to be noticed by him. When the circumstances change, will their feelings and relationship also change?

Only Look At Me

Chapter I: Lie

They sat side by side, leaning against a large oak tree. It was their spot; the place they met every lunch break.

He leaned towards her.

"You look better with your glasses on, Sakura."

The moment those words left his lips, he regretted them. But before he could say anything else, the bell rang, signaling the end of their lunch break.

"O-okay." With a nervous expression spread across her face, she packed up her lunch box.

Regretful with what he just said, he quickly stood up, mumbled, "I'll see you after school," and strode back towards their school.

He barely heard her timidly reply, "See you later, Syaoran."

All the way back to school and all through his class, he couldn't help but feel regret about what he had said to her and her reaction to it. He knew what he had said was a complete lie; heck, anyone who saw without those concealing glasses would call him a big fat liar. He kept trying to settle this feeling of uneasiness in his chest by telling himself that 'it was for the best'.

Casting a glance at her from the corner of his eyes, he couldn't believe how quickly time has passed since he first met her when he saved her from those bullies back in third grade.

"Haha! Four-eyes! Four-eyes!" chanted three little boys as they danced around her, mimicking the shape of glasses with their hands.

"Stop it!" cried little Sakura as she tried to escape from their circle. The leader of the three then yanked her glasses from her face and waved them above her reach.

"Give them back!" she shouted, on the verge of tears as she tried to reach for them. He roughly pushed her aside and she fell on her bottom. Tears flooded down her cheeks.

The bully continued to taunt, "What are you gonna do? Cry for your mommy?"

"HEY!"

The bullies turned around to see the new kid.

"Give her glasses back!" demanded little Syaoran.

Having heard rumours that the new kid was somewhat skilled in martial arts and that he had wrestled with a bear back in China, they all opted to drop Sakura's glasses and run in the opposite direction.

Picking up her glasses and cleaning the dirt off of them with the hem of his shirt, he handed them back to Sakura. Sniffling, she wiped away the remainder of her tears and looked up at her saviour.

"Th-thanks," she whispered as she took her glasses from his hands and slipped them on.

He helped her back up, and asked if he could play with her. From that day on, they were the closest of friends.

It has been almost ten years since they became friends. Right, just friends. Somewhere along the way of their friendship, he had started wanting to be more than just a good friend to her.

"Syaoran?" her voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hmm?" He turned his head towards her.

"You've been staring off into space for a while now. Is there anything bothering you?" Her emerald-green eyes looked at him inquisitively.

He shook his head.

A breeze drifted by, pulling with it some leaves off of the tree they were currently sitting beneath.

"Oh!" she squeaked in surprise. A leaf had landed right between the frames of her glasses and side-swept bangs. As she took off her glasses and gently brushed the leaf away, he grasped her hand before she could put her glasses on again.

He stared at her; the words he had wanted to say disappearing from his mind and his mouth going dry. When did she become so beautiful? Her eyes remained the same—large, full of emotion—while the rest of her grew. She had let her hair grow long, curling at the ends below her chest. Her face had lost all traces of baby fat to show defined, yet soft, facial features, and not a single blemish marred her pale skin. All this she hid behind low pigtails and those thick-rimmed glasses she always wore. It was also a good thing that the required school uniform she wore was one size too big…

Though it wasn't her hidden outward beauty that had drawn him to her in the first place, it definitely played a part in making him realize how perfectly it matched her inward beauty. She was raised in a very traditional family. She was someone who was loyal to those she cared for, respectful to those around her, and hardly raised her voice at anyone. He wondered at times what her limits were, but then again, he never let anyone test it out because he would send them running for the hills if they ever tried.

She stared back at him and, in her soft voice, asked, "What's wrong?"

Everything—how I don't have the courage to tell you my feelings and how you can't seem to sense my feelings for you—is wrong.

When he heard a group of noisy girls approaching from the side, he let go of her hand and took the glasses from her. Opening up the frames, he put them on for her, concealing her large green eyes and drawing attention away from her delicate nose, her full, soft pink lips. He adjusted the frames and leaned back slightly, silently appreciating his finished task. But I'm glad you have these…

Dragging his line of sight back to her eyes, he uttered these selfish words:

"You look better with your glasses on, Sakura."

…Because I don't want anyone else to see how much more beautiful you are without them.

To be continued…

- Author's Note (12.10.2010) -

Enjoyed it? I feel a bit embarrassed to be posting this story online. The idea popped into my head recently, and as I have had nothing to do, I decided to create a story out of it. Anyway, I would really like some feedback on this chapter, and hope to improve on whatever you think I should improve or to continue doing whatever it is that I'm doing.

{ Gloomy Bear }