Butter Pecan (SasuNaru)

Bonus 3: Cannoli

"Don't forget to smile, Sasuke!" Lee sings.

"Yeah. I got it. Thanks, you guys. You've made this entire process less stressful for me. I'm feeling a bit better."

"That's what friends are for." Sakura says, "Call us later when you have time, okay? I wanna know how everything went down."

"Will do." I take a deep breath, "Bye. Wish me luck."

"Byeeeee!" Lee screeches back and ends the call. I glance down at my phone that is perched on a phone holder on the car dashboard, watching the screen darken after the call ends.

I swallow at the sudden silence in the car.

Fuck. I'm all on my own now... it should be fine. I got this.

I take a left turn and enter an area of townhouses. Each complex is conjoined with the other, a plethora of windows scattering the off-white siding. There's a free space available in front of one of the homes for parking and I drive into the slot.

Naruto told me that he moved out of Itachi's place and into a townhouse by himself. He's been here for about two months. I wonder how it's like living on his own like that...

I last spoke to him yesterday. He thinks I'm coming over tomorrow but I decided to come early. I just can't contain myself. I'm nervously excited if that makes sense. I'm giddy to see him after all this time, but I'm nervous about how everything will play out.

I turn the car off and my hands slide off the foam steering wheel. My palms are sweaty and the steering wheel is left with the clammy indents of my grip. I lower the overhead mirror and peer at my reflection, fixing my hair with my fingers.

I look different than before. I'm taller and my features are more defined. I also started to work out more often. Naruto last saw me when I was eighteen, and now I'm twenty-three. The change shouldn't be that noticeable, right?

Gee, I wonder how he looks now.

A blush coats my face.

Probably super hot.

I close the overhead mirror and return it to the top of the car. As I'm doing that, my sight is pulled to the windshield and the pretty world beyond it.

The city is gorgeous, even in the morning.

Lights galore paint the streets and beautifully structured buildings are neatly stacked next to each other down the never-ending street. Some of those buildings loom so greatly that they look like they'll topple over on me from down here.

To think that, soon, I'll be going to one of those buildings daily to work. I'll have to wear business outfits every day, which means I'll somehow have to learn how to fix a tie to my chest.

Besides the buildings and littered streets of people, I notice something else that makes me do a double-take. A large electronic billboard plastered on the front of one of those shiny windowed buildings. They are usually used for advertising and news. Among the many of them hung up around the city, this one, in particular, has captured my attention.

I squint and lean forward in my seat, ducking my head to get a better view of that billboard. My heart picks up and the tremor gallops in my ear frantically. I swallow a couple of times and squint even harder, refusing to believe what my eyes are seeing right now.