Chapter 1

It's a bitterly cold Thursday afternoon and the rain is coming down so quickly that my windscreen wipers are struggling to keep up. I squint through the waterfall running down the glass just to make sure I'm still heading the right way.

I'd give anything to be back in my apartment right now, with a hot cup of tea and a good book. But here I am, far away from home on a motorway which seems absolutely endless.

It's Itachi's fault I'm in this situation. My brother and I are both co-owners of a large chain of high-end Japanese restaurants. Itachi deals with the restaurants in the south of the country while I am in charge of the ones in the north. Unfortunately, Itachi made sure head office was easily accessible to him, leaving me to make the arduously long journeys down there whenever business meeting need attending. I tried to convince Itachi to just set up a video call but he simply lectured me about being one hundred and ten percent professional when dealing with clients and shareholders and then promptly hung up, leaving me no other choice but to attend the meeting in person.

I could make this so much easier on myself if I simply caught a flight down south but in all honestly, planes and I don't get on very well. So I drive.

Itachi often refers to me as The Grump and I guess I can't really deny that grumpy is definitely how I feel right now. It took me several hours to reach head office on Tuesday morning but it was a much nicer day then. Now, however, the incessant rain has put me in quite a bad mood and I feel as dull and dreary as the grey sky looks.

As I drive my eyes stray towards the left side of the road where I can see a person in the distance holding out their arm. I can't see the raised thumb but it's easy to conclude that it's a hitchhiker. Why else would someone be standing at the side of the road in this weather? Not by choice, certainly. As I drive closer towards the figure the sky suddenly flashes and a rumble of thunder erupts from above the clouds. My eyes lock back onto the hitchhiker (who from this distance I can now tell is male) to see him crouched down on the ground covering his face with his hands. I feel a twinge of familiarity coil in my stomach.

'He did that too, whenever there was a storm' I think to myself and I don't even know I've done it until I realise I have pulled up next to the hitchhiker. I roll the window down slightly as he approaches my car and looks at me in what I assume is hope. The lower half of his face is obscured by a thick black scarf and the rest of his features are in shadow thanks to the hood of his jacket being pulled far over his head. He could be anyone. He could be a murderer or a theif who is just using this hitchhiker scenario to claim a victim. But, for some reason, I know this guy isn't a threat and so I lean closer to the partially opened window and yell out "Get in!".

Despite the ferocious loudness of the rain he must have heard me as he's approaching the passenger door. He opens it swiftly and climbs in and I hear a faint "Thank you so much" as he shuts the door. It's at this moment in time that I realise I really haven't thought this through. I don't know what to say to the guy. I mean, what do you say to a complete stranger who has just gotten into your car? I ponder over this for a few seconds before I conclude that asking where he wants to go would probably be a good place to start. I turn towards the hitchhiker just in time to see the soaking wet jacket and scarf fly past my face and hit the back seats with what can only be described as a heavy slopping sound. What on earth does this guy think he's doing? My car!

"What the hell?! Do you have any idea how rude that is?! You can't just-" I turn to face the hitchhiker again and the rest of my words feel heavy on my tongue and proceed to die in my throat. I take in the wild blonde hair, the bright blue eyes and the whisker-like scars marring the tanned cheeks and it's unmistakable.

"...Sasuke?"

It's him. It's him and he's in my car and it's like someone has punched me in the gut with how laboured my breathing feels.

It's really him.

Naruto Uzumaki.

My ex-boyfriend.

A/N: Hello! Bloom here! I really hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this story! To be honest, I wish I could have made it a little longer but alas, my brain couldn't think of anything else to write at two in the morning! So I'll work on making the next chapter a little longer! But for now, if anyone would be willing to give this chapter a quick review then I'd be so grateful! My writing wil definitely improve if I'm told what I need to work on! Until next time!

~ Bloom