Disclaimer: All things Naruto goes to the one and only Masashi Kishimoto
Chapter 11
As the day passed on, the bright sky transitioned into a story. One side glowing a pink and orange as the sun set, while the other side dimmed to a dark blue waiting on the moon to arrive with the stars. The couple of best buds walked along the pier that allowed them to gaze out into the water. One's face was covered in multiple shades of a dark brown and yellow that came together to resemble a cheetah. The other had a crown of twisted balloons atop her head that impressively familiarized with a green and red dragon. Naruto carried a life-sized stuffed elephant in his arms that Sakura won for him and wore a satisfied smile on his face.
They rode every ride on the island. Sakura felt like an idiot standing next to an even bigger idiot when they stood in the kiddie ride lines. Naruto, of course, grinned until his face became stuck when it was their turn to get measured on the "are you tall enough?" panel. Granted, they had to get their own cars or seats because of their adult sizes. And no matter how flat the incline or slow the turnaround, Naruto yelled louder than the kids at the excitement.
The last of any free food tickets they had won were used for refreshments to moisten their dry throats. All the screaming of the day had taken a toll on both of their diaphragms and now they sounded like they smoked a pack a day. It was worth it though. Even though the two were from the city, they didn't spend a lot of nice days riding rollercoasters. They stopped to rest at a bench and Sakura pulled out her phone for a picture.
"We look so adorable," she sighed with a smile and posted it on her PhotoTalk app. "What are you going to call it?" Sakura gestured towards Naruto's prize.
Naruto crossed his leg connecting his ankle with his thigh and faced the plush. He considered the black glossy eyes and tried to think of a bunch of generic names but no good ones came to mind. The cotton was gray, covered in multicolored dots, and had a white belly. "How about Specks?" the blond suggested. Sakura shrugged and nodded her head in agreement.
"How come you didn't come to college first?" Sakura asked, out of the blue even though she already knew the answer.
"Hm?" Naruto turned to her.
"I know you want to write and everything but it would've been really fun for you. You could major in Creative Writing and take it from there," she went on. "Where do you plan on going?"
Naruto tapped his chin. "Well, I've been working on this novel since March and I'm barely halfway through it. Taking classes now would just be a distraction and I already have writer's block. Trying to end senior year with above average grades set me back, too. I want to get it done so Pervy Gramps can set me up with this literary agent. The guy's been waiting for me, ya know."
Sakura nodded her head.
"I was looking at Columbia and New York University. That's where Perv spent his undergrad and graduate," Naruto laid the plush across his lap.
"You are not staying in-state, Naruto," Sakura shook her head. "Go out and explore. Get out of your comfort zone. We've been in the city our whole lives and don't get me wrong, I love where I'm from, but there's nothing wrong with a little change."
"I could go to Notre Dame," Naruto smugly grinned.
"Wait a minute, I didn't say all that…" Sakura nervously chuckled.
"Calm down, I'm only kidding," Naruto chided. "Are there cute college girls?"
"Only a lot that you would have zero success with," Sakura snickered.
"Here we go," Naruto lifted his hand and gestured to the intangible conversation. "You're just peanut butter and jealous because I have the sex appeal of a God.
"Yeah ok," Sakura smiled as her eyes rolled in their sockets. "Hey, I have a question."
"I may have an answer."
Sakura took a small pause before asking, "What girl were you talking about before and what's going on with that? The one that's been distracting you from writing."
The blond could feel small chills ride down his back and up his neck. He should've just kept his mouth shut about it from the beginning. Did she remember that? Damn, he couldn't have any secrets in this friendship.
"Umm…" he scratched the back of his neck.
"Well, you said that she was one of the reasons that you had writer's block, too. I just thought it was a big deal if it's coming in between you and your writing. Even I know better than that," she looked out to the water and fingered a lock of pink behind her ear.
Naruto tipped his head forward with an unamused expression. That was her thing to get Naruto to submit. She'd say something that clearly showed her irritation, look away and put her hair behind her ear. Just spoiled because Naruto knows something that she doesn't. There can't be a cat inside of a bag because Sakura wants to be the bag, cat, and the air around it. Ugh.
"I'll tell you. Just give me a chance to figure out the situation," he sighed in defeat. She turned to him and grinned. The smile that tucks your lips under themselves and your entire set of teeth show. "Brat."
"Ok!"
The two got back to the loft in half the time it took them to get to the park, thanks to pinkette asked to drive and that was where Naruto made his first mistake. His second was thinking that she had control over that ferocious temper of hers. There's no way that you can have road rage and drive in New York. He nearly had a stroke at the young age of 18 when she flew across the bridge to get from Brooklyn back to the city. Every car that dared cross her path was met with several obscenities and the digit next to her pointer finger. The whiskered cheeked blond staggered into his home (with Sakura in tow) and collapsed to the floor. He thanked the Lord that today wasn't his last.
A/N: Guess who's back and better than ever! Sorry about the late update but I'm without wifi at home. Reviews are the bomb!
