Something To Remember Me By

chapter 4(year 16)

This time, this summer, standing square on the boardwalk in new orange sneakers that still smelled like the store, Naruto wasn't going to assume Sasuke remembered him. That was the mistake he'd made before, at age 14 and 15.

When he thought about Sasuke, it was like when he and Iruka dumped out their whole box of photos on the floor to sort them out. Naruto could makes piles of moments with Sasuke in them. Sasuke smiling, Sasuke sighing, Sasuke shining in moonlight like it's celestial brother. These memories; he could bury himself in their warmth, sleep through the winter. That's kind of what he'd done anyway.

But it wasn't fair of him to expect Sasuke had done the same. He had thought about it a few times; Sasuke, laying in his own bed, losing himself to dreams of Naruto... This wasn't the case, not in reality. Naruto knew well that nobody was bound to his emotions but himself.

All of that said, if Sasuke didn't remember him, it might be for the better. Thinking about the way he acted even just three years prior made his fingers twitch. It could be anywhere, anytime; remember that joke you told four years ago? And how nobody laughed? And you thought they didn't hear it, so you told it again, but actually they just didn't think it was funny?

The pure nausea that came from the experience of middle school was worse than what any carnival ride could give him. That's not the first impression he'd been hoping to make, especially not on someone like Sasuke.

This time, at 16-years-old. This was his new first impression.

And because he was meeting Sasuke for the first time, he had to be strategic. No fumbled introductions or unruly blushing. Naruto was in control. He was restrained. He was cool.

...He was trying his best to be cool.

Admittedly, approaching someone he liked without making a fool of himself wasn't his strong suit. It usually looked similar to a girl trying to escape a killer in a horror movie. The girl would scream, running down a hallway and trying every door to find them locked. Behind her, the murderer would slowly gain, machete in hand, inevitable.

Naruto would try so hard, straining to impress. He'd think he got it and then, right before the credits rolled on the conversation, he'd trip on his tongue and gut himself. A fatal wound, bleeding out onto the boardwalk.

He shook his head, ridding his mind of the thoughts. Not this year. It was mid-afternoon, and while it wasn't nearly as hot as last year, the temperature was nothing to scoff at. The carnival was in full swing around him, but Naruto only had eyes for one attraction. His favorite one. Sasuke.

Naruto had had a growth spurt in the spring. He had a new shirt that Ino told him he looked good in. He'd made a few friends, Kiba and his buddies. He'd kissed someone. He'd won a race.

The distance between him and Sasuke was shrinking. Naruto wasn't going to act like it was gone, especially because Sasuke was bound to have no idea who he was. Still, Naruto liked who he saw in the mirror sometimes. He'd stare at himself, and his reflection was a little closer to the smart, capable guy that Iruka had been telling him he was for years. Liking himself seemed to make other people like him, too. Hopefully the effect would work on Sasuke.

Alright, enough. He was going to do it. He was going to make Sasuke remember him.

"Hey," he said, hands in his pockets.

Sasuke looked up, and there were bags under his eyes that Naruto hadn't noticed before. This didn't diminish his beauty in anyway. He looked like he was tired because the universe wouldn't let him sleep; it missed him too much while he was away.

There was no recognition. That was okay.

"Hey," Sasuke said back, and Naruto let his feet tap just three times. He felt around in his pocket, pulling out a ticket, and held it up. Sasuke took it.