Sarada swore she almost had a heart attack when she set foot on stage.
There was a dress rehearsal, and no one told her about it.
It was difficult, to say the least, to get past all the groups of people who were rehearsing their lines while in costume. Lowering her head and evading any eye contact with the cast members, she managed to make it through to a clearing. Peering around, she couldn't help but feel her blood boil when her eyes landed on her co-star and his rather smug expression.
"Hmm? You didn't know today was a dress rehearsal, Sarada?" his eyes glinted mischievously. Sarada's nails dug into the palms of her hands, glaring daggers at Boruto with as much vexation as she could possibly conjure up.
"And no one told me about today's dress rehearsal because-?" Sarada's fists unclenched themselves and rested at her hips, her voice laced with a lingering venom daring him to test the waters. Sarada hated disorganization, and for her to be the only prime example of it today was completely out of the question.
"Relax, Sarada, we're just kidding with ya', y'know. It was a last-minute thing. I think the class rep actually got your costume for you, so there are no worries. It's in the dressing room." he winked. Sarada's face bored a meek smile at Sumire's kind gesture; it was always great to have a friend you can rely on, even if it was uncalled for.
Sarada peered around the stage crew to see if Sumire happened to be around to thank her, but she saw no sign of the girl with violet hair. Even so, she would thank her graciously for her help at a later date.
Getting through the bustling cast members handling and fixing misplaced props while simultaneously hollering at each other was an arduous task, but when she finally managed to make it to the serene haven of her dressing room, she couldn't help but relish in the static silence as soon as the door clicked shut.
Just three more days until showtime, Sarada thought. She knew that for the show to dazzle without a hitch, she'd have to stop being fussy and suck it up; she was going to have to kiss Boruto, regardless of what she did or did not want to do. That was the fact she had to face yesterday when she was so vehemently determined to approach Shino sensei about the subject.
"We have to get rid of the kissing scenes, Shino-sensei!" Shino nearly lept up from his chair, coffee spilling down the sides of his mug as Sarada splayed her hands on the desk with a bit more force than intended.
"You should knock first, Sarada." Even with his advisory, she ignored him and continued on.
"The kissing scenes, we need to get rid of them," she repeated, enunciating the first three words carefully so he understood her request.
"I'm afraid I don't know what the problem is. You had no qualms about these scenes a week ago." he pointed out. Sarada gulped and tensed, aware that what he said was indeed true. It was painfully obvious why she wanted them removed.
"W-well, I thought about it, and I think we should keep the show PG. These kisses are-well, a b-bit, you know," Sarada twiddle her thumbs, her cheeks flushing as she thought about a certain kissing scene in particular.
"I understand. We can tone them down." Her sensei took note of it on one of his sticky notes, but he could tell Sarada wouldn't be satisfied.
"W-wait! W-we aren't going to remove them?" she stammered, her eyes wide. Shino sensei peered up at his student, who was a panicked mess.
"No, we're not. I don't see a problem with the kissing scenes unless Boruto has done something to make you uncomfortable?" he folded his hands, raising his brows inquisitively.
Sarada gripped the sides of her shirt and kept her eyes downcast, evading her teacher's gaze.
She was taken aback that her sensei refused to remove the kisses, so much so that she almost forgot to answer the question.
"No, he hasn't, I was just worried about the audience. That's all," she muttered, refusing to look up at her sensei and be caught in her web of lies.
"Very well, then. I'll make sure that the scenes are toned down." He concluded. Sarada nodded, leaving the room with all that pent up determination left behind. Sarada's shoulders slumped; she hated this. Nevertheless, she knew she had to let it be and lifted her chin up, not letting such a minor thing make her falter. Mark her words, they would make this play work.
Meanwhile, Shino felt bad about refusing Sarada's request, but Hanabi insisted that they'd be ok.
He hoped.
She never thought that she would see the day where she would somewhat willingly kiss the blond. If it were any other scenario, there was no way she would kiss the idiot...right? Pffft, of course, I would never do that, not in a million years, she bluffed, heat rising into her cheeks at the mere thought of it. Sure, he may have become what society would deem as attractive over the years, but that didn't mean she had to think of him that way, mhm!
Sarada smacked her cheeks repeatedly, followed by shaking her head until she began to see stars. Focus! She chanted, scanning the room for the garment bag that contained her costume. A smile broke out across her face when she spotted what she was looking for, even if she was impervious to the contents of the said bag.
When she pulled the bag off of the armchair positioned next to her dressing table, her excitement overtook her as she unzipped the bag in one swift motion, revealing a red, ruffled gown with an abundance of layers and clustered faux roses.
It took her breath away.
This had to be one of the finest dresses she had ever laid eyes upon, even if it was a costume. Akin to Boruto's costume, surely this had cost the school a fortune? From the intricacies of the details to the hand-sewn beads, the dress could without a doubt pass as an authentic ball gown.
As complex as the dress appeared to be on the outside, it was just as complex when it came to putting it on, so much so that she had to beckon someone through the crack of the door for help. Fortunately, Chocho had been passing by at an immaculate time.
Sarada spun around to face Chocho, gripping her arm firmly. Her teeth dug into her bottom lip, awaiting her friend's response. Eventually, her gaze flitted upwards, startled by the uninhibited width of her eyes.
"Wow, Sarada, you look...amazing." Chocho gawked, fastening the sash around Sarada's waist in a perfect bow. It was a blessing to have Chocho around when Sarada was what the fashion police would describe as fashion-challenged. For her best friend, it was a cinch.
"If he wasn't already, I'm sure Boruto will for sure be in love with you now!" Chocho grinned, eliciting a scowl from her friend.
"Boruto this, Boruto that...Chocho, I've told you a thousand times already, I'm not in love with Boruto!" she affirmed, but something was telling her that they were both unconvinced by the statement. She knew her parents had often told her that she was the stubborn type, but to this extent...there had to be a limit to her denial.
"You're really something, Sarada," Chocho smirked, her arms crossed over though seemingly in a contemptuous manner, it bordered on complacent as if Chocho knew something that Sarada didn't know.
"Pfft, whatever, Chocho. I don't feel anything for Boruto. If anything, whenever I see his stupid face, I feel aggravated! The audacity he has t-to be-" Sarada cut herself off right there, her mind reeling, fishing for the words that she had wanted to say, only to pull the bait back up and catching absolutely nothing.
"To be-?" Chocho inquired, leaning towards her friend amusedly. Sarada gripped the ruffles of her dress squeezing them as if she was trying to squeeze the very essence out of the faux roses and allow the petals to scatter aimlessly all over the dressing room floor.
"I-I don't know. Geez, stop pestering me, Chocho!"
There it was. The top of her pot had boiled over-no, it had downright spiralled across the kitchen floor. Sarada exited the dressing room in a haste, unwilling to allow her friend to poke and prod her about her nonexistent love life. She would figure it out for herself!
'Sarada is taking a long time', Boruto thought as he glanced up at the clock. From what he recalled from practice, it was abnormal for her to be unprepared by the time rehearsal commenced.
With Shino sensei's direction, Boruto had been positioned on stage for the first scene, but his co-star was still nowhere to be seen, even though she had dashed to her dressing her room a good twenty or so minutes ago. Girls sure took their time when it came to getting dressed.
"This is such a drag," Shikadai whined, tugging at the stiff collar of his dress shirt hidden beneath his thick, fur laden cape and golden threaded vest. "If my mom hadn't found out about this ridiculous play, I wouldn't have been in this."
"I wouldn't have been in this, either." Boruto proclaimed.
"If it wasn't for Sarada."
"Exactly-Wait what? No!" Their conversation was interrupted by Chocho's blaring voice.
"Come on, Sarada!" Chocho groaned, shoving her friend onstage. The stage fell silent for a brief moment before erupting into hushed murmurs, several cast members stealing glances at Sarada as she attempted to make her way across the stage.
Boruto was oblivious to Sarada's entrance, his eyes trained on his script as he skimmed over the lines they were going to rehearse for the first scene once more. Suddenly, Shikadai nudged Boruto's shoulder, and continued to do so until Boruto barked out a, "Hey!"
He knew something was up when the stage fell silent, but it wasn't until he finally heeded his friend's insistence for him to turn around that he knew what all the commotion was about.
Boruto's jaw dropped to the floor the moment he spun around to see the source of the reaction. It was Sarada, only she somehow managed to make herself even more beautiful than he already thought she was.
"Agh, this dress is a pain!" Sarada huffed, kicking the front of the dress so she'd have space under it to walk. Even with her annoyed demeanour, Boruto's jaw hung for a good minute until before he knew it, she was standing right in front of him.
"Sorry for being late, the dress didn't want to cooperate." Sarada patted the dress down in hopes that it wouldn't stick up too much, not noticing how Boruto's gaze was still fixated on her.
"Yeah." is all he said, dumbfounded. When Sarada's head tilted questioningly, he finally averted his eyes and cleared his throat.
"W-well, we're ready for practice!" he hollered while walking towards the edge of the stage, as far away from Sarada as possible so he could avoid being the robotic mess he was moments ago.
This was a problem, he thought, as he glanced back at his co-star who was reading over her script, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Even something that simple is glorified when she's dressed so lavishly, he noticed. Sure, he'd always thought of Sarada as just Sarada for the longest time, but when she was pointed out as pretty by his classmates on one too many occasions, he started to realize that he'd been blind for far too long.
That didn't mean he loved her, though, of course.
Sarada's eyes flickered up from the script and Boruto swivelled his head to the front at a neck-breaking speed.
"Actually, could I talk to Boruto for a moment?" Sarada hollered from the stage, to which Shino-sensei nodded. Boruto tensed, having not a clue why Sarada wanted to talk to him in private. Even so, he followed her as she lifted her dress off the ground, probably muttering silent curses as they left. Some of the cast members ooed as the two walked off stage, to which Sarada gave a glare menacing enough for them to not do that ever again.
"I couldn't do it." she declared. Boruto narrowed his eyes, a million question marks dangling above his head. What did she mean?
"You couldn't do what?" he inquired, leaning ever so slightly towards his co-star as she began to speak so low that he couldn't understand a single word she was saying.
"What?" he leaned further in, wondering what on Earth this girl was muttering.
"I couldn't get the kissing scenes removed!" she blurted, her blush showing through her cheeks, not going unnoticed by the blond.
"Is that so? It's not a big deal, really." he insisted, but Sarada shook her head, folding her arms across her chest.
"It is for me," she admitted, but he didn't understand what she was getting at.
"How so?"
"I-I," she began, hesitant to reveal what she didn't want her co-star to know. "I-It's," she fumbled, biting her lip before she stared resolutely towards him. "Gah! I haven't had my first kiss yet!" she confessed, letting it sink in for him. She covered her face, embarrassed that her friend would now have something to tease her about.
Only, she was not expecting him to erupt in a fit of laughter to this extent.
"Really, that's it, Sarada?" he held his stomach, trying to prevent himself from laughing even more. Sarada's cheeks puffed out, clenching her fists as she witnessed Boruto's unwarranted reaction.
"It's not funny!" she huffed, but he continued his overdramatic display as he began to roll on the floor from laughing so much. Did she really have to deal with a guy this dramatic?
"No, it really is." he insisted, whipping tears from his eyes from laughing so much. Eventually, he calmed down. Sarada couldn't believe his little display of mockery.
"Sarada," he started, her eyes trained on his jovial expression. "It's fine. I haven't had my first kiss, either." he finally voiced, to which Sarada furrowed her brows. Really? Well, she guessed you can't judge a book by its cover. No matter how extroverted one may be, it all boiled down to just how eager one is to get into a relationship.
"That still doesn't solve our predicament, though," Sarada mentioned, still for some reason having her script on hand as she opened it up. "We still have to kiss."
Boruto leaned back and looked up, tilting his head as his lips pressed into a firm line. He sat there contemplating for a moment. Sarada stood there, tapping her foot, anticipating that he would come up with a solution.
"Well then, shall we?"
Oh boy. That was not the response she expected.
"W-w-what? No! Of course not!" Sarada sputtered, making an 'x' in front of her face as Boruto stood up. "No, we are not doing that!" she protested, inching her protective x closer to her face as he approached.
Sarada wouldn't falter. Was this guy really thinking about kissing her? That's ridiculous!
Sarada clenched her eyes shut, sensing a shadow looming over her as she held her ground. She never expected Boruto to be this forward and honestly, she was disappointed. However, suddenly, she felt a hand on her head that pat it gently. Gradually, she lowered her arms, opening her eyes and maintaining eye contact with the head patter.
"Who knew you could be cute sometimes, Sarada." he grinned. Even though it seemed like a half-baked compliment, Sarada's eyes widened in awe at his statement. Then, realization dawned on him as his eyes, in turn, went wide, lifting his hand off her head in one swift motion.
"W-we should return." Boruto jerked his thumb in the direction towards the stage, to which Sarada silently agreed. Unsurprisingly, several people had been peering their noses into their business and it didn't go unnoticed as heads poked back. Mitsuki, on the other hand, still stuck his head out unabashedly, a smile encompassing his entire being.
If there was one thing that Boruto came to know, it was that her brick wall was beginning to wobble, bound to topple over soon enough.
I'm so sorry I haven't updated this in almost a year, life has been busy since I graduated high school and started university. I was really struggling to write this chapter, but I finally managed to pull through! I swore I wouldn't start any more fanfiction until I get this one done so I'll try my best to get this fic done soon.
