A/N: Okay hello everyone! This is going to be a long author's note so if you are not interested in reading it, just skip ahead to the line breaker.
Alright, so, first and foremost I want to extensively thank all of you SO MUCH for reading and reviewing this story! There are so many of you now and that number just continues to grow! I'm in absolute awe at the support I receive from all of you, I just love you all so much! I've grown so much as a person since I uploaded the very first chapter last February and the story has changed with me, so thank you all for continuously being here and offering great feedback and ideas! -lots of hearts- And I definitely know this story is not perfect. There are typos and inconsistencies within the characters and I do my absolute best to keep them in character while also maintaining the integrity of this AU, so please be patient with me!
Right now I'm planning on having this story be about like… 4 parts, maybe 5, and I've just barely grazed into the plot of part 3. We are almost done with part 1 here, so I'm expecting maybe chapter 30 will be the end of it? I'm not quite sure yet. Like I've said before though, the story will turn to rated M once part 2 starts, and there's going to be a lot more serious, adult topics that take place and a lot more DRAMA! So trust me there is still a lot more coming for you all hahaha.
And also, I'm going to ask you all a couple questions here to just help me gauge what you all need from me. Would you rather I do less frequent but longer authors notes every couple chapters, or do you like a small pop in at the beginning of every chapter? Do you want to know more about me, or would you rather just know me as a random author on the internet? What is your favorite and least favorite thing about this fic? And finally, I want to know how you all think this story is going to end! So let me know!
Okay, that's about all for now. Thank you all again, and onto the chapter! (:
Of course, the moment Boruto launched himself through the window, no one other than Himawari Uzumaki came through his door only seconds later without a knock and a bowl of fruit in her hands.
She stared at him for a long moment, and he stared back, just as stunned.
"What are you doing?" Himawari tilted her head innocently.
"Yoga, what else?" Boruto snapped, though his heart was beating erratically in his chest. Good God, he'd just snuck out on a whim, ran to Sarada's house only to take her to second base, then sprinted back home and launched himself through a window all in a matter of two hours. He had a lot to process.
Himawari looked at the wide open window, then back to Boruto, then slowly shut the door behind her and set the bowl of fruit down by his TV. Boruto gulped, praying to God she wouldn't figure it out.
But, she was an Uzumaki, and way too smart for her own good so it was inevitable. So it was a matter of how Boruto could manipulate this to his advantage.
"Did you sneak out?" Himawari gasped.
"Did you sleep with Inojin?" He shot back.
"What! No!"
"There's your answer."
"Boruto!" Himawari exclaimed. "Don't do that! Just answer my question!"
"No, I'm too busy aligning my chakras." Boruto crossed his legs and put his palms together, but Himawari marched over to him and shoved him backwards.
"Just tell me!"
"Ow! Okay, so what if I did?" Boruto glared at her. "It's the first time I've snuck out this entire time, I was dying of boredom in here."
Himawari looked very intrigued. "Did you go and see Sarada?"
Boruto's silence was enough of a confirmation for the younger Uzumaki.
"Aww!" Himawari clasped her hands together. "That's so cute!"
Boruto was taken aback by her reaction. "Cute?"
"Yeah! You really like her, don't you? Or else you wouldn't have done that! Tell me everything!" Himawari laid on his bed, and Boruto eyed her suspiciously.
"The first time you found out we kissed you wouldn't shut up about it, so I'm not telling you anything anymore."
Himawari pouted, and Boruto continued to do fake yoga. It actually was helping him clear his head and calm his heart rate down, but Himawari was hovering like a starving raven waiting for her prey to drop dead. And the prey, in essence, was gossip. What a nosy little girl.
"If you don't tell me I'll tell mom and dad you snuck out."
Boruto immediately halted. "You wouldn't."
Himawari raised a brow in challenge. She was full of shit, she just wanted Boruto to spill the details.
"Nope. Not gonna work on me." Boruto said, and tried to refind his namaste.
Himawari watched him distastefully for a few moments before she took a deep breath. Suddenly, like a banshee, yelled, "MOOMMM!"
Without hesitation, Boruto tackled her, covering her mouth. She struggled against his tight hold and kept trying to yell for their mom.
"Okay, okay! If you shut up I'll tell you!" Boruto exclaimed desperately.
Himawari immediately stopped squirming and her eyes gleamed. "Yay!"
God, no wonder she got everything she wanted from Inojin. If people thought Boruto was manipulative, Himawari was way worse.
After inhaling the bowl of fruit she'd provided and giving her a brief synopsis of the night (while leaving out the intimate details), Himawari was, as expected, twitterpated at the thought of her older brother being in love. It was irritating, and Boruto was trying to offset her annoying voice by turning Call of Duty all the way up on his headset. But of course, it wasn't working.
"Will you turn that down? I'm trying to talk to you!" Himawari said.
"Well I don't want to talk!" Boruto replied.
"Well can you listen for two seconds? It's important."
"Fine, let me finish this round." Boruto grumbled. Himawari swung her legs patiently for the next five minutes while he wrapped up a round, and then he slid his headset off. "Okay, what?"
"I have a proposal. You're grounded, obviously, but you want to see Sarada."
"Uh-huh."
"And mom and dad actually aren't super happy about me and Inojin hanging out."
Boruto was surprised to hear that. "How come?"
"Um, well..." Himawari laughed nervously, then pulled down the neck of her sweater to reveal a very dark, fresh hickey. Boruto held a fist to his mouth to try and contain his laughter.
"A hickey? Seriously?!"
"I tried to hide it, okay?! But I forgot about it and was in my room wearing a tank top and mom walked in. She saw it and her and dad went crazy on me!"
"Damn, I can't believe you actually got in trouble for once." Boruto couldn't stop laughing. Himawari smacked him.
"Shut up and listen to me! All I'm trying to say is they grounded me too. Same rules as you. But I still want to see Inojin, and you want to see Sarada."
Boruto suddenly stopped laughing, and looked directly at his sister. Was she saying what he thought she was…?
"Soo… we use each other to go see them?" Boruto asked. Himawari clicked her teeth.
"Precisely."
While it was tempting, Boruto also had to be logical. His little sister was asking him, her older brother, to be her alibi to go see her older boyfriend, aka one of his best friends, and do who knows what. Meanwhile, he wouldn't have to Olympic dive out of his room just to sneak out and go see Sarada. There were hardly any risks and no stipulations other than being subjected to each other's timeline. So all in all, it was a pretty great idea.
Okay, she got him. It was incredibly tempting. But still.
"You're telling me you want me to vouch for you so you can go to my best friend's house and get your neck sucked like a vampire?" Boruto questioned. "Sorry, but you're fourteen, and I'm your older brother so I'm saying no. You shouldn't even know what a hickey is."
"You lost your virginity at fourteen." Himawari shot back.
Boruto was aghast. "How the hell do you know that?"
"I'm your little sister and I know everything." She said proudly.
Boruto stared at her. Insanity. She was literally insane. There was no other word to describe her. His sister was an actual crazy lunatic.
"No."
"What! But Boruto!"
"Don't "but Boruto" me! I'm not about to be responsible for you ending up on Sixteen and Pregnant!"
"I'm not stupid! I know how to not get pregnant!"
"Which, again, is something you shouldn't know at fourteen! God, you're insane." Boruto threw his headset back over his ears. He did not need the perfect innocent little sister picture to be ruined in his mind.
"Boruto!" Himawari ripped off his headset, and he was about two seconds from throwing her out of his room. His patience was on its last thread.
"What, Himawari?!"
"Please, just listen to me." Himawari said, and Boruto stared at her. He threw his hands out.
"Okay, what? I'm listening."
"I really like Inojin," She twiddled her thumbs, "and I still want to see him. We made a mistake and took it too far, I know that. But I really like him and he really likes me. And if it makes you feel better, we can meet up in public places so you're not worried about me ending up on a reality tv show. Please."
With the soft tone she was using, and the innocent glow in her eyes, how could Boruto say no? He'd be a horrible person if he did. His sister had just so happened to find the love of her life very early on in life, so who was Boruto to tell her that she couldn't see him? She was a very smart girl and just learned things a lot younger than he did, and fortunately it was by choice. Boruto didn't have a choice, and that's why he was so protective. He wanted to preserve his sister's innocence as long as possible, but if she was ready, then he couldn't forbid her from anything. If anything, as her brother, he was supposed to be on their side. Their parents would never condone anything like this, but if Himawari was going to do something, at least Boruto would be right next to her ready to catch her when she fell.
He just didn't like it. From the beginning he never had. It was just too much of a coincidence that it was Inojin, of all people, considering their history. He had his suspicions, but still… how could he say no to his little sister? She never asked anything like this of him, so that meant it was serious. Boruto just hoped the sirens going off in his head would shut off soon, because he was overthinking it and wanted his sister to be happy. He couldn't let his and Inojin's past problems get in the way of the now.
He let out a very long, exacerbated sigh, and rubbed the sides of his temples. After contemplating, he finally came to a consensus.
"I hate you. So much."
Himawari clutched her fingers together in hope.
"Sure, okay, fine!" Boruto said, and Himawari bounced around his room cheering. "But on one condition!"
Himawari stopped bouncing. "What?"
"You can't have sex with him, you're still too young."
Himawari opened her mouth to retort, but Boruto held a hand up.
"Nope, I don't care that I was fourteen, it's still way too young. You're going to wait. And if I find out you guys did anything like that, I'm strangling him. Got it?"
Himawari wrinkled her nose, but then grinned widely. "Okay, fine. You're the best brother ever! Thank you thank you thank you!"
She gave him a tight squeeze, grabbed the empty bowl of fruit, then promptly left his room and shut the door. Boruto sat there in a daze. What the fuck. His little sister just manipulated the shit out of him, with a fruit bowl and everything, and somehow won. What was wrong with him?
Well, he supposed there was some good that would come out of it. He'd get to see Sarada!
XxX
It was the first day of August. Chocho's birthday was in eight days, Sarada couldn't help but reminisce on last year at her birthday party. It seemed so long ago, yet time had gone by so quickly. Now looking at how her and Boruto's relationship had developed over the year made her almost proud. Going from absolutely despising him to now seemed almost… surreal, but she wasn't opposed to it by any means.
Her mind wandered to the Uzumaki, and she wondered the next time she'd see him. If he wasn't able to sneak out again, it might be the first day of school. The thought made her sad.
Somehow, though, it was as if the god's had answered her prayers. There was a knock on her front door, and since she was the only one currently home, ran downstairs to check through the peephole. Boruto! And… Himawari?
Sarada opened the door, and there the two Uzumaki's were standing inconspicuously. They both looked guilty but also excited, and Sarada was a conflict of emotions, but mostly nerves.
"U-Um, hi guys!"
"Hi Sarada!" Himawari said cheerfully. "Are you busy right now?"
"Uh, no, why?" Sarada looked to Boruto, but he wasn't looking her in the eye yet. She hadn't seen him since that night, so her hands were shaking at the memory.
"You wanna come to the mall with us? We'll explain in the car." Boruto said, and finally their irises met. The flames were ignited, and Sarada thought her heart was going to stop. Boruto must've felt it too, because he wouldn't stop fidgeting.
"Sure, um, let me go put new clothes on." Sarada said, and invited them in. She shut the door behind them and offered them some tea, but they both declined and Sarada bounded up to her room.
Once her door was shut, she pressed her back against it. Oh my GOD Boruto was here! How was she supposed to act?! She felt so nervous now! The last thing she'd expected today was to see him, and she looked like a rat!
Rummaging through her closet, she found a cute outfit that would suffice that included a red top, black shorts, and white tennis shoes, and brushed through her hair quickly. Lipgloss? Mascara? No, she didn't have time. Some of her mom's perfume would have to do, and that would be it.
As she was walking out her door, a flash of red caught her eye, and she looked over. The ruby necklace was sitting delicately on her vanity desk, and she let out a sigh. Ever since Boruto had been grounded, she had no reason to wear it, so had taken it off momentarily. But now that he was here, she quickly clasped it around her neck and examined it. It matched her outfit perfectly.
Once she came back downstairs, purse in hand, both Himawari and Boruto's eyes lit up.
"Woahh, Sarada you always look so cute!" Himawari said.
"Thanks!" She smiled, and Boruto cleared his throat.
"Okay, we can go now."
Himawari pranced to the backseat of Boruto's Mazda, and Sarada was the last to exit the house so she could lock the front door.
Once Himawari had control of the music and they were on the road, Sarada remembered that they were going to explain what this was all about.
"Oh yeah! So we're technically both grounded now." Himawari said, "So Boruto and I made a pact that whenever one of us wants to hang out with you or Inojin, we tell our parents that we're having sibling bonding time and going to the mall or something. Then I can see Inojin and he can see you without worrying about having to sneak out or anything!"
Sarada's mouth dropped and she looked at Boruto. He looked very sheepish, so it appeared that it was Himawari's idea and he was going along with it. These Uzumaki's. They definitely were something else.
"How… innovative?"
"Thank you, I came up with it on my own." Himawari said proudly. "Boruto almost didn't want to do it!"
"Yeah because the two reasons you and I got grounded were completely different." He looked at her in the rearview mirror.
"Oh right, my bad, you went to a party and ran from cops and I got a hickey. Now which one sounds worse?"
Sarada couldn't help but burst into loud, contagious laughter. Himawari was brutal – it was actually quite hilarious to see Boruto up against someone who could challenge him.
Boruto only grumbled under his breath. "Yeah, yeah. Just shut up until we're there."
It seemed as if he was in a cranky mood like he didn't want to be doing this, Sarada couldn't quite tell yet. She just hoped that she wasn't being a bother – but maybe once they weren't in the car and got some alone time then it would be different.
Once they reached the mall, Boruto put his car in park and they all walked through the entrance. The food court was bustling with people as they passed by, and it wasn't until they got into a clearing that they saw Inojin waiting patiently on one of the couches. Immediately, Himawari bounded to him and enveloped him in a hug. Inojin looked quite happy to see her.
"'Sup bro," Boruto greeted Inojin, and they bumped fists.
"Hi guys! Long time no see. Good to see you Sarada!"
"Y-Yeah!" Sarada said.
Inojin and Himawari quickly got caught up in their own conversation and walked away. Boruto shoved his hands in his pockets.
Well, it was just the two of them now, and it felt awkward. Neither of them knew what to say since they were so nervous.
"So, uh, you down for boba?" Boruto asked.
A short drive later, Sarada and Boruto were at their old boba spot they used to come to weekly. It'd been quite a while since Sarada had been here, but everything still looked the same, and the boba was delicious like usual.
They sat down with their tea at a small table. Boruto was playing some golfing game on his phone and it was almost just like old times.
"How's volleyball going?" He asked, mindlessly sipping on his tea.
"Good! Semi-finals are tomorrow."
He glanced up at her. "Wow, your team made it that far?"
Sarada nodded excitedly. "Yeah! And they said I've caught on so quickly. I basically start every single game now."
Boruto made a clicking sound with his teeth. "See, I knew you could do it! Are you gonna try out for the school team?"
"Well, maybe." Sarada sipped on her boba. "I haven't decided yet."
"I don't see why you wouldn't. All those girls are your friends, and you're telling me you're good at it. So I think you should."
Sarada mused over the idea. She honestly hadn't decided whether she wanted to be on the student council again or try out for the volleyball team. She supposed she could try out, and if she didn't make it, stick to the student council since she now had more experience and a great reputation for being reliable.
"Yeah, I probably will then. What are you gonna do this year?"
"Well, I've picked soccer back up. So I'm going to try out for that again."
"You play soccer?"
Boruto gave her a look. "I always have, I just took a break last year because of the student council." He pushed his boba away from him. "You don't remember me being on the team our freshman year?"
Sarada laughed nervously. "I can't say I paid much attention to you back then."
"Oh right, we used to hate each other."
Sarada scratched her head. Well, that was one way to put it…
Boruto took a long, refreshing gulp of his boba, then let out a content breath. "And look at us now. All the way at second base."
Sarada's face exploded with red, and she slapped him. He laughed loudly, but Sarada could only feel embarrassed. Still, though, it did help lighten the mood a little bit and take away some of the awkward tension. Boruto was good at that. He just acted so nonchalant about everything that it made it normal.
Their conversation from then on seemed to take off, but there was a new feeling fluttering inside Sarada's stomach as she would catch Boruto's gaze. She didn't know how to describe it, but there was just this pull between their bodies that made them touch every possible second they could. Their feet under the table, their elbows, one of them would play with the other's fingers, or they scooted closer to each other. It was as if they were in their own little bubble and couldn't get close enough. It was strange but exhilarating. Sarada craved the feeling of his lips against her skin once more.
This newfound spark between them kept their bodies within inches of each other the rest of the day. They were at the disposal of Himawari and Inojin's time, but they didn't mind. The only problem was they couldn't leave to go to either of their houses, but hanging out in the area of the mall for a couple hours was easy, especially when Boruto wanted to buy some new clothes.
"I think those look really good on you." Sarada said from the bench she was seated at while Boruto checked himself out in the large mirror.
"You think?" He turned around to look at all the different angles of the jeans. They were ruched in the front at the shins and thighs while there was different patchwork across the back. "These are the style right now and Iwabee keeps telling me to get a pair, but I just can't get with how tight they are."
Sarada had no fashion advice either way because she had the same closet since she was thirteen, and that wasn't changing any time soon. She laughed to herself.
"They definitely look tight."
Boruto grumbled under his breath. "I'm not getting them. I hate them." He went back into the dressing room and changed back into his normal clothes, then reappeared with a handful of miscellaneous clothes draped over his arm. "Okay, I'm done here. Do you want anything?"
Sarada raised a brow. He was asking her if she wanted anything? Well, yeah, a whole new wardrobe, but she wasn't going to say that.
"No, I'm fine."
They got in line and Sarada mindlessly looked at all the small gadgets and jewelry they had in the que. Once they got up to the register, Boruto paid, and with shopping bags in hand, went to the next store over.
"These new Jordan's just came out and I wanted to see them in person." Boruto said, and Sarada had no idea what he was talking about but followed him anyway.
They came up on the shoe wall and Boruto handed Sarada his shopping bag before picking up a particular white high top shoe that had a purple Nike swoosh on the outside that transitioned green as it went to the inside of the shoe.
"What do you think?" Boruto asked. Sarada pursed her lips.
"I don't know anything about shoes."
"Well, I know that, but do you like the way they look?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
Boruto rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'm never taking fashion advice from you."
Sarada glared at him. She had nothing to retort with since theoretically he would be smart to follow that, so she just watched as he beckoned over a worker and asked for a size.
"Go look at the women's shoes and see if you like anything." Boruto said.
Sarada sighed. Okay, well, she might as well.
There were a couple shoes she gravitated towards – one of them being classic white tennis shoes, while the other pair was still white but had pink embellishments. Other than that there weren't many others that caught her eye, and she would never be caught dead spending this much for a pair of shoes. No freaking way.
Boruto came over with a box in his hand. "See any you like?"
"I kinda like the pink and white ones." She said, then turned around. "You're getting them?"
"Yeah, I might as well while they still have them in stock. And I haven't been spending my allowance since I've been grounded, so I have a lot of money saved up."
Impressive. Guess being grounded was a double edged sword. Sarada quickly moved on from that thought and picked up the pink and white shoe again and looked at it. Boruto came up next to her.
"What size are you?"
"I don't know, like six and a half?"
"Hm," Boruto found a worker and asked, "can I get a size six and half for her?"
Sarada looked at him. "Boruto, I can't afford these. I'm not getting them."
"Yeah, but you can still try them on." He said, and they sat down and waited for the employee to come out from the back.
The employee handed Boruto a shoe box, and Boruto delicately unwrapped the shoes from the wrapping paper. He examined the quality and color of the shoe before passing it over to Sarada, and she proceeded to put them on. Wow, they were very comfy, and looking in the mirror they looked cute on her too. She'd never had tennis shoes like this before, especially ones so nice. Boruto's eyes trailed up and down her body as she continued to check out the shoes.
"Do they fit?"
"Yeah, honestly, pretty perfectly." Sarada said. God, why did he make her try them on? Now she was in love with them but didn't have one hundred dollars or any justification to buy shoes right now.
"Do you like them?"
With a dreamy sigh, Sarada answered, "Yes, a lot!"
She sat back down and took them off, and without a word Boruto put them back in the box neatly and headed straight to the register. Sarada scrambled after him.
"W-Wait, what are you doing?!"
He looked at her. "Well you want them, so I'm getting them for you."
She scowled. "Boruto, no! I don't want you spending that much money on me!"
"That bracelet I got you was way more expensive, so shut up and let me get them for you." He harped, and Sarada stood there stumped.
She felt so… weird. She didn't want Boruto buying her nice things like this all the time. She wanted him to save his money and use it for things he needed.
But, she did have to admit… she really wanted the shoes, and the feeling burning inside of her chest was making her feel all tingly. Boruto really spoiled her. First with the ruby necklace for Christmas, then the nice charm bracelet for her birthday, and now these shoes just for a random occasion. It made her feel very special.
Though Sarada almost fainted at the total cost, Boruto had no reaction other than to shove his card into the card reader, and that was that. The receipt printed, they were given a bag, and then they left. Sarada was speechless. Shoes were so goddamn expensive, and now she felt horrible.
"You really didn't have to spend that much on me," Sarada said as they sat on a bench in the middle of the mall. They had called Himawari and Inojin since they were done for the day, so now were just waiting for them to come back. Boruto shrugged.
"Seriously, Sarada, you gotta stop feeling bad. If I buy you something it's 'cause I want to do something nice for you. And you looked really cute in those shoes."
"Okay, but–"
"Stop," Boruto squished her cheeks between his palms. "Just say thank you and wear them the next time I see you."
Sarada scrunched her nose and Boruto laughed.
"You're right… thank you. I really do appreciate you getting them for me."
"That's more like it," Boruto gave her a sly grin, and she bumped their shoulders together.
"I can't stand you sometimes."
"The feeling is mutual." He said sardonically, and only then did Sarada full on body slam him to the other side of the bench. He cackled loudly, and they were about to start a full on brawl but then Himawari and Inojin came into view.
"Boruto! Hi!" Himawari exclaimed.
"It's about time!" Boruto snapped, grabbing his shopping bags. "What were you guys doing, sucking the blood from each other?"
"Ew, no!" Himawari said. "Woah, you guys went shopping! What'd you get?"
"I got some clothes and new Jordan's." Boruto said, and pulled the pair of shoes from the box.
"Wow, those are so nice." Inojin said. Boruto grinned.
"I know! I'm gonna wear them on the first day of school."
"What did you get Sarada?" Himawari asked.
Sarada suddenly felt very nervous. "U-Um, just a pair of shoes. Boruto… actually got them for me." She timidly pulled them out of the box, and Himawari snatched the shoe from her hand and squealed.
"Oh my god these are so cute! Inojin, I want these too!"
Inojin slapped a hand to his face. "Way to go, bro."
Boruto shrugged. "My sister's expensive."
"Sarada, you have to wear these on the first day!" Himawari's eyes were gleaming. "You'll look so cute and trendy!"
"You think?" Sarada fidgeted with her bracelet. She still couldn't get over the fact that Boruto bought her a pair of shoes… jewelry was a little different, it was easier to keep clean and in good condition. Shoes on the other hand, especially ones that were white, got dirty very quickly and could crease. Thinking about actually wearing them was terrifying. Maybe Sarada would just perch them on top of her dresser as a trophy and stare at them every once in a while.
"Okay, okay, Hima, mom and dad are probably wondering why we've been together so long, so we have to go home now." Boruto said. Himawari pouted.
"Okay fine!"
Boruto and Sarada walked a couple paces away while Inojin and Himawari said their goodbyes. Sarada noticed that Boruto's steps faltered a bit sooner than hers, and she looked at him. His expression was unreadable, but his energy was undeniable.
"What's wrong?"
Boruto didn't say anything, he just looked from his sister and best friend to the ground, then shook his head. "Nothing."
He kept walking, and Sarada was puzzled. Himawari caught up with them moments later, and they drove to the Uchiha's first to drop Sarada off, then went home for the night.
XxX
Semi-finals. Probably one of the most stressful, intense days of Sarada's life.
The energy was high, voices were loud, the competition was rough. Sarada had never played against such a vicious team before. Even Lana, who had been playing volleyball for a very long time, was struggling to keep her bearings together. Sumire, Wasabi, and Namida were wiping the sweat from their brows as they walked over to the side for a timeout. They all huddled together, chests heaving, and Sumire offered an encouraging smile.
"We got this guys, we're only a couple points down! We just gotta win this game and we'll be tied."
All the girls nodded in agreement, and they let out their chant, and Sarada fixed her knee pads as she walked back onto the court. She was left back, Sumire was the libero, Namida the right back, Lana the right hitter, Wasabi the setter, and another girl named Abby was the left hitter. They all were being run around the court like flailing chickens chasing after the ball. It was almost the end of the second set, and they were behind three points. Twenty-three for the other team, and twenty for their team. Sarada just hoped and prayed they could pull it together.
It was the other team's ball, and the tall girl served a very strong ball right to Sarada. She quickly put her elbows together and winced as the ball smacked unattractively against her arms, sending it in the wrong direction towards Namida. She was able to correct it by bumping it to Abby, and Abby hit it over. The other team made quick use of the easy set up, and soon the ball was being struck back onto their side of the court. Sumire dove for the ball and it bounced to Lana, and with a quick toss put it over the net. The other team wasn't expecting that, and the ball hit the ground. The referee whistled, and the Swifties cheered.
"We got this!" Wasabi exclaimed. "Just get the ball to me!"
They rotated to the left, so now Sarada was the front left hitter. Lana was now serving, and she gracefully sent it over the net. It was almost too good of a serve, as the other team used it to their advantage and created a perfect play with a bump, set, and strike right back into their court. That marked a point for the team. Sarada cursed. If the other team scored one more point, they'd win. And the Swifties would be out for the finals.
The other team served a strong ball, and it went soaring back to Namida. She squealed and tried her best to get it to Wasabi, but the ball was too unstable and set it flying off the court. The referee whistled, and that was that. The other team won.
They all ran together and cheered loudly, while all the Swifties stood on the court disappointed. It was a good game, but they had been no match for the other team.
"Guys, line up." Sumire said, and they all begrudgingly stood on the line and waited for the other team to be finished celebrating.
They walked along the net with their hands out and repeated "good game," then were back onto the sidelines. Sarada went and slumped by her bag and took a large drink from her water bottle. Damn. She felt so disappointed.
The other girls in the team were sad too, but they all tried to cheer up as they at least got third for all the rec teams. It was a great season, and Sarada was glad she got to be a part of it. She had learned so much and grew as an athlete.
Once home and after showering, Sarada's muscles were stiff and sore as she walked to the kitchen to make herself a snack. They had some vegetables, hummus, and ranch. Her dad was in his office, her mom was at work, and overall it was a quiet night in the household. Not much was going on.
Sitting outside on the cement of her back patio, Sarada munched on her vegetables with her feet in the grass, scrolling through her social media and playing games on her phone. The sky was beginning to turn a beautiful orange color with cloudy white streaks to add texture. She let out a content sigh. There were bugs crawling on the ground disappearing into the soil of the grass, there were birds chirping off in the distance, and there was a snail trying to climb up into the flower pots. The water of their swimming pool rippled gently from the wind, and Sarada was half tempted to jump in. Her parents didn't like her swimming alone with any sort of supervision, so if she was going to she'd have to ask her dad.
It seemed like too much work, and she was too downtrodden from losing the game earlier, so she decided she was fine where she was at. The volleyball she had used to practice was lying on the ground a few meters away, so she set her snack bowl on top of the patio table then walked over to pick it up. She rolled the ball in her hands to examine it.
It was still in great condition. It had a couple dirt stains here and there, but overall was still a brand new ball. Bouncing it around in her hands a couple times, she mindlessly practiced her form for serving and bumping. Maybe if that bump she had done earlier would've gone straight to Wasabi, they could've won. She pursed her lips just thinking about it. What if they lost the game all because of her?
There was a loud crash against their side gate that caught Sarada by surprise. She held the volleyball in her hands and waited for a moment. The rustling never stopped, but then suddenly a person flung themselves over her back gate. She was taken aback, but then recognized the mop of blonde hair.
Boruto looked just as surprised to see Sarada outside as she did to see him in her backyard, and they stared at each other in shock for a second before Boruto waved.
"Hey, Sarada!"
Sarada laughed, and she walked over to him. "Hi, what are you doing here? You couldn't have just come to my front door?"
Boruto shrugged. "That's too easy. I just snuck out again, I wasn't going to wait for Hima this time."
They gave each other a short hug, and then he held out a yellow dandelion with a smile.
"This is for you!"
Sarada took it slowly. "For what?"
"Getting to the semi-finals."
"But we didn't win."
"Seriously?" Boruto asked. "Well, it happens. You can't always win every game. How did it go, though?"
"Well, it was a really hard game." Sarada said, and they walked over to the patio table to sit down on the chairs. She curled her legs up to her chest. "The other team put up a really good fight. They were all so tall and intimidating, so we were out of our league."
Boruto shrugged and took a carrot from the bowl sitting on the table. When he bit down, it made a loud, crunchy pop. "It happens. Freshman year soccer we didn't even get to semi-finals mainly because my team worked horribly together. No one passed the ball to each other so we got eliminated early on in the season."
Sarada looked at him. "Really?"
Boruto nodded, still chewing on the carrot. "I learned from it, though, and I'm sure the coaches did too. I'm sure you did all you could, though, and sometimes the other team is just better."
"Yeah, I guess." Sarada rested her chin on her knees. "I'm just disappointed though. It sucks. This is why I don't play sports."
Boruto smiled and took a celery stick. "Well, at least you'll have the school team, right?"
"Yeah, if I even make it." Sarada groaned. "I still feel like everyone else is so much better than me!"
"You'll be fine. When are tryouts?"
"First day of school."
"Oh, same. That's when my soccer tryouts are. I'm so hyped."
"Yeah, I'm sure you'll make it no problem."
"I dunno about that," Boruto said, "I'm really out of practice. I didn't play much while I was on the student council just because I didn't have time. But, I figured if I don't make the soccer team then my second choice would just be on the student council again." He laughed.
"We had the same thought process then." She said with a giggle. "Are you sure they'd even let you be a class rep again after what happened last year?"
"Hey, for the record, I was a great class rep, thank you." Boruto indignantly took another carrot.
"Yeah, I guess." Sarada said unsurely, and Boruto threw his half-eaten carrot at her.
"Shut up. I was way better than you. All you did was whine and complain that no one was doing what you wanted."
"Did not!" Sarada gasped, taking the half-eaten carrot and throwing it back at him. He let out a scream that turned into a laugh.
"I know, I'm kidding! You were a great class rep, I'm sure they're hoping you do it again this year."
Sarada shook her head hopelessly then leaned her head back on the chair. The yellow flower was still clasped between her fingers delicately, and she rolled the stem back and forth. The silence of the twilit night was calming enough to put her at ease. Boruto leaned into the quiet as well, as he then ate the vegetables more mindfully. Soon, the sun set, and Sarada shivered.
"Do you want to watch a movie or something?" Boruto asked. Sarada looked over at him.
"When do you have to be home?"
He shrugged. "Honestly, I'm kind of past the point of caring."
She scowled. "Boruto."
"What? It's true." He said. "I'm pretty sure my parents grounded me just to see how long it'd be before I broke it. I did pretty damn good this time."
Sarada snorted and stood from the chair. She stretched her stiff arms out. "Sure, we can probably watch a movie in my room, my dad just has to know you're here."
Boruto nodded, and picked up the bowl and took it into the kitchen while Sarada headed to her dad's office. When she peered inside, he was gone. Huh. That's weird.
"Dad?" Sarada called, walking up the stairs. She looked in her parents room and he wasn't there either. "Dad, are you home?"
Boruto came up the stairs shortly after. "He's not here?"
"No, he must've gone somewhere." Sarada said. Boruto pursed his lips.
"So you think it's still okay that I'm here?"
"I'm sure it's fine, I'll just text him and let him know." Sarada said, and they went to her room.
Boruto sat on her bed while Sarada raided the pantry downstairs for more snacks, and was able to find two bags of chips and some skittles and twizzlers. Not ideal for movie snacks but it was all they had.
"What do you want to watch?" She asked as she got on her bed.
"I don't care."
"Do you want like a Disney movie or something?"
"Will we really be paying attention anyway?" He lolled his head onto his shoulder, a lazy smirk resting on his lips. She caught what he meant and smacked him lightly.
"Boruto Uzumaki, you are the worst!"
He laughed. "I'm just kidding! I swear! I had to say it."
"Shut up." She muttered with embarrassment, and viciously scrolled through Netflix.
Eventually, they settled on a movie they'd both seen and enjoyed, and moved to the top of the bed. Sarada opened her bag of skittles and held it up so Boruto could have some too. His arm was wrapped around her shoulders and her head laid on his chest.
Her pulse was going erratic in her chest. She knew Boruto was joking when he said that, but was he also being serious? It was no secret that Sarada wanted to relive that night they'd had a while back… but at the same time liked how they were currently. She didn't want their relationship to become solely based around being makeout buddies. They'd been friends this long and she didn't want to shift their genuine connection to only physical connection. Even though Boruto made her feel some type of way, she wouldn't start anything unless he initiated it. She wouldn't even know how.
"Hey," She said softly. "Remember that one night we, uh… well, all that stuff happened, but like the conversations we were having before? I like that we can talk about stuff like that together."
Boruto looked at her. "Me too."
"I just still feel like I don't know a lot about you, so I want to know more."
Sarada felt stupid saying it out loud, but she really was on a mission to find out Boruto's feelings for her. He hadn't said anything explicitly clear in a while, so Sarada was left reading between all the lines to try and guess. Yeah, he snuck out to come and see her and bought her a pair of shoes yesterday, but verbal reassurance was her love language, so she had to try and navigate her way into the topic.
Boruto smiled, pushing himself down so their faces were across from each other.
"Well, what do you want to know about me?"
Sarada shrugged. "I dunno, just something I don't know. I feel like we always end up talking about me."
"It's 'cause you're just so interesting." Boruto said slyly, and Sarada scowled.
"I am not. So it's your turn."
"I dunno, Sarada, uh, I've told you a lot about my family." Boruto laid on his back. "You know about me, I guess I just can't really think of anything else."
"Well, like, you were in a relationship a while ago, right?"
Boruto gave her a look. "I'm not talking about my ex with you."
Sarada gave him an equal look back. "Why not?"
"Because I don't like focusing on the past. There's no point."
"Well why did you guys break up?"
This time Boruto looked genuinely annoyed. "You're just gonna keep asking about her, aren't you?"
Sarada gave him an innocent look, and he sighed.
"Okay, fine, I'll tell you, but you can't get all weird and jealous, okay? I hate when girls do that. She's my ex for a reason. I haven't talked to her in years."
"Okay, okay, I promise!" Sarada said.
Boruto rolled his eyes then turned on his side to face her. "Okay, it was the end of our seventh grade year. I met her at the school dance, and we just hit it off right away. She was a grade above me, so when we started dating I was in eighth grade and she was in ninth. So she had just gone into high school."
Sarada was surprised to hear that, but she also felt like she had already known that.
"Uh, basically, we dated as seriously as fourteen and fifteen year olds could, I lost my virginity to her, and four months later I walked in on her cheating on me with some guy who was a senior." Boruto scratched his head. "So yeah, imagine how awkward I felt walking in on my girlfriend getting railed by some eighteen year old. It wasn't cool, so we broke up, and that's that."
Sarada stared at him in disbelief. "So how long did you guys date then?"
"We broke up in, like, May. I don't really remember to be honest." Boruto shrugged. "But basically my entire eighth grade year we were dating."
"Wow, that's, um…" Sarada didn't know what to say. "Sad? I'm sorry."
"Well, the odds of getting cheated on in your very first relationship are slim, but at least I got that statistic out of the way." He said nonchalantly. "So I said screw all girls, and became an asshole that played soccer. It worked."
Sarada snorted. "So she goes to our school then, right?"
Boruto looked wary. "Yes. But you wouldn't know her since she's a grade above us."
"What's her name?"
"I'm not telling you that," Boruto let out a nervous laugh. "I don't want to 'cause drama so it doesn't even matter. She's moved on, I've moved on, so we're fine."
"But isn't it awkward if you run into her in the halls?" Sarada asked. Boruto didn't look at her.
"Not really, but it's 'cause we just ignore each other. She's dating some other guy on the football team, so I doubt she pays attention anyway."
"Still, I feel like that'd be weird."
"Well, it's like if you and Metal ran into each other. You just ignore it, right?"
Sarada went quiet. Oh. It made a lot more sense now. Before, she couldn't understand how Boruto put up this mask that he was indifferent to being around girls he'd been with, but now it made sense. That's how it had to be on both parties, or someone's feelings would get hurt.
When Boruto had said a long time ago that she wouldn't understand certain things or actions because she'd never been in a relationship before, he was right. And now that she had been through that experience, she was on the same wavelength.
"O-Oh, yeah, I guess you're right."
It got awkwardly silent between the two, and Sarada cursed herself. She needed a way out of this tension, but how?
"Soo, you didn't really date anyone after that?"
Boruto shook his head. "Not really. I thought there were a couple girls I was interested in, but then I realized that no one is worth it this young. Seriously, we still have so much to learn and most people who date in high school don't end up together anyway in the long run."
Well that sounded rather pessimistic, and Sarada's mood was slowly deflating. It didn't sound like Boruto had any interest at all in having anything serious. Which, yeah, for good reasons, but still. Sarada couldn't say she wasn't disappointed.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." She said, and felt herself pulling away from him. God, all she was trying to do was find out how he felt and it completely backfired on her. This is what she got.
"See, now you're all offended." Boruto grabbed her waist and squeezed her tightly. "This is why I didn't want to talk about it!"
"N-No, I'm not offended over your past, I promise!" Sarada exclaimed.
Boruto brought their faces together. "So what, then?"
Sarada refused to look at him. She didn't want to say anything out loud now, she felt stupid.
"Hey," Boruto poked her sides, "answer me."
"No, I feel dumb."
"Why?"
"Well, just–I don't know." Sarada was struggling to find the words. "I guess, I guess because I was wondering how you feel about me? And you just seem all pessimistic about relationships now. Which I mean I understand, but that's why I feel dumb."
Boruto raised a brow. "What do you mean how I feel about you? Sarada, isn't that obvious?"
She met his gaze. "No."
Boruto stared at her for a long moment.
"Do you really think I'd sneak out and bring dandelions to just anyone?"
She shrugged. "I dunno."
"You're so stupid." Boruto put her in a headlock. "Do I have to spell it out for you? Sarada Uchiha: I! Like! You! What didn't register when I announced that in front of the entire school?"
Sarada felt her cheeks burning. "Okay, I get it!"
"Do you?" Boruto messed up her hair, and she squealed in laughter. "'Cause I don't think you do!"
"Yes! I do!" Sarada laughed, "Now stop it!"
Boruto stopped with a huff, then suddenly grasped the ruby necklace dangling down from Sarada's neck. "Jeez, it's like you completely forgot what this necklace is a reminder for. If I changed my mind, I would've told you to throw it away or something."
"But didn't you just say you think relationships this young are pointless?" Sarada retorted.
"They are, but that doesn't mean they can't also mean something." Boruto said. "You need to stop worrying so much and just take it day by day."
That gave Sarada quite a bit to think about. But still, she had other questions ruminating in her mind.
"I guess, too, I'm curious as to why me when there are girls out there much more experienced than I am."
Boruto almost laughed, and cupped her chin in between his fingers. "I can find plenty of girls to give me head and sex, that's easy. But someone I'm actually comfortable with and have a deep connection with? Now that's rare. So stop overthinking it, I don't hang out with you and buy you nice things just so you'll have sex with me."
That gave her a lot of relief to hear him explain that. But Sarada still had her insecurities, so while they were on the topic, she was trying to get as many answers as she could.
"I-I just worry that if anything does happen, I won't be half as good as the other girls you have been with…"
Boruto's lip curled up, and he lightly shook her head back and forth. "Well, good thing you're a quick learner." He said, then touched their noses together. "Now shut up and kiss me."
Sarada complied with no hesitation. The electricity between them was so powerful that Boruto wasted no time flipping her on top of him. She squeaked when she awkwardly fumbled over him, but he only laughed.
"You're cute."
She felt more humiliated than cute, but if Boruto didn't have a problem with it, then she'd just forget about it.
They kissed fervently, Boruto's hands freely roaming anywhere on the upper part of Sarada's body, everything felt as good as it did last night. She let out a protesting noise when Boruto tried to take off her shirt, and he only smirked dismissively in response.
Once the movie credits rolled, Boruto hopped out her window with one last kiss before heading home. Sarada looked as flustered and disheveled as ever.