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Part Two: Teasers

A small mail she was not expecting? That was an amateur move. Sarada, who watched TV too much as a child, wouldn't fall for such a trick. She entered her home for only enough time to take off her shoes, drop her work stuff and grab a knife. She took the small package outside and dropped it on the floor, extending her arm as much as possible while staying inside and poking the object with the knife. Her suspicions were confirmed when one of the pokes activated the device: a glitter bomb. Glitter splattered all over the walls and floor, and full of satisfaction Sarada went back inside.

Behind his door, Boruto watched as she took the mail inside. He thought then that it was a win so upon the sight of Sarada with a knife he decided it was time to wait for the worse. However, when she never knocked, he looked through the door again and ended up seeing her delighted face walking on the ball of her feet to put a note in the glittery wall and leaving after blowing a kiss his way. Damned woman.

Boruto went out after her door was shut and read the stick note out loud. "Maybe next time ;)". And now he had to clean the mess he indirectly caused.

Their bickering had been going on for over a month and so far, both of them managed to get the other completely pissed off. For starters, he would always close the elevator door whenever he saw she was trying to get in. One of those times, he even got Sarada running up the stairs to catch him before he went inside, getting to their floor completely disheveled only so she point a finger at his face and say:

"You're a petty piece of shit, do you know that?" while completely out of breath.

To which, Boruto smirked and replied. "I'm glad you noticed, 'cause it's fucking intentional."

"This is gonna have a backlash, just wait and see."

"I will see? This is already a response to you moaning loud constantly for the last few weeks. I know you do that on purpose to wake me up."

"For all you know I could be with someone." Sarada insolently talked as she crossed her arms.

Interestingly, he had already considered the possibility. Boruto thought his peace was over when the screaming started; it could mean she had a partner and those interesting sounds would be a presence in his life. He easily concluded it wasn't the case. They met each other on the elevator constantly-hence why teasing her with the closing doors proved to be so effective-and she was always alone. Moreover, when her obnoxiously loud TV was on it was pretty hard to believe she left for a date whatsoever.

So he knew that: "You weren't, to be with someone you would have to take your face out of your ass." Perhaps he just had trouble expressing exactly how he knew.

"And for you to be with someone you would have to be a decent human being." She retorted before walking away.

After that day, as revenge, Sarada would actively receive his food whenever he ordered any type of delivery, until she got tired of the disgusting burger place he seemed to be so fond of. Boruto was not happy about it, though, which led him to decide he would always call her interphone every time he was leaving for work. That was the most annoying thing he could do because the sound was awful and they worked on quite different schedules. He could only imagine her unhappy face waking up to it, something that belonged exclusively in his imagination because Sarada was, utmostly, an extremely heavy sleeper.

The following week a whole new set of tricks were played. On Monday, she put vaseline on his door handle. Tuesday, he played tennis against her wall. Wednesday she cooked something so strong his nostrils couldn't identify what could be. That made him knock on her door again.

"How is my food annoying you?"

"Sarada… Please not today." Boruto got closer to her and she gave a step back, unconsciously. "I have a friend over."

After a few minutes, to piss him off in an extra level, Sarada sat on her balcony wearing only a top and the tiniest short Boruto had ever seen on her body. He wouldn't even think she owned such a thing and yet there she was. Three months ago, those clothes would be a hit straight into his heart─and also quite unfit with the weather. The fact that she was doing it to provoke him only made it better.

"It's too hot today," Sarada said to his date while smiling.

"Sarada… It's not summer." Boruto replied, visibly annoyed. He came to the conclusion that their balconies were too close to each other. Whoever projected that building was an enemies-to-lovers fan.

"Global warming is crazy, don't you think?" Her eyes were still on the girl rather than minding what he had to say. "And you? Aren't you hot... Never mind, you are hot."

Boruto held back a laugh. "What is it now, are you flirting with her?"

His companion smiled. "Let her."

As the hate grew, the knowledge about each other's tastes and antics also broadened, completely unperceived by the couple of neighbors. They became extremely aware of their surroundings, always ready to retaliate. It spilled through their entire personal lives. While Boruto dedicated his free time complaining about her to his friends, thinking about him became her devious little distraction. When things got hard at work she'd think that upon coming home he would make her life harder-the problem was, a part of her was eager to have her peace shattered by him. Their fights had gotten intense, their pranks were getting increasingly smarter, and this, somehow, made them both excited.

The thing was that they were getting out of control; only noted when an assembly was set and both of them were specially invited, letters under the door and everything. That was when they knew they fucked up.

The elevator ride was quiet that day. They were alone, yet no words were exchanged; unspoken shame in the air.

"So you got it too, huh." Sarada broke the silence. He nodded and they went separate ways.

The entirety of the building gave them an earful. Complaints about disturbances, noises, loitering, weird smells, and even running on corridors. How were they unaware of that? Being so caught up in their little juvenile fight ended up getting out the worst of them. Sarada was definitely not proud of her behavior and decided not to participate in those demeanors again, apologizing profusely to all their neighbors. Boruto didn't say a word, at least not that she heard.

"You let me take responsibility for everything! Stood there watching as I kept apologizing like I did it all alone."

Finished with the assembly, he walked up the stairs right in front of Sarada while she started yet another fight with him, despite having just decided that she would be the "bigger" person. Not only was he an entire head taller than her but also he did not fight back. Her complaints filled the walls around them and he said nothing during the entire time they walked up to the 4th floor. He did sigh once or twice but his contribution ended there and he got home without even looking at her face.

"Creepy weirdo," Sarada mumbled. Her feelings for him had entirely twisted to hate at that point. The laid-back act he always had, the annoying pranks he would pull on her that she fell so many times, the annoying way he moved his hair out of his face, his ridiculous smile when he managed to get an upset stare out of her. And she hated even more how he did not fight back that time. Their heated discussions always led her heart to skip some beats, probably caused by his blue eyes piercing through her soul; but his silence hurt more than she could place in words.

Boruto was… Ashamed. He had promised to leave his childish behavior years ago but something about her constant nagging, knocking on his door, eating his food, and basically how annoying she was, brought out repressed feelings of immaturity. Ever since their first confrontation, everything enrolled all too naturally, dangerously easy. So again, he was in the position of someone who bothered others. Lame. He was too old for that.

He couldn't, however, shake out the nice feeling their interactions had and wonder whether or not the end of their little arguments would mean the termination of their interactions. It was nothing more than lingering mutual disdain and he was aware; so why did he feel like it was impossible to let go?