My eyes hurt and I can barely move them. I try my best to make them move and see what's happening around me and they slowly open up, and an unclear scene appears in front of my eyes.

"It's all white..." I mutter to myself. I constantly blink my eyes until my vision has been restored. I was facing the ceiling.

"Where am I?" I whisper. I am so clueless. I don't even recognize where I am. Suddenly, Chocho's face appears in my sight. She looks worried.

"Hey, you're awake. How are you?" she asks with a worried tone.

"Where am I?" I repeat and wait for an answer.

"We are in the clinic," she responds then I try to recall what happened earlier that must be the reason why I am in such a place.

"What happened?" I say in a weak voice. I feel dizzy all of a sudden.

"So you don't remember?" she says and puts her palm on my forehead.

"Eh?" I mutter in confusion.

"You got a high fever when you arrived here. So glad that it has gone down," she says in relief.

I try to remember what happened in the forest. Oh yes, I got lost with the jerk and we got into a little fight. The ground broke and I fell. And then, Boruto came to save me.

"I got to see Boruto," I tell her I got up from the bed.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asks assisting me to get up.

"Yeah, I just feel dizzy but I can manage to walk somehow," I tell her.

"Okay," she sounds not so sure.

"What time is it?" it's past 10 o'clock," she responds. Hey, it's less than two hours to go before New Year?

"Aren't you hungry?" she asks. Oh, yeah, I was asleep for like five hours but I don't feel like it.

"No. I need to talk to Boruto. But by the way, how was the activity?" I remember about it just now.

"Just as you expected. Our adviser tricked us. They are preparing for the awarding ceremony now. It's going to be at 11 o'clock," she informs me and I just nod to respond to her.

I stand up from the bed and am ready to leave to see Boruto and thank him.

"Sarada, let me join you meeting him," she offers but I refuse. I don't want to burden Chocho with this anymore. I know she was with me this whole time. I can walk on my own now.

"You don't have to worry about me, Chocho. Please enjoy the rest of the night," I say and she seems insistent.

"But," she utters but I shake my head and she did not insist anymore.

"See you later," I say and leave the room. I don't know where Boruto is but I need to find him.

I think I have walked a few meters away from the clinic and looked for him in every room but there is no sign of him anywhere.

"Sarada?" a voice from behind calls out to me. I know that voice very much. It's Boruto. I turn to face him.

"Boruto..." I mutter when I see him standing in front of me.

"Why did you get up already? How are you? How is your body? Did you feel hurt?" he is too worried about me.

"Hey, hey, will you please calm down?" I tell him. He is in a panic attack.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I am just worried," he says awkwardly.

"I am fine now. By the way, thank you for saving me..." I bow my head at him and he stammers.

"Hey, I didn't do much though. It's Kawaki who saved you," he reveals and I suddenly lift my head.

"Huh?" I am surprised to hear it. It's the jerk and not him?

"He carried you on his back and gave all his might to save you. I just assisted him. I'm glad that you're safe," he says. His tone is relieved. I can't believe it's the jerk all along.

"I see. But still thank you for saving me," I bow my head once again and he looks embarrassed.

"By the way, Sarada..." he mutters. I can say that he is kind of hesitant and uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"What's the matter?" I ask while crinkling my forehead.

"Hm... About the..." I don't know why he is acting strange right now. I tilt my head while waiting for him to spit out what's on his tongue.

"Um..." I utter and he then looks at me. I feel strange by the way he stares at me. He shoves in his pocket and takes out an envelope...

"Hey, that..." I say. If I am not mistaken it's my letter. Something in the jerk's possession. How did he get it? Did someone give it to him? Did he find it somewhere else? My head starts to panic and I think I'm going insane.

No way...

"How did you get that?" I am unaware that I am uttering those words.

"Kawaki handed this to me earlier," he says in a low voice. I cup my mouth in shock. He looks down and gazes at the envelope.

"I have read everything," he starts to confess to me. I think I am a statue in front of him. I froze while my body slightly shakes. I don't know what to say to him.

"Did you know that I was so happy when I read your letter?" he tells me while smiling. I can't count how many times I gulp because I can feel my throat dry.

"I have always liked you, Sarada. Ever since I met you. I did everything I can so you can acknowledge my presence. I join the basketball team because I know you like watching the game. I study hard so I can be at your level and you won't be disappointed in me," he reveals. I can't believe what I am hearing.

He has liked me ever since and I was so oblivious about it. I clench my chest because it beats wildly inside now.

"I am happy knowing that you feel the same way too," he smiles gently and lifts the letter. It's a genuine smile. His eyes are conveying his feelings. I can feel it but...

How about Sumire? Does she know about this? How would she feel about it? I don't want her to feel betrayed or anything.

"But... Sumire..." he startles when I mentioned her name and then his face saddens and looks away.

"That's..." he mutters in a weak voice.

By the way, I need to see the jerk and make him explain to me why he delivered my letter to Boruto without asking for my permission.

"Boruto, I have to go. Let's talk again later. See you," I didn't let him respond to me and I run off right away. I need to see the jerk, where could he be?

He is not with them right now. He is not the type who socializes or hangs out with others. I go to see him in his room. I take a deep breath before knocking at the door.

I knock three times but there is no response from inside. He must not be here. I leave immediately and search for him again. I am about to look for him at the veranda but to my surprise, I bump into a familiar face.

We both are surprised by each other's presence. We look away at the same time trying to avoid the uncomfortable atmosphere between us.

"Sumire, can we talk?" I break the awkward moment and she looks at me. I have to do this.

"About what?" she replies in a calm voice.

"About you avoiding me," I say and we stare at each other for a few seconds.

"I am not," she breaks the silence. She is lying.

"You are. Is it because of Boruto?" I say frankly and her eyes grow wide. She looks down trying to dodge my stares.

"So you knew, huh?" she mutters.

"We chatted just now," I say and she smiles bitterly at me.

"What did he tell you?" she asks and then bites her lower lip.

"Was it me the reason for your break up?" I ask head-on and her forehead wrinkles.

"Break up?" she repeats. What's with the tone? She sounds confused.

"You and Boruto broke up, right? It's widespread on the platform," I say and she tilts her head a little.

"What a silly rumor," she chuckles now I am the one confused.

"What do you mean? You have lost him and it's because of me, wasn't it?" I want her to tell me the truth.

"You can't lose what you never had," she utters vaguely. I don't get her. I don't get anything. My mind starts to rumble as the thoughts battle in my head.

"We never broke up because we never dated," her voice cracks. Then she clenches her chest.

"I don't understand," I mutter and she looks directly at my eyes.

"Boruto and I were just best friends. He was always in love with you. He always talks about you like how amazing you are. I thought his feelings would change. I underestimated him, I underestimated his feelings and now I'm at loss," she reveals. I could not believe what I am hearing from her. She is holding her tears back I can tell.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. I-" she cuts me off.

"You don't have to apologize. It's not your fault. I should have accepted reality before," she smiles at me but the pain is there.

"I tried my best but reality hits so badly. I can't be you whatever I do," she suddenly sobs. I try to get close to comfort her but she stops me.

"I don't know what to say to Boruto so we haven't talked to each other again. I try to avoid you two so I won't get into confrontations but I realized just now that I need to. I think Boruto and I can't be friends anymore or we can't be the way we used to," she says while wiping her tears with her palms.

"Sumire..." I whisper. She looks at me and opens her mouth to speak again but I stop her from spitting a word.

"You should not end this way. The friendship you shared all these years, the memories you made together, are you going to forget all of them just because you can't fall in love with each other? Are you going to give everything up that easily?" I don't know where those words come from. I just can't afford to see her cry and end up in a disaster because of me.

I have liked Boruto ever since but I never shared such a friendship with him just like they had. I know Boruto's worried about it too, he is worried about her. I can tell based on his reaction earlier. Am I too selfish? Why am I even saying these things to her? I should be happy because Boruto likes me too, right? I am in an awkward situation now and advising someone who might have grudges against me. My heart starts to ache too.

"It's too painful to admit that I can't be like you. I can't be who you are. I can't be someone who Boruto likes the most," she utters in agony and I think my heart skips a beat.

"Sumire, please talk to him," I tell her but she shakes her head.

"I can't," she refuses but I don't think that is the best answer to that.

"Please, save your friendship!" I bow in front of her. I don't know what her reaction would be or why I am doing this.

"Sarada, please lift your head," she demands but I am stubborn as hell. I don't want to unless she says she will talk to him.

"Please, don't do this to me," she begs but I am not lifting my head.

"I am not lifting my head unless you will talk to him," I put my thoughts into words.

"But..." she mutters.

"Is that too much to ask? This camp is to forgive, forget and move on, isn't it? You have to reconcile with him," I say still not lifting my head.

"Sarada..." I hear her mutters.

"Please, do this for me," I ask her. I don't want guilt to hunt me for the rest of my life although it wasn't my fault at all however it involves me.

"Okay, I will talk to him," she says finally and I immediately lift my head.

"Really?" I ask to confirm it.

"Yeah. Thank you," she says and I shake my head. No need to thank me though.

"Please, take care of Boruto. If he needs me I will always be there for him," she smiles and I respond with a smile too.

"I will see you around," I wave at her and leave right away. I need to talk to the jerk.

I can hear laughter and yells from the ground floor. I think the awarding ceremony has already started. Probably, it's about New Year's Day.

I walk my way to the veranda. When I am inches away from the area, I notice that the snow has not stopped yet. I move closer to the doorway and I notice a silhouette of a person. It must be him.

I open the glass door and found him standing out there. I was right that he was there. He perhaps notices that the glass door opens and turns to see who's coming out.

His brows twitch when he recognizes me standing in front of him.

"What are you doing in a place like this? You should be resting now," he says upon turning his head back to watch the falling snow.

I take a deep breath before speaking to him.

"Why did you give my letter to him?" I ask finally. He tilts his head a little then puts his hands in his pockets.

"Was he supposed to be receiving it?" he says coldly as usual.

"You should have returned it to me first," I say and he keeps silent for a while.

"You were unconscious so I could not instead I gave it to him. That's what you wanted, right?" he is not wrong at all but... I should have known at least.

"He had read it and... By the way, I can't turn back time and stop you from giving it to him..." I pause from time to time and my heart beats fast again.

"And..." I pause and stammer not only because of the cold but my chest is about to burst out anytime soon. These past events made me have these mixed emotions.

I clench my fists because I feel so disgusted with myself and with his silence knowing that I am bragging at him now. It's just so weird when he doesn't talk or retaliate or chuckle. Please say something or I will break down! Guess what? He never spoke to me.

"Thank you... Thank you for saving me..." I almost shout at him. I clutch my chest because it's truly embarrassing to tell those words to him.

He did not respond. Did he hear me? He doesn't move too. Just what the hell is he intending to do, just stand there and act like he didn't hear anything? I am about to speak again but I fail.

"I'm sorry for everything," he lifts his head and watches how the snow falls from the skies. My eyes stretch in surprise. He is apologizing to me? The way he said it is... It's honestly sincere. He is not the jerk I know. He is an impostor! My heart beats loudly. I don't have words in my mouth. I didn't see it coming.

He turns and faces me. I am dumbfounded when he looks directly into my eyes. I clutch my chest even tighter when I realize he is staring at me.

He walks in my direction still his hands are in his pockets. He stops a few inches away from me. I think I'm going to melt the way he stares at me. What's going on with you, Sarada?

He takes his hand out of his pocket and I notice that there is something in his hand. A paper or a card? I can't tell.

"Take this... It's a gift from someone you know," he says. He is offering me a card. My hands are shaking. I don't know if I'm going to take it or not. But in the end, I take it. I try not to shiver so he won't laugh at me if he notices.

"What's this?" I ask but he did not respond instead he is ready to walk off.

"3
.
.
.
.
.
2
.
.
.
.
.
1
.
.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

"I'm glad that you're fine now,"

I hear him say and completely leave me under the beautiful fireworks with my eyes wide open and lips hung up.

Oh, when did the snow stops falling? I didn't notice at all.

I stare at the card in my hand for a while then decided to open it.

"This is..." I am astonished at what's on the card.

"This is Mr. Martin's autograph..." I mutter.

"You jerk!"

Tears are flowing on my cheeks.

"Thank you..."

To be continued...