In the morning. Sarada woke up around six-thirty, and Chocho was still passed out. The light was beginning to stream through Mitsuki's blinds, and Sarada finally took a chance to look at his bedroom. It was rather large – definitely bigger than hers – with the queen sized bed in the middle of the wall, a large television that stood at the foot of it with an Xbox perched underneath in one of the coffee table's compartments, tapestries symmetrically hung up on either side of the bedposts, a large mirror that took over the perimeter of the closet doors, and a desk with a new laptop set up all nice and pristine in the right corner. The marble flooring was cold as Sarada slowly slipped off the bed, the t-shirt falling down to her knees. Again, she looked in the mirror.

Her hair was too short. Her legs were too skinny. Her face was too angular. Her eyes were too deep set. She hardly looked cute in an oversized t-shirt, let alone regular clothes. The dress from last night was the closest thing to cute she's felt in a long time. She's never cared about her looks before, so why now? Why was everything hitting her so hard since yesterday?

There was no hope for lightening her mood, so Sarada plopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Making shapes of the textures and patterns was entertaining for only a moment, until she forced herself to go back to sleep.

Eventually, Sarada was woken up by Chocho demanding what happened last night. To be honest, Sarada was still so tired she didn't even remember herself, but told Chocho all the details she could recall in the moment. When Sarada mentioned something about Boruto, Chocho's cheeks lit up. She paused.

"What?"

"Um, nothing." Chocho averted her gaze. Sarada knew that look. She leaned forward, her eyes narrowing suspiciously, and Chocho backed away. "Wh-What?"

"What happened last night?" Sarada demanded.

"Ummm, I'm not allowed to talk about it."

"Did you guys do it?"

"No!" She squealed. "Just...things happened."

Sarada rested back on her knees. "Like what?"

Chocho tilted her head to the side. "Mmm, well, he didn't do anything to me, I only did stuff to him."

Sarada's mouth dropped, and Chocho burst into giggles.

"Stop giving me that look!"

"Chocho I can't believe you!" Sarada laughed.

Chocho flipped her hair behind her shoulder. "What can I say, I know what I do."

Sarada was finishing the remnants of her laughter, when a question popped in her head. Her face almost flushed just thinking about it. She suddenly went quiet, and Chocho looked at her curiously.

"What?"

"Was he...big?"

"Sarada!" Chocho squealed loudly, falling to her side from laughing so hard. Tears were coming from her eyes. "Oh my God, I can't believe you!"

"N-N-No, I didn't mean it like I wanted to know! I-I-It's just a question! All the girls talk about it!" Sarada flailed her hands back and forth.

Chocho's laughter was so loud that she probably woke up anyone else in the household. Well, it was around eleven, so not like it was early. But still, they were guests in Mitsuki's house, she didn't want to be obnoxiously loud.

"You've never even seen one before so you wouldn't know the difference." Chocho smacked her lightly. Sarada huffed, her arms folded defensively.

"Neither have you!"

"Girl, I don't know what you've been doing on your weekends, but I've definitely seen more than one."

"Yeah, okay. Whose?"

Chocho was silent.

"That's what I thought."

"Okayyy," Chocho drawled out, "like one other in person! The rest have been pictures."

"From who?"

"Sorry, I can't screenshot and tell." Chocho winked at her and Sarada rolled her eyes.

"You're such a liar."

Chocho shrugged. "Gotta make it seem like boys want me."

"I think it'll do the exact opposite, but whatever." Sarada shook her head and got up from the bed. "So? Was he?"

"Mm, wouldn't you like to know?" Chocho teased. "Whose t-shirt is that?"

"You answer my question I'll answer yours."

They both gave each other an even stare, then answered simultaneously.

"Yes."

"Boruto's."

"What?!" Chocho looked offended. Sarada suddenly realized it must've appeared that once she fell asleep, Boruto and Sarada did the deed and he gave her a t-shirt to sleep in. Which completely wasn't the case, Sarada had never even kissed a boy!

"He gave it to me to sleep in last night because he said my dress looked uncomfortable! I swear we didn't do anything!" Sarada quickly deflected.

"Um, that's a big hint he wanted you to get naked!" Chocho rested her arms behind her head. "But we're practically dating now, so I can't have you wearing my boyfriends t-shirts to bed. So take it off."

Sarada rolled her eyes, taking off the shirt and throwing it at Chocho and changing back into her dress. Whatever Chocho wanted, Sarada was fine with. She wasn't as interested in boys as her friend was, and especially thought Boruto was obnoxious, arrogant, superficial, and annoyed. She hated him. But apparently his peen made up for his horrendous personality and won over ninety-five percent of the girls at the school. So whatever, Chocho was happy, that's what mattered. At least Sarada wasn't dumbstruck by his stupid looking mug.

And she wasn't going to think about that compliment he gave her last night, either.

They fix themselves up before heading out the door, Mitsuki waving politely while Boruto didn't say a single word or even spare a glance at either of them. Chocho was disappointed but Sarada gave the excuse that he probably had a horrible hangover and didn't want to talk to anyone until he felt better. That put her worries at ease and they went out for breakfast.

Chocho ordered unlimited pancakes, hash browns, sausage, bacon, eggs, a crepe, and orange juice, while Sarada just went with an omelette. It was almost too much food for her while Chocho ate everything with ease. How she kept her figure and ate more than the average person was beyond Sarada.

"So would today or yesterday be our anniversary?" Chocho pondered, putting another half of a pancake into her mouth.

"Honestly, Cho, I think you're being a little delusional. You guys barely became a thing last night and once you were asleep he tried to get at me and every other girl in the room."

"You said nothing happened."

"Yeah, I know, but he kept hanging around and flirting with me!"

Chocho tsked. "Sarada, as the duff between the two of us, he has to be nice to you because you're my best friend. You never socialize with boys so it probably seemed like he was flirting because that was your first time. He knows better than anyone that in order for the relationship to be perfect, he has to get along with the best friend too, which happens to be you. So obviously he has to make you like him."

Sarada tilted her head. What? Chocho was spouting nonsense. Never in a million years would Sarada like Boruto, so he and Chocho were doomed.

"See, but who wouldn't want to be with me?" Chocho finished the pancake in another bite. "I should call him tonight. You better not ruin this for me, Sarada."

"Did you not just hear a word I said?" Sarada grumbled.

Typical Chocho. Always making everything about herself.

She had a feeling Boruto would be the main topic of discussion for months to come until he inevitably did something unforgivable and they broke up. Boruto just didn't seem like the type of guy to last long in relationships or to even know how to be a gentleman. He was too flaky and too flirty. So it would be interesting to see if they even worked out or if he would just play mind games the whole time. Sarada was completely opposed to her best friend even interacting with that asshole from the start, but at this point Chocho's mind was made up. In her head, he was already her boyfriend, so there was no going back.

"Yeah, I think I'll call him. When are you gonna be normal like me and get a boyfriend so we can go on double dates?"

The question was so random Sarada almost choked on her water. "Never. Boys don't like me."

"Oh, whatever! You just have to try harder to be prettier. All we need to do is update your clothes, buy you some new shoes, put a little makeup on you and boom! You'll be a new girl. Maybe do something new with your hair too."

"I can't do much 'cause it's already short."

"Get extensions." Chocho tugged on her own hair to make a point. "My hair is long, but to get it as thick as it is requires clip ins!"

"Those are expensive, my parents would never! My dad would kill me if he knew I was trying to look good for boys." Sarada muttered.

"Your dad is old fashioned. Look, lets go to the mall really fast, we'll find super cheap, long clip ins, and it'll be fine!"

Sarada grimaced. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! If you're not up to my level of cuteness, I can't be seen with you anymore. So we gotta do something about that. And since yesterday was so much fun, I need to repay you somehow!" Chocho said.

Well, once again her mind was made up, so Sarada had to go along with the whims of Chocho Akimichi. Not that she was opposed to a makeover, in fact she'd been wanting one before school started. So now was the perfect time, and Sarada had a great feeling about it.

XxX

Luckily, her parents still hadn't found out about the party, and they were coming home the following Sunday, the day before school started. Sarada had gone back to her house after the mall and scrubbed every inch of floor, counter, patio, swimming pool, bathroom and emptied every trash and febreezed every room until her hands were raw and she was sweating. Apparently Chocho had ditched to go hang out with Boruto, which left Sarada cleaning the house by herself. It took hours, but she finished it, and once the garbage man picked everything up tomorrow, there would be absolutely no trace of the party. Thank God.

The first day of school, Sarada was so nervous to do her own makeup and hair that she had Chocho come over the morning of so they could get ready together. She had been practicing over the week, but still couldn't get the clip-ins to blend. She wanted to look perfect the first day to show everyone how pretty she could be. She even went out of her comfort zone and got a tight-fitting top, skinny jeans, and a cute pair of brown sandals, then put on some flashy rings and bracelets, and a locket necklace Itachi gave her when she was born. She only wore it for special occasions, and this was definitely one of those times. The only thing that still looked the same were her glasses and her smile. Everything else looked different.

"You girls ready?" Sakura knocked lightly on Sarada's door frame, and Chocho grinned.

"Yep! Look how pretty Sarada is now!"

"Wow, your hair is beautiful! Are those extensions?" Sakura exclaimed. Sasuke was walking by right as she said that, and peered into the room.

"Yeah. Are they too much?" Sarada ran her hands through them, pinching the soft, synthetic curled ends between her fingers. Sakura shook her head.

"No, you look so grown up!"

Sasuke made a noise.

"Oh honey, stop. Compliment her!" Sakura said.

"You look very nice." Sasuke said. Sarada beamed.

"Thanks!"

"Let me take your pictures," Sakura said, reading her camera. They all went outside and the two girls posed. Sarada couldn't help but be ecstatic. The nerves were now settling in. New classes, new teachers, a new school year, a new look, a new start.

"Have fun!" Sakura waved as they hopped into Chocho's car.

"Be sure to send some pictures to my mom!" Chocho said, and they pulled out of the driveway. The school wasn't too far, so neither pair of parents were concerned about them carpooling. They blasted music, singing along to their favorite song, and pulled into the parking lot.

Sarada felt more excited than nervous to see everyone from last year. Some people had changed a lot over the summer whereas others hadn't as much. Chocho was social as ever, saying hi to everyone, hugging all her friends, and bragging that she now had a car. There were perks being one of the oldest in the grade, Sarada had to admit. She still had to wait until next July until she got her license.

Walking through the halls felt...different. The energy was more prominently directed at her. Instead of everyone staring only at Chocho, they were all staring at Sarada, too. All the looks and whispers were enough to make her self conscious. She didn't know how Chocho handled all this attention.

"Boruto!" Chocho called out. Having been surrounded by a huge group of people and his arm hooked around a girls' shoulders, Boruto wasn't quick to pay attention to the girl's singsong voice, until he took time to peel his eyes away from the conversation.

Quickly, his arm dropped to his side in astonishment. Everyone's attention immediately snapped to Sarada. No one was surprised to see Chocho looking flawless as ever. The big shock was the shy girl who always trailed behind her like a shadow now had a presence, and a grand one too.

"Is that Sarada?" Shikadai leaned to Boruto. His brow furrowed.

"I think so."

Chocho squealed in delight as she wrapped her arms around Boruto. The girl he had just been cuddling looked offended and she gave a dirty look to all her friends. Boruto's friends, on the other hand, took a large step back from the ecstatic Chocho, and Boruto rolled his eyes. His gaze met Sarada's, and quickly realized his expression, and pushed Chocho off as discreetly as possible with a forced smile. Sarada felt irritation boil inside. What a faker. He wasn't even hiding his disdain. How Chocho got the impression that he liked her back was through pure delusion.

"Damn, you look hot as hell." He said to Chocho, regardless of his previous expression. The other girl smacked his arm. "What?"

"You're so stupid." She spat, then dragged her friends away. Sarada was tempted to join them in their tirade for boycotting Boruto Uzumaki, but unfortunately her best friend was an idiot and no one else would put up with her like Sarada could, so she had to stay put.

Chocho giggled and twirled in a circle, sending a dirty look to the girl who just left as if it was some victory that Boruto called her hot. Sarada folded her arms.

Girls were crazy and bitter. Pining after a boy wasn't cute, but if Sarada tried to tell her best friend that, it would go through one ear and right out the other. Chocho was crazy trying to fight to be with someone like Boruto. She was changing herself to be what he wanted, and he still didn't even want her! But besides that, what was Boruto's problem anyway? He was so two faced it wasn't even funny. It was blatantly obvious that he was playing games with Chocho and hundreds of other girls in the school. He probably had one hoe per hallway.

"If anyone looks good, it's Sarada. Like damn." Iwabee commented.

Sarada's cheeks lit up as she realized that everyone's eyes were indeed all on her. She'd never had boys look at her like this before, and with everyone staring at her like that, especially Boruto, it was embarrassing. His eyes quickly went up and down, but then averted somewhere out in the distance. Chocho's mouth parted in an attempt to comment a retaliation, but seeing no one was paying attention to her, the look on her face said everything. She looked at Sarada, and Sarada's stomach knotted.

"U-Uh, Cho, I'm going to our locker." Sarada forced a smile, turning on her heel, and walking the other way. Her heart was thudding so hard in her chest it felt like it was going to explode while her hair trailed behind her like ocean waves.

Mitsuki glanced at Boruto. Boruto ignored him.

While Sarada was at her locker, a few friends ran up to her, giddily complimenting her hair and said how pretty she was, then about her summer. It was so nice to see all her school friends again. A whole summer with just Chocho had been a lot, but Sarada was always too shy to reach out first.

Even though it was a bit embarrassing, Sarada felt so confident and empowered today. She really wanted to branch out her social circle and really make a lot of new friends this year. Her and Chocho had been friends since they were little, but for some reason today felt so off. It felt like the beginning of an ending.

With a determined sigh, she shut her locker, prepared with all the books for her classes, and headed to her designated homeroom.

Homeroom was the first half hour of the day that stayed year round. It was implemented to help students feel more prepared for the day, sort of as a buffer. They had a homeroom teacher that watched over them, took attendance, and was there to monitor, and give general announcements for the school.

There were two students chosen per homeroom to be class representatives for their year. There they were able to get general feedback and votes of the student body, discuss it with the whole student council, who could then bring it to the Headmaster. As well as other things like planning and decorating for dances, helping with school events, assisting teachers with lessons, and being good role models for their homeroom class and surrounding peers.

Sarada had quite often thought about applying. Her mother had done it as well as cheer when she was younger and had loved it. Though, Sarada wanted to explore more first. She wasn't sure if she wanted to be a class rep, join a sports team, or join a club. There were too many options.

Sitting down in a desk close to the back, she set her shoulder bag on the hook and waited patiently. Students were slowly filing in, and she was taking note of who she would be stuck with the rest of the year. So far, everyone was nice and unproblematic. Metal walked in moments later, and waved once he saw her. Namida and Wasabi followed shortly after. Sarada felt relief. Thank goodness people she knew were decent!

And, she spoke too soon. Inojin, Mitsuki, and of course, Boruto filed in right after them.

"This homeroom is gonna be lit!" Boruto cackled, taking a seat directly behind Sarada in the last row, his friends sitting on either side of him.

She felt herself sink lower into her arms. Oh God. This homeroom was going to be miserable.

There was lots of chatter. Loud chatter. And all the girls who had crushes on Boruto immediately noticed Chocho wasn't around, so they circled his desk in attempts to flirt. He was basking in it, the bastard. Sarada was already annoyed having her chair bumped by multiple girls, and almost moved one seat forward, until someone claimed it. She cursed under her breath.

"Are you excited for this year?" Metal asked, having sat next to her. She was grateful in his attempts to distract her from the squealing desperate pigs behind her.

"Yeah, I think it'll be different."

"Have you decided what club you want to join yet?"

"Honestly, no. I was thinking about it earlier, actually." She said, "I was thinking about student council, but you have to be voted in."

Metal smiled. "Well I am sure you'd be great at that! You are very smart after all. I am going to join the track team!"

Sarada laughed. "Yeah, you'd definitely be good at that."

The bell rang, and their homeroom teacher walked in the room beats later. His name was Shino Aburame, a slightly awkward reclusive fellow who collected insects, as well as a long time friend of the Hyuuga's – Hinata's family – so immediately Boruto greeted him with a loud hello. Mr. Aburame awkwardly cleared his throat to gain his composure.

"Hello everyone, welcome to the first day of school. My name is Mr. Aburame. I will be your homeroom teacher this year. Today, we'll be going over the basic rules of this classroom, and I won't make you go around and introduce yourself."

Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"You'll have plenty of time to talk throughout the year. So, with that, look at your classmates. See who you know, who you don't, be sure to introduce yourselves, be kind, be helpful, and always look out for one another. We will be picking our two class representatives this week, so be thinking of who is someone that is smart, responsible, and a role model for others. They will be your voice for the year, after all."

Eyes were roaming around the whole classroom. If Sumire had been placed in the same homeroom, Sarada would have had absolutely no chance. But, looking around, she knew most girls fell a bit short of the student rep role, so she felt pretty confident. She just needed votes, and that was it.

It was decided. She'd be on the student council. No matter what.

The class was excused to chat the remaining time, so everyone turned to their friends. Sarada held a loose conversation with Metal, Namida, and Wasabi, while she could barely keep her concentration with Boruto's megaphone voice blaring right behind her. In an attempt to calm herself, she pulled her textbooks out to organize them again.

Girls had flocked over to talk to Boruto and his friends, so when the bell rang, there was a frenzy of pheromones and excitement around Sarada. A girl was pushed into her desk, knocking one of her textbooks to the ground. Sarada gasped as people neglected to notice they were stepping atop of it, and finally once the commotion was over, she was able to reach down and grab it. Only, a hand picked it up before her. They locked eyes.

"Precalculus? You never cease to amaze me." Boruto said, looking cheeky. She glared at him, then snatched the textbook from his hands.

"I won't allow myself to settle for any less."

"Obviously." He looked her up and down, then pushed her glasses up her nose. "Nerd."

Sarada's jaw dropped, and she shoved her textbook in her satchel then made a beeline for the door.

"Wait, Sarada!"

They were the only two left in the class now. Everyone else had already left, leaving an uneasy silence lingering through the air.

Sarada hesitantly turned her head, extremely annoyed. "What?"

"Your hair," He said, not quite sure how to finish his sentence. Sarada's shoulders dropped, and she faced him completely now, flipping the dark locks behind her shoulder.

"What about it?"

Boruto's brows scrunched together. "I mean..." He trailed off, looking at her up and down. His look was different this time.

"What?" She snapped.

"I really liked your short hair." He said.

And, oh.

It was silent between them. Sarada was completely at a loss of what to say. Boruto – who had hardly spoken more than a couple words to her in any interaction, Boruto – who purposely called her by the wrong name, had always been paying attention. This whole time. Having him be so neutral when she was firing attitude from a canon was...extremely irritating. He never played into her game. He was always gentle when it came to her. Her mouth opened twice hoping she would find something to fill the pause that ensued, but nothing.

Apparently, Boruto hadn't finished, though.

"You were almost a seven, now you're a solid four point five." He shrugged, gathering his bag and pushing past her, his face completely indifferent.

Sarada's jaw dropped to the ground.

"You asshole!" She exclaimed.

She hated him, she seriously hated him!

Acting all innocent and gentle and soft to get Sarada's guard down then firing an insult right after made her blood boil. What an asshole! A rude, cocky, bastard! She'd rather be caught dead than ever talk to him again!

At the end of the day, Sarada was exhausted. Boruto's comment had gotten to her all day, she had eaten lunch on the stairs by the computer lab by herself, and now approaching her locker, Chocho and the one and only Boruto fucking Uzumaki were making out against her locker. Well, hers and Chocho's locker, but with everything going on, Sarada was about to blow her nozzle because of all things she was not a four point five, goddamnit.

"You're getting germs all over my locker." She said, her voice venomously flat, and Boruto paused to glare at her.

"Hey Chocho, I think we should call the exterminator because there seems to be a pest problem here."

"Would you two stop it!" Chocho slapped Boruto's chest, then looked at Sarada. "Stop being a bitch! You're just jealous."

Sarada let out a testy breath. "Couldn't be if I tried." But, life was too short to be angry, and she and Chocho had plans. She couldn't stay mad at her best friend or it would be awkward. "Are you ready for hamburgers?"

"Oh, yeah, we're not hanging tonight anymore. I'm going to Boruto's." She said, "So you need to find a different ride home."

For the first time in Sarada's life, she was stumped. Absolutely rutted. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before. They always had their tradition that after the first day of school they would go get hamburgers and shakes, and nothing came between that. Except now, her best friend was picking a boy over her.

This was a different type of feeling than when her parents were gone. This time, she felt replaced. Betrayed. Thrown away. And viciously angry. All because of Boruto Uzumaki.

Sarada stared at them evenly.

"Have fun then."

Without another word, she slammed the locker shut and walked away.

She was hurt. More than she ever had been in her whole life. Boruto was such a horrible person, and Chocho was falling into his trap, why didn't she see that?

Tears filled Sarada's eyes as she pushed through the main hall. She was frustrated. She didn't have a ride home since her parents had expected her to be with Chocho. She could always walk, but then she'd look like a loser. A lonely loser.

Then again, that's what she was now.

Sitting on the steps in a more rural part of the school, her knees were scrunched to her chest as she willed the never ending tears to go away. This was so stupid. She was crying over the stupidest people for the stupidest reason. She was just a stupid, overemotional girl.

"Sarada?"

Sarada lifted her head to see Metal standing only a few paces away. His shorts were a little too short for her eye's comfort, but he had a workout bag hanging from his shoulder, meaning he must've just had track tryouts.

"Hey, Sarada, what happened?" He immediately fell to his knees beside her. She quickly covered her face.

"Nothing–Nothing, it's stupid."

Metal frowned. "Well, are you sure? Do you need me to walk you home?"

"N-No, I called my mom, she's coming." She said, though it was a lie. She hadn't called anyone. She was waiting for everyone to leave school so she wouldn't be seen walking out alone.

"Oh, alright. I thought you and Chocho were going out after school today?"

"No, she went to Boruto's instead." She said, a hot tear escaping the corner of her eye. Thankfully it was on the side opposite of Metal, so he didn't see it. Never in her whole life had she ever thought this situation would be a possibility.

"Boruto's?" Metal seemed surprised. Everyone had known about the birthday party and had just thought it was a one-time thing, but apparently not. Now even he was confused.

"Yeah." Sarada pulled her knees back up to her chest. Metal frowned.

"That was not very considerate of her to leave you."

"It's whatever. It's stupid, and I don't care."

Metal pursed his lips. "Hmm, well she is definitely not Boruto's type."

Sarada tilted her head to look at him. She'd never imagined Boruto as having a "type". He picked the ones that were the most desperate to give him head and lead them on for months until he got bored then dumped them.

"Really now?" She was completely disinterested.

"Yeah. He always said he likes short hair or something. At least the last time I talked to him that's what he said. This was before Chocho's party, though."

Sarada scoffed. Metal was blabbering without a clue, maybe he thought it would be some type of solace distraction to reassure her that Chocho "was definitely not his type so it's okay! Don't worry about it!" Well, frankly, Sarada didn't want to hear about her worst enemy's type. It was quite rich of someone who was so toxic to have such a specific look they wanted but would still let anything with two legs take his pants off.

"Hey, well, I have to go. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you, I do not want to see you sad!" Metal stood to his feet, giving her a thumbs up. "Have a great rest of your day!"

Sarada gave a halfhearted smile. What a useless interaction. "Thanks."

He practically defied gravity and flew down the staircase. With him gone, Sarada slumped on her hands. She didn't want to go home; having to face what happened with her and Chocho by rehashing the whole story to her mother didn't seem enjoyable right now. She wanted to disappear.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. It was her uncle Itachi calling.

"Hello?" She asked. She hadn't talked to him in quite a while!

"Hey Sarada, how was your first day of school?"

"It..." She hesitated, "It was okay."

"Why? What happened?"

"Chocho dumped me for a boy."

Itachi tsked on the other side. "Are you home?"

"No, I'm still at school. She was supposed to give me a ride home but left me here."

There was a beat of silence, then, "I'll come pick you up. Are you hungry?"

"Yes," She said disheartened. Hamburgers sounded so good right now, but it wouldn't be the same without Chocho.

"Okay, be there soon. Wait out front."

Sarada smiled. When no one else was there for her, her uncle Itachi always was. She loved her uncle so much. He was so good to her. "Thanks."

Ten minutes later, Itachi pulled up to the front. Sarada practically skipped to his car, her shoulder bag bouncing behind her.

"Wow, your hair!" He said. Sarada grinned.

"Do you like it?"

"It's very nice. It suits you." He said.

"I'm glad."

"Do you not have uniforms this year?" He inquired, flipping on his blinker.

"We do, except on the first and last day of school they let us wear whatever. Same with every Wednesday."

Itachi nodded. "I see. So who is this boy that Chocho dumped you for?"

"Boruto." She muttered. "Me and Cho were going to get hamburgers but then she was like, 'we're not hanging out I'm going to Boruto's house'." She mocked Chocho in a higher pitched voice. Itachi raised a brow.

"Boruto Uzumaki? Naruto's son?"

"Yeah." Sarada blew a piece of hair from her face. That freaking asshole. She hated him. "He's so annoying. He's always loud, always with a new girl, he's so rude, and he wouldn't know the definition of struggle even if it hit him in the face!"

"Unfortunately some kids will be like that, he just happens to be one of them." Itachi said, checking both ways before driving through the intersection. "It's unexpected they'd be together."

"Yeah, well, they're not even official, Boruto is playing her and it's obvious 'cause every time I see him he's with a new girl when Chocho's not looking. And they were super drunk at my house for her birthday party and the next thing you know they're making out all the time–" Sarada gasped, clasping a hand over her mouth.

Oh no. She spilled the truth; if Itachi told her dad there was a party it'd be the end of her. Itachi looked at her questionably, albeit amused.

"Care to elaborate?"

"I wasn't supposed to say anything." She said distraught. "Please, I beg you don't tell my parents, I don't want them to know!"

Itachi laughed. "Sarada, that's your call. I'm your uncle, not your dad. It's up to you when you want to tell them, though I'd suggest the sooner the better. You want to keep a good relationship with your parents; after all, they give you everything they can."

"I know." She said solemnly. "I feel so bad, but if I told my dad that Chocho was going to invite boys he would've killed me."

Itachi snorted. "I'm sure he'll be understanding. Just be open with them, you already lied, and it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission."

They arrived at Sarada's favorite diner. They had the best shakes and fries, and she completely forgot about the whole Chocho Boruto situation. She loved her uncle so much, she didn't know what she would do without him. He was like her best friend. Since she didn't have any cousins that were close in age, he made up for it in any way he could.

"Itachi, why aren't you dating anyone?" Sarada asked, eating a spoonful of the chocolate shake.

"I don't believe you need anyone in this life to be happy, you can be happy by yourself."

Sarada kicked him under the table. "No, for real!"

Itachi laughed. "Sometimes it's the right person but the wrong time. The universe has a funny way of bringing people in and out of your life."

Sarada tilted her head. "So have you even looked?"

Itachi pushed his shake away. "No."

"But you're like almost fifty."

"Forty, Sarada."

"Same thing."

"I did date someone a while back."

"So what happened?"

"She found another man and liked him more." He said. Sarada suddenly went quiet.

"...Oh."

"I was twenty-five when that happened. I still hadn't decided my major, had already been in four years of school, I was living with your parents in their basement helping raise you, I had an old, beat up car and a low-paying job. But, just because those were the circumstances doesn't mean I wanted to stay there."

"Well, you obviously didn't." Sarada cast a look outside the window to his sleek, red and black Ferrari in the parking lot.

Itachi smiled. "But being wealthy isn't everything. Just remember that. I had to work very hard to get where I am today. I woke up one day and decided I wanted to stop feeling sorry for myself, so I picked a field of study, worked very hard for eight years, and now I make very good money and I'm finally out of debt from student loans. You don't have to achieve or have everything figured out at a certain age, just travel down your route, and the people who are on that path with you will stay, others will come and go. So don't take your friends too seriously right now, I understand it's hard because you're young and you and Chocho have been inseparable, but you're both growing up. Allow her to grow, and most importantly, allow yourself to grow too."

Sarada smiled. Itachi always had the best advice.

Later, Sarada had gone to the park to be alone with her thoughts, swinging slowly while the sun set. Today was a rollercoaster. She was so tired, but Itachi was right, she really should tell her parents the real story about the party sooner rather than later. Lying never got anyone anywhere good. She wanted to keep a good relationship with her parents, it was just scary because she knew her dad would be very angry.

Making her way back to her house, she slid through the back door quietly, her feet softly padding against the flooring in search of her parents. Sakura was in the bathroom upstairs washing her face while Sasuke was in his office working. Sarada tiptoed past his office door up the stairs into the master bedroom. Sakura was made aware of her daughter's presence when the door squeaked open.

"Sarada?"

"Hi."

"How was school? You were out pretty late today."

Sarada hadn't gone straight inside after her uncle dropped her off. Instead, she went to the park first to sort her thoughts out before she approached her parents with the lie.

"Yeah, sorry. School was okay."

"Do you like your teachers?"

"Yeah, they're okay." Sarada slumped on their bed, and Sakura gave her daughter a look.

"It doesn't sound as "okay" as you're saying. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Chocho dumped me for a boy."

"A boy?" Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Boruto."

"Uzumaki?"

"Yup."

"How strange," Sakura pursed her lips. "I never pictured them together."

"You and everyone else." Sarada was now irritated. But, back to the original point, this was her way of transitioning into the actual story. She gulped, her annoyance dissipated and replaced with nerves. "It started at her birthday party."

"It did?" Sakura asked. She came and sat next to her daughter, setting her head on her lap, running her fingers through her hair.

"Yeah...but mom," Sarada sat up halfway. "I...need to tell you something. But please don't tell dad– not yet, at least. I don't want him to be mad."

"You can tell me anything." She said softly. Sarada laid back down and took a deep breath.

Now that she was here, it was a lot easier said than done. She didn't even know where to start, but she supposed anywhere would suffice. "Well...so, I kind of lied about Chocho's birthday party. And I'm really, really sorry."

"What happened?"

"Well...so, Chocho wanted to invite some boys, and I didn't tell you guys because I knew dad would've forbidden me to go. Then turns out more than just the people she invited ended up coming...it was a whole house party."

Sakura's hand slightly faltered, but continued to run through her hair. Sarada took another deep breath.

"Um...so, Chocho wanted it to be at our house since you guys would be gone, so a bunch of people came and people brought alcohol, I don't know about any drugs, and then Chocho and Boruto hooked up or something, then she wanted to go to an after party which was at Mitsuki's house, then she passed out on his bed and I can't drive, so we had to sleep over and now Boruto and Chocho are sort of dating. But I didn't drink anything, I swear, and I trusted Chocho to not invite too many people but it got so out of hand and I felt really taken advantage of."

Sarada let out a long sigh. "Honestly I just wanted her to have a good birthday and do everything I could to make that for her, but I feel horrible 'cause I lied to you and dad and he's going to be so mad if he finds out, and now it wasn't even worth it cause I went through all that just for Chocho to dump me for that stupid head. We were supposed to go eat today after school but she just left me there."

She hoped that had covered all grounds and had explained her side well enough. When she remembered one more thing, she quickly spoke. "But I cleaned everything up really good and made sure to throw everything away in our neighbors trash can so you and dad wouldn't get in trouble by the garbage man!"

She held her breath. Sakura was silent for a long moment, deciding how she wanted to handle this situation. The problem wasn't with Sarada, by any means, it sounded like it was all stemming from wanting acceptance from her friend who seemed to "know all". Well, Sakura couldn't be too upset because it already happened and passed, so she wanted to focus on the here and now.

"Thank you for telling me, Sarada." She said, "That's really mature of you to tell me, I really appreciate your honesty." Sarada let out a breath of relief. "But, I can't say I'm not disappointed in your choices."

Sarada's heart sank. "I know."

"It's such a confusing age you're at, everyone wants to be liked and accepted and popular, but you can't compromise who you are for your friends." Sakura runs her hand down Sarada's cheek. "I think you and Chocho need some time apart, it doesn't sound like she's been a very good friend to you lately."

"But mom, she's my only friend! And if it weren't for her guys would never talk to me."

Sakura smiled. "Inojin's mother and I were best friends, we were a lot like you and Chocho. But when she started dating Sai, the same thing happened. I was mad at her for a while, but eventually she came and apologized for leaving me for a boy. It's normal, Chocho is learning just as much as you are. You don't need a friend to be complete, you're just as confident and pretty as she is."

"Yeah, but she's better at it." Sarada huffed. Sakura chuckled.

"Try being by yourself for a while, you'll find out how much more people are attracted to you. Think about it, if you always have friends attached at your hip, who will want to approach you and try to get to know you? It's a lot more intimidating."

For some reason, Boruto immediately popped into her mind. He was always surrounded by friends, boys or girls, there wasn't a time she'd seen him that he wasn't. He had a case of herd mentality.

"Yeah, you're right." She sighed.

"But we will have to tell your father eventually," Sakura said seriously, "do you want to talk to him tonight?"

Sarada shook her head furiously. "Can you do it for me?"

"No, that's something you need to do. He cares about you, he'd want it to come from you."

Sarada let out a shaky breath. "Okay...can you at least break it to him then? Like, cushion it a little so when I do tell him he doesn't lock me in my room for ten years?"

"Sure, that's something I can do." She said. Sarada gave her mother a hug, what did she ever do to deserve her?

"Thanks, mom."

"I love you, Sarada. You don't have to lie to us, your dad can be strict but he was also your age too and did some stupid things himself." She smiled. "Tomorrow will be much better."

Sarada nodded in agreement, then headed to bed.