Sarada's phone had been blowing up with texts all morning. Chocho was apologizing profusely, saying she forgot about their tradition and it was her fault, that it was so selfish and horrible of her, and realized she let a boy get between them. While Sarada appreciated the sentiment, she couldn't find it in herself to face her quite yet. It didn't feel genuine. When Chocho asked her if she still wanted a ride, Sarada answered, No, my uncle is taking me. Thank you though. And she got no response back.

She was at her locker when Metal, Shikadai, and Inojin approached her. She looked at them while grabbing her modern history textbook.

"Sarada, how are you feeling today?" Metal asked.

"Better," She said, smiling. He was so sweet to come and check in with her. "How was track yesterday?"

"Good, I was the fastest runner there! All my training this summer paid off, so hopefully I will make it on the team!"

Sarada's eyes lit up. "No way, that's so awesome, Metal! What about you, Inojin, are you entering the art fair this year?"

"It's not for a while, but probably." He said, "You know Himawari? We're doing a collaboration together."

"She's still in middle school though, isn't she?" Sarada asked. Inojin nodded.

"Yeah, but since she's coming here next year she's going to fill out a form to get permission to enter it with me."

"Wow, that'll be fun! What about you, Shikadai?"

He shrugged. "Clubs are too much of a drag."

"He's part of the Go-Home Club," Metal whispered in her ear.

"Yeah, his mom almost beat his ass last night when he showed up early!" Boruto's entrance was grand and loud, and Shikadai rolled his eyes. Sarada grabbed the strap of her satchel stiffly.

"You weren't even there, how do you know?"

"Dude, your mom is scary as hell. She punted you and your dad into the backyard with one swing of her fist."

Shikadai sighed. "You're exaggerating."

"Me? Never!" He said dramatically, loudly cackling after.

People were staring, but that was no surprise.

Soon, a whole group of boys were crowding around Boruto, and Sarada quickly excused herself away from the scene. She saw Chocho from the corner of her eye and hid behind a mass of students, and watched as she pranced right up to Boruto and placed a kiss on his cheek. Sarada swore her and Chocho made eye contact, but Chocho flat out ignored her. So that's how it was going to be then. Apologies and begging for forgiveness over text then complete disregard in person.

Apparently, what happened in homeroom yesterday hadn't been enough torture, and the girls were now really starting to magnetize to Boruto. Like ducks to bread, it was sad watching how desperate they were fighting over him, but no matter. Sarada decided last night at the park she wasn't going to let it bother her. She was going to make this year the best it could be! She was going to get impeccable grades, finish her homework early, push out of her comfort zone, and make as many new friends as she could, and certainly not let Boruto Uzumaki ruin it for her.

"Boruto, your tie looks really nice." One girl said.

"Your uniform looks good on you!"

"Your hair is styled so cute today."

If Sarada could roll her eyes any further back she would. He was soaking up the compliments like a sponge, cockiness radiating off of him like a furnace. Why Mitsuki, Inojin, and Metal didn't say anything while they were sitting right next to him was beyond her. No one ever seemed to have the guts to call him out.

"Thank you ladies, you're all so kind!" He adjusted his blazer.

"Okay class, settle down." Mr. Aburame entered and closed the door behind him. He held a stack of papers in his hands and shuffled them as everyone found their seats. "Happy Thursday. We'll jump right into it. Today, we are going to vote for our class representatives today."

Sarada took in a deep, confident breath. She was going to do it. She would volunteer and become a class representative this year!

Mr. Aburame looked through his papers. "So, starting with boys, anyone who would like to first volunteer, go ahead."

Immediately, Boruto shot straight up.

"Me!"

Sarada's mouth fell open.

"Alright, Boruto, come to the front. Any others?"

No one stood. Sarada felt her whole body running cold. No way. No, no, no, no, no freaking way this was happening right now. She hadn't told anyone she was going to volunteer for the student council, it had been a mere passing thought yesterday until she's finalized her decision today. It was the best option to get away from Boruto, she had assumed, because last year he had played soccer! And now he was volunteering for student council!

Sarada was begging another boy to stand up, she didn't care who! Just please God let anyone else run against him so she could vote for them instead! Of course Boruto would go and do the exact one thing she had finally made up her mind to do – Christ almighty this year was going to be miserable.

Mr. Aburame nodded when it was silent. "By the raise of hands, are there any opposed?"

Nothing.

"Alright, wonderful. Now, any girl volunteers?"

Sarada looked around the classroom frantically. Even the obsessive girls were smart enough to know that even if they volunteered to be a class rep, it was stressful and took a lot of work, dedication, and required lots of after school prepping, and not even spending extra time with Boruto was worth it if they didn't actually want it. And now, Sarada didn't even want it anymore either.

"No one?" Mr. Aburame muttered. "Then, does someone want to make a suggestion?"

It was silent again. Everyone was glancing around the room. The big debate was who was the most intelligent, responsible, and qualified for the job. Sarada pressed her hands to her temples. Namida, or Wasabi, or someone decent should stand up, so Sarada would at least be confident their class was in good hands.

Finally, the class turned to one hand raised in the air. Mr. Aburame nodded. Metal stood up.

"I would like to nominate Sarada Uchiha, sir!"

There was a series of gasps and whispers across the room, but Sarada's was the most prominent. Metal looked over and gave her a thumbs up. She wanted to curl in a ball and die.

"Alright, are there any opposed to Metal's suggestion?" Mr. Aburame said, and Sarada could see a few girls squirming in their chairs. They wanted to battle against her, but again, all the work with being a class representative wasn't worth spending extra time with Boruto. So no one raised their hands.

"Sarada, come up here."

Sarada was a deer in headlights. The amount of eyes she felt on her back as she scraped her feet to the front of the classroom to plant them next to Boruto was sickening. Her stomach felt like a whirlpool of nausea.

"Boruto Uzumaki and Sarada Uchiha have been chosen to be your class representatives for the year. One last call, is anyone opposed?"

Again, nothing.

"Okay then, the vote is unanimous." Mr. Aburame said, fixing his glasses. "Welcome, class reps!"

The whole class repeated, "welcome, class reps!" and Sarada almost fell over and fainted.

She was a class representative. With Boruto Uzumaki.

This couldn't be real.

It wasn't until the bell rang to signify homeroom was over, that Sarada finally heard what she had been expecting. The girl's were speaking in hushed tones on the other side of the room as Sarada gathered her books.

"At least Sarada is ugly so we don't have to worry about her." One of the girls said. "I would've volunteered if being a class rep wasn't so miserable!"

"Me too," Another one said. "She doesn't even like Boruto. What a waste!"

"All that time I could've spent with him." Another girl sighed.

Sarada just continued to organize her bag, ignoring the shame burning in the pit of her stomach. The classroom was empty by now, so their voices echoed through the room.

As Sarada rose to leave, she bumped into one of the girls. "Excuse me," She said moving to the side, but the girl blocked her way.

"You may be smart but that's all you have going for you! Don't think Boruto would ever like someone like you." She said. Sarada scowled.

"That's great, because I hate him anyway." She said, trying to get past her once again.

"You think you're better than us?" The second girl pushed Sarada from behind. "How dare you say that!"

"I can't believe someone like you is going to be the class rep with him!" The other girl got in Sarada's face, and she shoved her away.

"I didn't choose this, you had every opportunity to raise your hand and oppose! I'm the class rep now whether you like it or not, and I can either make your life real easy or difficult now." Sarada said.

One girl kicked Sarada's satchel to the side, then the second one pushed her back. She lost her balance and fell to the floor, and the third girl stepped on her hair. When she tried to get back up, the girl yanked her down, and her glasses fell to the floor.

"You wouldn't be much of a class rep without these," The first girl took Sarada's textbook and dropped it atop her glasses, blinking with an innocent smile. "Oops."

They left after that, and Sarada picked up her textbook as a tear slipped down her cheek. Her classes were crooked, but not broken. She sniffled and shoved her things to the side.

"Sarada?" Shikadai asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway. "What happened?"

Sarada desperately scrambled to her knees at the sight of him. She didn't want to let him see her like this, and even more so when Boruto peeked his head around the doorway. Quickly hiding her face behind her disheveled hair, she wiped her nose and began picking up her things.

"N-Nothing, I'm fine."

Shikadai was bent down next to her moments later while Boruto still stood in the doorway. There was no point in trying to hide her frustrated tears that were unceasing, and Shikadai wasn't a bad guy. It was just she hated that Boruto was seeing her like this.

"What happened?" Shikadai asked again.

"A girl pushed me." She said, sweeping her hand against the floor to feel for any small pieces that might've fallen from her glasses. Shikadai narrowed his eyes.

"Boruto, go get a broom."

Boruto didn't move, his eyes were stuck on Sarada and her broken glasses. After a few beats, Shikadai looked back.

"Boruto."

He scoffed. "Maaaan, this is stupid. Go get the broom yourself." He threw his hands behind his head, then began walking away. Sarada felt her insides boil. She stood to her feet.

"This is your fault!" She exclaimed. Boruto stopped in his tracks. "Your stupid obsessive girlfriends did this! First you stole Chocho from me, you and all your stupid friends trashed my house, you insulted me, and you don't even care!"

Boruto frowned. "Why are you blaming me? You don't make it easy for people to like you, so why would anyone care?"

With swift steps, Sarada grabbed the front of his shirt. Her hair was disheveled, teeth were grit, breath shallow, eyes so bloodshot and full of intense anger they almost looked bright red. Boruto felt anxiety thudding in his chest, he'd never seen the sweet and peaceful girl in front of him so angry before.

"I. Hate you. Boruto Uzumaki." She pronounced every syllable so clearly it sank in. "I hate you."

Her eyes pierced into his soul. Her grip on him loosened and he stumbled to the side. She grabbed her shoulder bag and walked out of the door, leaving her dejected glasses lying on the floor. Shikadai sighed.

"Bro. You suck."

Boruto glared at him.

XxX

The next day rumors were flying. Chocho kept trying to find Sarada but she was avoiding her. Shikadai also popped his head into their homeroom to see if Sarada was alright, and while she appreciated his kindness, she just wanted the whole situation to blow past. There were death glares sent from both parties as Sarada and Boruto walked past each other in the halls, and unfortunately they had French class together, so even more time they were in the same vicinity.

The three girls had been ratted out, and they were suspended when Sarada was called into the office to testify. Boruto had caught wind of it and vaguely wondered if she was going to pin the blame on him, so between lunches he lingered around the door, playing it off cool.

Finally, Sarada exited with an exhausted demeanor, until she saw Boruto. Then she narrowed her eyes.

"What do you want?"

"Just here to make sure you didn't fuck more shit up." He said, shoving his hands in his pockets. What an unpleasant person.

Sarada flared her nostrils. "If I did, you'll be hearing from Headmaster Tsunade."

As she walked away, Boruto grabbed her elbow.

"What is your problem? Why are you trying to get me in trouble when it was those girls who did it? I had nothing to do with it!"

Sarada yanked out of his grip. "You're so stupid. I'm not unreasonable! Your name wasn't mentioned anywhere, idiot, now leave me alone."

She walked away and was soon engulfed by the crowds. Boruto faltered. She...didn't say anything about him? But why, when she literally was blaming him for it yesterday? It didn't make sense. He bit on the inside of his cheek. She had to have said something; a girl as crazy obsessed with justice as her wouldn't let it slip.

In student council, Monday's and Tuesday's were just their homeroom meetings, Wednesday's and Thursday's were with all the other homeroom classes, and Friday's was with all the teacher's in the faculty lounge. And since today was Wednesday, it gave Sarada an excuse to sit tables away from Boruto.

He kept staring at her throughout the entire meeting and it was pissing her off. Her mechanical pencil was definitely feeling her irritation. Sumire, having been chosen as the other homeroom's girl representative, glanced at Sarada.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Yeah, just fine." She drew swirls on her paper.

Once everyone was dismissed for the night, Sarada went to her locker to grab her textbooks. She already had so much homework it was unbelievable. This week had already drained all the energy out of her.

When she shut her locker, she jumped with a gasp. Boruto was leaning on the locker next to hers patiently.

"Are you stalking me now?" She snapped. He raised an eyebrow.

"Gross, no. I've just been trying to figure out all day whether you ratted me out or not, since you didn't really give me a straight up answer this morning."

Sarada rolled her eyes. "Why would it matter if I did or not?"

"You can't be on the student council and have a mark against you, idiot." He mocked her tone from earlier. "You know this. If I got in trouble, I'd be kicked off."

"That actually sounds great." Sarada said, and Boruto rolled his eyes.

"You're so annoying. Just tell me if you said my name to Headmaster Tsunade or not!"

"Why, Boruto? So you can feel better that you won't get in trouble? Because you really want to be on the student council so bad?"

Boruto stared at her, keeping his temper inside. He let out an aggravated sigh and ran a hand through his hair, defeated. She was going to be stubborn about this, guess he'd take his punishment if it came. Can't say he didn't try though.

"Whatever. Fuck off."

He stormed away, and Sarada clenched her fists. Absolutely infuriating.

School was still full of rumors. Sarada and Boruto avoided each other like the plague, and only when they needed to fulfill student council duties would they be seen together. After deeming it way too difficult to deal with each other, they brought it to Mr. Aburame that they no longer wanted to continue working together, because the tension was making it awkward for the other members of the student council. Mr. Aburame simply adjusted his glasses, asked which one of them was going to resign, and they had both looked at each other blankly. Neither Sarada or Boruto were going to give it up, so thus were forced to cooperate.

In front of everyone else, they seemed great. But behind closed doors, they loathed every moment.

It wasn't until they started planning for their famous Fall Festival that Sarada noticed a change in attitude from Boruto. Instead of being ridden with the boredom of paperwork, he was invested. The decorations, the placements of booths, each class theme, the music, the colors, and volunteers was something he was actively involved in. It really changed the way they interacted with each other, for Sarada finally felt like she could talk to him and listen, and not hear nails on a chalkboard every time he spoke.

Rumors about Boruto even started to dwindle due to his lack of investment in anything else. Chocho was still actively trying to date him and follow him around, but his interest in her had significantly lessened. They still hung out after school, and Sarada definitely heard about it from Chocho's friends who sat right behind her in homeroom, but when they were at school Boruto paid her no attention. It was interesting to see Boruto aside from his usual persona – that is, cocky and surrounded by girls. He was just behind normal, and it was weird.

Boruto and Sarada were sitting in the classroom in silence, reading through the rules and regulations for the science fair portion for the fall festival. Things had settled to neutral between them – but still not a day went by without him pissing her off in some way. So they weren't on bad terms, per se, but Sarada definitely would not be spending her free time with him if she didn't have to.

The clock was hanging from the wall, ticking away to a rhythmic beat, the sun was setting through the window, streams of orange light bouncing across the desk and walls, and Sarada was almost finished but Boruto wasn't even halfway done with his pile. He slammed his pen on the desk.

"Gahh, this is so boring!"

"You wanted this." Sarada said complacently. Boruto scoffed.

"Yeah, but not this much paperwork."

Sarada rolled her eyes. "What did you expect? Should've joined a sport instead."

"My dad played football and I'd only be known as his son, not my own name. So no thanks." He muttered.

Sarada was confused. "I hear he was an incredible athlete, though. I thought you wanted to follow in your dad's footsteps."

It was said more as a question than a statement, but Boruto gave her an annoyed look.

"I want to do the exact opposite. That's why I picked this." He said.

Sarada was surprised. She always assumed Boruto was a mini Naruto – ranging all the way from the looks and attitude straight down to abilities and intellect. With their parents always having been friends and their kids being so close in age, her, Boruto, and Himawari practically grew up together. Their families had Christmas Eve dinner every year since they were little, so she must've never really paid attention. Now, it seemed like he almost disliked, no, hated his father just by the way he spoke.

"Why?"

Boruto gave her a glare. "It's none of your business. Stick your glasses back in those papers, a big nose doesn't suit you."

Sarada's face flamed up in frustration. How rude! Just when she was starting to feel like her and Boruto were somewhat getting along, he always ruined it.

"Finish these for me. I'm going home." Boruto pushed away from the desk, the chair unattractively screeching, and threw his shoulder bag strap over his head. Sarada gaped.

"No you are not! The fall festival is this Friday and we need to be as prepared as we can!" She raced to the door and stood in front of it. Boruto sneered.

"Move."

"No. It's your duty as one of the class representatives to help our teachers and our classmates! We need to have all this paperwork done by tomorrow! They're counting on us."

"You seem to be doing just fine by yourself." He said, ducking under her arm and casually shoving his hands in his pockets. Sarada tripped out of the classroom.

"Hey!"

He was unresponsive. The soles of his dress shoes clacked on the tile and he moved farther and farther away. She felt her chest burn with anger.

"I didn't have to agree to stay on the student council with you, I could've resigned so I wouldn't have to deal with you anymore! There's not one nice thing you've ever done for me and I'm just trying to make this work for everyone! You're nothing like your father. In fact he's probably glad you're not following his footsteps."

Boruto immediately stopped. He whipped his head around, his gaze burning with intense rage, but Sarada held her composure. He didn't scare her.

"You're absolutely right. I hate my father. I'll do everything to not be titled as his son."

The statement was surprising, but Sarada held her ground regardless. "Trying to prove a point to your dad by letting down your classmates will do nothing. If you want to show him how lazy and irresponsible and entitled you are, go tell him yourself! But punishing me and everyone else won't do anything when he's not even here. You're just a coward who is too scared to be held to a high standard because you don't want people to expect things from you!"

Suddenly the gap between them was closed. Boruto wasn't touching her, but with how incredibly overpowering his rage was, Sarada felt like he was choking her. She was pinned flat against the door with Boruto's face only inches from her.

"You think I'm a coward?" He snarled.

Sarada didn't respond. Her behind her back her hands were trembling, but her face held no fear. Eventually after a long, intense moment, Boruto's fiery demeanor calmed. He let out a long breath.

"You are such a pain in the ass." He said, and went back into the classroom. Sarada was confused by his sudden change in attitude, and after a moment of regaining her composure, peered back into the room. Boruto had discarded his bag to the side and was reading through each paper, his chin propped on one hand and his legs crossed. He looked so scholarly – something Sarada hadn't ever seen before.

"Just finish your damn papers and I'll walk you home." He grumbled. Sarada blinked, then joined him in the desk adjacent to his.

XxX

After he walked her home Sarada remembered one last thing she had to give him for the Fall Festival before they were completely done. She led him up to her room, and gave him the last required permission slip for the carnival booths, and he was on his way.

So the next day, Sarada didn't see much of Boruto. They were so busy running errands for their teachers back and forth and setting up for the Fall Festival that the only time Sarada caught a glimpse of him at the end of the day at his locker with his group. He had a folder of papers in his hand, which seemed rather odd since they had finished all their paperwork, and she approached him. All his surrounding friends gave her a strange look.

"Can I talk to you?" She said, not giving a single ink of attention to everyone around him. He looked at her, then glanced around to all his friends.

"Um, do I know you?"

"Yes, actually, you were in my bedroom last night. So come along now." Sarada blinked diplomatically, then left without another word. His whole group of friends 'oooh'd' and Boruto's expression was priceless. He slammed his locker shut and followed hot on her heels.

"What the hell?" He yanked her by the elbow. "Why did you have to say that in front of everyone? It wasn't even like that, I literally picked up permission slips!"

Sarada shrugged. Boruto's expression contorted into a quite obvious look of annoyance, and she ignored it. She looked to his hands. "What are those papers? We finished everything last night."

Boruto looked massively irritated, but he kept his composure. "They're for the art exhibit."

Sarada stared at him questionably. They've never had an art exhibit at the Fall Festival, so she was confused.

He shifted uncomfortably. "My sister wanted one...so I spent all day talking to the headmaster getting permission, and she said if I found enough people to showcase art then Hima could put hers up too. Just shut up and leave me alone about it, okay?"

As he walked away, Sarada could only stare in his direction. How...strangely sweet of him. It filled her heart with a warmth she'd never associated with him before. This was a different side of him he hardly showed anyone. He really did have a soft spot for his sister, it was apparent. Going to all that work just for her was the most selfless thing he'd ever done...publicly.

Even though it felt like they had become neutral – yet still with a slight distaste – towards each other, Sarada still felt wary of him. The way that he so easily strung along Chocho then would ignore her, then go back to her when he was in the mood was shady. Not to mention, Sarada often heard other girls still talking about Boruto behind his back, saying what he did to them or how good it was, and recently, too.

But then, to see him in the sunset after school hours looking so bored, calm, and nothing like how girls played him out to be, really made Sarada question who he was. To everyone, he was intimidating, sexy, athletic, thrived on attention, powerful, and no one messed with him. But to Sarada, the person she saw in front of her had a big attitude and temper, but still had an untamable fire behind his eyes and couldn't pick a damn personality.

The rest of the days blurred by. By Thursday night, stress was at an all time high and Boruto and Sarada got in an argument about placements of decorations in the gym, worker schedules, and it got so bad that Sarada threw an extra stack of flyers at him and stormed out of the room.

He yelled profanities after her and kicked a desk. Who gave a fuck about a stupid Fall Festival anyway. Sarada was just being ridiculous. She always wanted everything her way and never gave a damn about his opinion! Whatever entitlement she thought he had paled drastically in comparison to having an Uchiha's ego on the line. It definitely was hereditary.

Boruto picked up the flyers in a slowly dissipating rage and stacked them all neatly together. Some of them were bent, but not bad enough to where he had to throw them away. Whoever said being a class rep and a main role in the decoration committee was a good time lied. Boruto hated this. He hated Sarada, he hated her pretentious, bratty, know-it-all attitude. Being a spoiled only child was obviously her only personality trait.

Nevertheless, he still had a job to do, so he went to every classroom and put small bundles of papers on each teacher's desk. Tomorrow, he'd be spending his whole Friday night switching between checking off booth cleanliness, ensuring sure students showed up to their shift, making sure visitors respected their school grounds, cleaning up trash, and dealing with Sarada's nagging, and it really made him want to get run over by a bus. If he could opt out yesterday, he would've.

In the next classroom, there was already a stack of papers on the desk, and Boruto raised a brow. Either he was losing his mind and had already come in here, or there was a ghost haunting him. There had always been rumors and stories that their school was haunted. He heard footsteps in the hallway and swirled around, his heart pounding, but it was only Sarada. She had her head down, flyers in her arms. His defenses dropped.

"I'm sorry." She said, bashfully rocking back and forth on her feet. "I should take what you say more seriously. Your opinion is important too." Her gaze flicked upwards, and by the glistening look in her eyes, Boruto knew she was being genuine. He sighed. Knowing her, saying that was bruising her ego, so he had to at least give her some credit.

"You really need to stop thinking you have to do everything by yourself. There's three other classes, all with class reps like us. You can count on all of us too." Boruto set his hand on top of Sarada's head. She let out a soft breath and leaned into his touch. It was so...inviting.

"So just chill out once in a while, you'll get wrinkles." He scrunched his eyes as he got closer to her face, which made Sarada's cheeks heat up. What was he doing?

"Mhm, I was right. I see a new wrinkle right there."

He got a face full of papers for that, and he only cackled as Sarada stormed off embarrassed.