Boruto and Sarada showed up bright and early Friday morning with the other class representatives to finalize everything for the festival, then were excused for the day. The two had been put in charge of the gymnasium, while the others were put in charge of monitoring the booths, greeting at the front, or just anywhere help was needed. Sarada was so excited. Anyone and everyone could come walk through and see all the hard work she put into this. She was even more excited that her parents would get to see it.

When Sarada got home, Sakura revealed that she had bought Sarada a new little black sleeveless dress with a peter pan collar. Sarada felt cute with her long extensions curled, bangs pinned back, and her mary jane heels buckled.

Being late September, it was only slightly chilled. Unfortunately Sasuke and Sakura couldn't take a walk through due to some ambiguous business meeting much to her disappointment, so they dropped Sarada off and she headed towards the gym. The music was just starting up and she spotted Mr. Aburame across the room. Once getting her assignment to patrol the gymnasium and surrounding hallways, she did so and waited patiently for Boruto. She checked the time. He was late.

Apparently, showing up tipsy with his group of friends to the dance was cooler than coming when he was supposed to, and Sarada was livid. She saw him wobbling in with Iwabee, Denki, and the rest of his squad, and yanked him off to the side. He yelped.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! Where have you been?"

"Pre-gaming, damn." Boruto scowled, but he laughed. "Calm your tits, just lemme have some fun first then I'll come help you."

"No. No, no, no way you're making me do this all by myself. Once our duties are over you can get as shitfaced as you want, but you, Boruto Uzumaki, are not doing this to me tonight. We had a deal!"

Boruto rolled his eyes dramatically and looked back at Iwabee. He gave him a sarcastic smile.

"I'll be right there."

His friends all shrugged and went into the gym already acting like idiots. Sarada kept her intense glare on Boruto and he looked back at her, slumped.

"You ruin everything fun in life. You fun sucker."

"Good." She said, "Now go tell Mr. Aburame you're here and your ass better be back here in five minutes."

"O-kayyyyy," Boruto rolled his eyes again, and dragged his feet into the gym. Sarada huffed. Dealing with a drunk Boruto all night would be quite the job. Being a class rep with him felt more like babysitting more than working as equals. He was so obnoxiously stupid.

Boruto came back, surprisingly, and Sarada made him stay put at the entrance while she patrolled around the halls. It was about a half hour in, so more people were starting to show up. Seniors, juniors, her grade, and freshmen, and even outsiders who just wanted to walk through to see the festival were scattered everywhere. Her main job was to watch out for any shady activity inside the school and the gymnasium, while Boruto stamped peoples hands. Being tipsy, he was more than capable of doing that, so she hoped he was at least living up to the bare minimal expectations.

After an hour passed, she was relieved from patrol duty, and when she went to go get Boruto, she saw he was gone. Scrunching her brows, she checked in the gym. He wasn't there. Looking around, she spotted Denki and Inojin, and approached them. They turned to her, a smile on Denki's face with a cup of punch in his hands, while Inojin looked more neutral.

"Do you know where Boruto is?" She asked them above the music. Denki shook his head while Inojin blinked deliberately. Sarada eyed him.

"Last I heard he was in the homeroom class." Inojin said.

Sarada turned on her heels. Inojin quickly grabbed her arm.

"Sarada–wait. I just...wouldn't go in there."

"Why not?" She shot back.

Inojin looked conflicted. "Just...don't get any closer to Boruto than you need to, okay? Trust me."

She kept her curious gaze on him. After all, it was common knowledge that Inojin and Himawari spent a lot of time together, so he was around Boruto more often than she was. So maybe there was something he knew that Sarada didn't, or was trying to prevent her from seeing.

Whatever it was, she didn't have any type of romantic feelings for Boruto, she already knew he was a terrible person, they'd never associated their entire lives besides being part of the student council, so she honestly didn't care. She had to put up with him anyway, it wasn't like she chose to spend time with him willingly. She wouldn't be looking for him otherwise.

"Thanks for the warning, but he's a student here too, and it's my job as class rep to make sure everyone is safe and following the rules."

Inojin gave her a look, and with confidence, Sarada walked away. Denki simply frowned.

XxX

Walking down the dark halls was more nerve wracking than Sarada had anticipated. Usually a place filled with so much noise, light, and laughter that was now dark and abandoned gave her an eerie chill up her spine. She peered into every classroom just to make sure they were empty, but all she was met with was darkness. It wasn't until she got to her own homeroom that she heard chattering and laughter. She spotted Boruto through the crack in the door, but he wasn't alone. He was surrounded by girls and some boys from his friend group. She pressed her ear closer to the door to listen in.

"No, no, no, you guys got it wrong." Boruto slurred, shaking his hand, his feet perched up onto the desk. His suit coat was fully undone, as were the top buttons of his collared shirt. His face was a rosy red color, and his voice sounded raspy. "I only was in there to get a paper from her house for the student council, I swear. She's such a nightmare sometimes. Like, I throw in one suggestion and it's immediately shot down, like what the hell? Last time I checked I was a class rep, too."

Sarada's blood went cold. Was he talking about her?

"God, she's so annoying." One of the girls said. "She's literally a wannabe copy of Chocho. She like, invented her. Chocho was right to dump her ass."

"And dear lord, does she bitch a lot." Another boy said. "I was wearing my tie a little too loose and she almost reported me to the headmaster. How do you deal with all that?"

"Y'know, sometimes I just wanna be like, aye, Sarada, shut the fuck up and suck my dick for once like a normal girl." Boruto said with a slurred accent, and everyone laughed.

"Oh my God, she seems like such a slut I bet she'd love that." One girl sneered.

"Yeah, but with her experience? I wouldn't." Boruto said, and everyone burst into giggles.

"Is she a virgin?" Another boy asked.

"Um, have you seen her? Who would want to tap that?" Another girl said. Boruto cackled.

"Guys, it's only a matter of time before–" Boruto trailed off as his gaze fell to the door. Sarada was there, expression completely straight, and he quickly sat upright, his heart pounding. The adrenaline suddenly made him feel sober. Everyone looked at him curiously, their gazes trailing to the door, and once they took notice of her too, they all had absolute terror etched on their faces.

Boruto stuttered, "S-Sarada–"

"I came to relieve you of our shift. You're free to do whatever now." She said evenly, then turned on her heel and walked down the hall. Boruto was petrified in his spot.

"...that's it?" One girl said quietly. Everyone looked uneasy. Boruto couldn't breathe.

"I'll be right back." He stated, and as he stood up, a girl grabbed his wrist.

"Why? She's not even worth it. Just sit back down and have another drink, she'll get over it."

He scowled and yanked from her grip. "Don't tell me what to do."

Stumbling out of the room, he slammed the door shut behind him. Everyone was dead silent.

Once in the hallway, Boruto broke out into a run. Oh God he was so drunk. Everything was moving and wobbly, but he had to fix this. He shouldn't have said any of that. He took it way too far. He was drunk, trying to be a comedian, and his lips got too loose. He made a huge mistake. Yes, working with Sarada could be extremely frustrating and it tested his patience, but he never viewed her as he did other girls. She was different, she was special, and he had fucked it all up once again.

He was used to roasting and insulting his friends like that with no shame, but with Sarada it was different. Recently spending so much time with her, he felt like they'd gotten to know each other more, thus he learned more about her; which included insecurities, general pet peeves, and other quirks. So only he was allowed to make fun of her. No one else could bully his bully property. But, joking around like that with that specific topic hurt Sarada's feelings and he knew that. So why had he been such a casual idiot about it? Especially to a bunch of people he already knew didn't like her?

"Sarada!" He shouted, and he heard footsteps down the hall quicken. With his inebriated state, it made it hard to run, but Sarada's shoes clacked on the tile floor in front of him and he knew he was close. Up two flights of stairs and at a dead end, Boruto was lost. She had disappeared.

There was a cool breeze from the last classroom to his left, and he fell inside. The window was open, and he heard Sarada crying. She was hunched over at a desk, her shoulders trembling up and down. He approached her tentatively. His mind was completely fuzzy, and Sarada's movements all seemed to blend together.

"Sarada…"

"Go. Away."

"N–No, Sarada, listen," Boruto held his hand out to her shaking frame. He slapped his face to bring himself back into the present. "God, I'm such–I'm an idiot, I didn't mean any of that–"

"So nothing new, right?" Sarada turned around, her gaze burning into him. He bumped into the desk behind him as he flinched back. "Just another day of Boruto Uzumaki shamelessly tearing down girls to put them in their place, because they're just objects to him. Disrespecting everyone he knows so he can stay on top. God," Sarada pressed her palms to her eyes. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. Boruto felt his insides burning with shame, also with nausea.

"I-I know, and I'm...so sorry. So, so sorry. I don't–I just, I don't know why I was saying those things. I was trying to be funny...and, you're just so different I don't know how to deal with you."

"You think you're being funny by mocking and making fun of me? Because I deserve it, right? I've done and said terrible things to get me into this position." She shot upright out of the desk. Boruto shook his head slowly, squeezing his hands against his head.

"No...you really haven't. I–I swear I didn't mean any of it–"

"So then why did you say it?" She cried. "How could you say such terrible things about people behind their backs if you don't mean it? What made you this way, Boruto? Because the person I know after school during student council with just me is nothing like this person standing in front of me. This," Sarada gestured to him, "isn't who you are, and you know that, I know that, for God's sake!"

Boruto reached out. "Sarada–"

She took a step back. "Don't touch me."

He flinched back, and his hand dropped to his side.

"I don't give a damn about what you said about me." Venomous disdain laced every word Sarada spoke. "What I do give a damn about, is how you hurt people for no reason. You'll sit here and say horrible things about someone when the whole time you were giving them t-shirts to sleep in, walking them home at night, carrying the heavier stacks of paper, opening up and doing all these little things that make you seem vulnerable, then you turn around and say you don't know me, you make fun of me for no reason, you steal my best friend from me, and, and–"

She broke down into tears, and Boruto immediately reached out and hugged her tightly. Her hair was so soft. But his heart was aching. He caused this. Someone with a heart of absolute gold was trying to see the best in someone as terrible and evil as him, and had gotten too close, and was burned. Not even a little blister burn, but a third degree burn. All because he was too scared to let anyone in, and Sarada had tried so hard to give him the benefit of the doubt after everything, he still let her down. He'd hurt her because he couldn't trust himself.

Her initial breakdown ceased, and she pushed him away harshly. Boruto stumbled back into a desk, and Sarada went to leave the room. He quickly chased after her, grabbing her arm but she yanked out of his grip.

"Let go of me!"

"Wait, no, please talk to me–"

"I don't need to talk to someone who can't even be honest with himself." She said. "Who are you, Boruto? Because pretending to be...this...won't get you real." Her tone lessened. "Stop giving me special treatment if you're not going to do the same for others."

Boruto was stuck in his spot as she walked away. What was he supposed to do? After all of that, she was right, so how would he fix this?

He went into the hall, where he could see Sarada's silhouette still walking away.

"I swear I wasn't always like this." His voice was weak. Sarada's footsteps faltered. "We never talked or associated growing up; I–I don't remember saying anything more than hi to you at our family dinners. But that's because I kept to myself! My dad was a drunk. So I had to raise Himawari when my mom left us. And I didn't want anyone to know."

Sarada slowly turned her head, blinking in shock. Boruto continued, his fists shaking by his side. No...Sarada didn't want this, not right now. He was drunk, he was vulnerable, and she just yelled at him...

"If Hima did wrong, my dad beat the shit out of me, because I should've taught her better. And it made me hate my dad, because he was the father, why couldn't he do the parenting? Why did he have to be an alcoholic? Why did my mom leave and not take us with her? When my mom came back, she kicked my dad out, and people started to find out. I got bullied and made fun of for being raised by my mom and having a deadbeat dad."

Sarada had completely turned around, but hadn't yet moved from her spot. Boruto's took a deep breath.

"I–I do this so I don't get hurt." He was getting emotional, which was rare. He hardly ever opened up like this, let alone felt his eyes getting teary. He didn't remember the last time he'd cried. The emotions were going to burst. "Because, because the more I hurt people, the less they'll want to try and hurt me back. They're scared of me! I use things against people to keep them in their place so they can't throw my shitty excuse for a dad back in my face. I hate my dad for everything he's put my mom and sister through!"

Sarada didn't say anything. The energy surrounding them was tense, almost suffocating, and Boruto looked like he was in shock. She honestly had no idea any of that had happened – maybe her parents had known, but as far back as she remembered Hinata and Naruto had happily come together to their Christmas Eve dinner every year. The flashbacks of the family walking through her front door with Boruto and Himawari in matching colors came to Sarada's mind, and her heart broke.

But, like Boruto said, just because everything looked picture perfect on the outside didn't mean it was on the inside too. No wonder he never talked to her while they were growing up. She had always been so close to him proximity wise, yet he had emotionally been eons away to protect his heart.

The pain and suffering he'd been through all made sense now as to why he acted out in the way he did. It all clicked together now like the final piece of the puzzle. Obviously, there was much more to it and he hadn't fully worked through it since the resentment was still pain-strikingly apparent, but for now, Sarada didn't want Boruto to talk anymore. She just wanted to comfort him and praise him for being so open, vulnerable, and brave. A myriad of conflicting emotions was rampaging inside of her, but all she knew right now was to be a good person, and comfort him the way he always comforted her.

Approaching him slowly, she wrapped her arms around his torso, squeezing tightly. His body felt like ice, and he was shaking. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, his head fell into the juncture of her neck, and he cried.

Sarada held in her own emotions as the bright green exit sign glared in her peripheral, her eyes trailing up and down the ceiling tiles to keep herself still. She clenched Boruto's shirt in her hand, then let go and rubbed his back soothingly as his tears began to cease.

Boruto's tense shoulders loosened, his breathing regulated, and then she moved a hand to his damp cheek. He leaned into it and took a deep breath to calm himself. The dark circles under his eyes were prominent and his eyes were bloodshot, Sarada could tell as she stroked her thumb across his cheek bone. He felt so nauseous.

"I'm going to call my mom and she'll pick us up."

He complied immediately, and she helped him down the stairs to the entrance, stopping at a garbage can on the way down, and stood in the frigid cold until Sakura pulled up.

Sarada walked Boruto up to his porch since his feet seemed to be giving out underneath him. Hinata opened the door, and Sarada handed him off to her. She seemed genuinely worried about her son, and Sarada could now tell that they had a close bond that was only understood between both of them. She bid goodbye, and got back in the front seat of her mom's car. Sakura finally asked her how it went, and Sarada looked to her feet.

"I don't really know."

XxX

Saturday morning, Sarada had woken up much later than usual. She felt bad she had skipped out the closing fireworks show, as well as cleanup duty this morning, but there was no willpower in her to get up. Besides, as much as she did for the festival, she was sure she was off the hook.

Her weekend went by smoothly; she finished up any neglected homework, watched her favorite TV drama, helped her mom prepare the garden and swimming pool for winter, ran work errands with her dad, and got to sleep in and actually relax. She hadn't heard anything from Boruto, and was almost anxious to see what Monday would bring. Her mind had been constantly replaying their conversation Friday night. She couldn't get what he said about his childhood out of her mind, nor the fact that she had hugged him, and he cried in her arms.

Making sure her uniform was crisp and clean for Monday morning, she went to bed with questions swirling in her mind.

Nothing really seemed off the next morning as Sarada walked into the great hall. Everyone was standing around chatting like normal, and the large group of friends were surrounding Boruto's locker, but there was no Boruto. Sarada didn't let her gaze sit for too long before heading to her own locker to drop off her textbooks. After, she headed to the classroom to get it ready for Mr. Aburame.

Once the desks were all neat, the chalkboard was ready, and the blinds were drawn, Sarada sat in her desk, exhausted. The past week really knocked the spirit out of her. She needed a break.

Shikadai, Inojin, and Metal walked in early, and they all saw Sarada. Inojin quickly pushed past his friends.

"What happened at the festival?"

Sarada looked at him. "Huh?"

"Boruto went home with you, right? Why?"

Sarada looked at Shikadai and Metal curiousy. She wasn't going to say the part that he broke down and drunk cried in front of her. "I mean...he was talking with a bunch of people in the classroom, and he was drunk and didn't feel good so my mom picked us up. That's all that happened."

Shikadai raised a brow. "That is not the story we heard."

And, oh boy. Sarada's anxieties skyrocketed but she kept her face emotionless. "Well, please tell me so at least I know what's being said."

The three boys all cast an unsure glance at each other, and Shikadai shoved his hands in his pockets with a sigh.

"One of the girls who was with him said you stormed in the room accusing him cheating on you with Chocho, and then you ran off crying and he went after you. Then she said she walked in on you guys smashing in the teachers lounge, and then he went home with you."

Oh my God. Where the literal hell did people come up with these things? Also, who had the time to create such terrible and fake rumors about someone? If this is what Boruto's daily life felt like, then it sucked. Having to walk into school everyday and learn something completely fake about himself had to take a toll. No wonder he was gone today.

"Yeah, I can assure you that did not happen." Sarada said, keeping and even gaze with him. "You have to remember Boruto and I hardly consider each other "friends"."

"Yeah, I know." Shikadai said blandly, then looked to the other two. "Where the hell were you two when this all went down?"

Inojin shrugged, and Metal looked guilty.

"I was working in a booth, I am sorry." Metal said.

"God," Shikadai pressed a hand against his forehead. "We're not supposed to leave him alone, remember? Where's Mitsuki?" Shikadai left, and Metal and Inojin sat down in their respective seats. The bell rang, and people started filing in one by one.

There were so many questions Sarada had that she didn't even know where to begin. Was the story about Naruto true? Why weren't his friends supposed to leave him alone? And if Inojin knew where Boruto was, why wasn't he there with him if it was such a big deal? Things weren't making sense again, and Sarada really needed to talk to Boruto. Not only to clear up the things he said about her – because drunk words were sober thoughts – but to really ask him what was going on.

After school, since the festival was over and Boruto was absent, Sarada was excused early. Wondering what she was going to do in her free time, she ran into Metal who was dressed in his track attire. Short shorts really weren't a good look on him.

"Sarada! I hope your day has been better and these rumors haven't gotten to you." Metal said. Sarada smiled.

"Honestly, I haven't heard a single thing all day."

Metal pursed his lips. "Unfortunately. I don't know how this one will fade out, but I trust and believe what you're saying. I know you are not that type of girl."

"Thanks, Metal." Sarada beamed. It meant a lot that someone as genuine and honest as Metal was on her side. Even if she had no alibi, having his support meant everything.

"Do you not have student council today?"

"No, so I was just going to go home. Though, with all this extra time I don't know what I'll do." She chuckled.

"Would you like to come watch my practice?" He asked. "We're doing pole vault today!"

As entertaining as that seemed, Sarada really just wanted to talk to Boruto and then rest. But, she supposed watching for an hour wouldn't hurt, and it would kill some time. So, she followed Metal to the track where she watched from the sidelines.

When it was Metal's turn, he gave her a thumbs up, gripping the pole in his hands. With great speed, he ran until he hooked the pole into the ground, then gracefully glided over the top pole. Everyone clapped as Metal landed on the padding below, and even Sarada was impressed. For how hard he worked, his results sure paid off.

With a quick break, he ran over to Sarada. She leaned against the fence between him as he took a swig of water.

"That was incredible." She laced her fingers between the metal fencing, and he grinned.

"That's the first time I've actually been able to do it right!" He laughed. "It must be because you were watching so I had to do good."

"Oh, come on." Sarada said. "You would've done great without or without me here. I'm glad I got to see it though!"

"Yes! Thank you for coming, your support means everything." He gave her a thumbs up. "And also, the festival turned out amazing! I didn't see you the rest of the night, but putting you on the decoration committee was the right choice."

She smiled. "Thank you, it really took a lot of work but I'm glad you noticed."

Metal was called back, and he dropped his water bottle and dashed back to the track. Sarada waved, and she was on her way. Her uncle Itachi was generous enough to pick her up today, so she waited for his car to pull up to the front.

Once she got in, the exhaustion hit her like a freight train. She almost fell asleep in his front seat, but made it to her bed to where she collapsed and stayed put the rest of the night.

XxX

Tuesday, Boruto was absent again. Sarada was now getting worried. If he was sick, that was a different story, but if something was genuinely wrong then she wanted to help make it right. Sarada had been oblivious to the rumors that were being said about her until she was with Sumiere in the hallway after school and caught her first wind of it.

"I'm sure he just doesn't want to show his face from how embarrassed he is." A girl said, as she walked by them. They were the girls that had been in the room that night, Sarada recognized her voice. Sumiere looked confused but Sarada wasn't paying attention to her. "Hooking up with someone like her?"

Sarada stopped walking. Sumiere noticed and frowned.

"Sarada...don't listen to what they're saying." She said softly. "You won't need to explain to the people who know you, and people who really care will come and ask you."

Taking a deep breath in, she realized Sumiere was right. Standing in the middle of the hallway ruminating about it wouldn't do anything. She really had to talk to Boruto and set the record straight, so tonight she would do it.

Itachi picked her up again, but he had been waiting a few minutes so Sarada dashed out of the front doors. He smiled as she climbed into his car. Her mind was still heavy with questions, and she didn't necessarily want to go to her dad about his best friend, so she twiddled her thumbs. Itachi glanced over at her.

"What's on your mind?"

"I don't know, a lot." She laughed. Itachi looked ahead.

"Talk to me."

"Well...I don't know. Boruto told me some things that might be...personal...but I don't know if they're true."

"About what?"

Sarada bit her tongue. Should she bring it up to Itachi? Would he even know anything? Him and Naruto used to work for the same company, and Naruto had practically lived at the Uchiha household growing up, so he might. She just didn't want her uncle's opinion of Naruto to change if it was true and he hadn't been aware about it.

"Um...well...Boruto said Hinata left Naruto because he was an alcoholic. And he was abusive."

Itachi remained silent.

Sarada felt severely uncomfortable. She shouldn't have brought it up. A topic as sensitive as this was nowhere near her business, nor her uncle's, she had just wanted clarity. But maybe it wasn't her clarity to be had.

"It's true," Itachi finally said. "But it's not my story to tell. I would ask Boruto when he feels comfortable telling you."

"Do you know more about it? Like what happened?"

Itachi sighed. "I do. But I'm not going to tell you. Maybe one day."

Sarada slumped in her seat. Well, there was her answer. Now she just wanted to know why.

"Just be there for him. He probably needs you more than he lets on." Itachi smiled at her. Sarada puffed out her cheeks.

"I guess, he's just so obnoxious."

Itachi laughed.

Once she was home, Sarada was sure to make sure she had everything prepared for tomorrow; her uniform, school bag, homework, lunch, and was now heading towards her front door. Right as she opened it, she nearly jumped out of her skin when Boruto was standing on her porch, hand lifted about to knock. She held a hand to her heart.

"You scared me!"

"Sorry." He said shyly, and Sarada noticed how placid his energy was. She suddenly felt nervous, remembering his arms wrapping around her body and him hiding his face into her neck. It had been so close and intimate – the closest they've ever been, really – and Sarada refused to let her cheeks flush.

"Um, I-I was...just about to go to your house."

"Really?" He seemed surprised, then noticed Sasuke's office door was open. His voice got quiet. "Walk with me?"

Sarada shut the door behind her and strolled with him. After last Friday, she still felt severely conflicted. She wasn't sure how to act around him, and since this was their first time seeing each other since that night he cried. It was awkward, for a multitude of reasons. One being he had been talking shit on her to a bunch of strangers, then two broke down and told her some of his traumatic childhood experiences, and three cried in her shoulder, then four she felt herself getting butterflies over how close they'd been. Sarada couldn't bring herself to ask him quite yet about his dad. The timing wasn't right for anything.

Taking a deep breath in, she calmed her nerves and tried to focus on the cloudy wisps in the sky.

They ended up going to the park behind their houses, where they swung absentmindedly, admiring the cool toned sunset reflecting off of all the fall leaves. Sarada felt a chill as the sun's rays slowly set. She twirled her thumbs nervously.

"Um...so, how have you been? You haven't been to school." She asked, pushing around the tanbark with her foot. Hopefully small talk would get him to open up.

"I know." Boruto said quietly. His gaze was fixed on the ground. "I knew it was going to be a shitstorm after last Saturday, and I just really didn't want to deal with it."

Sarada understood, yet it was unfair since she had experienced the brunt of the lashback. She wasn't going to say that, though, so waited for him to speak.

"And not only that," He continued, "but just…" he ran a hand through his hair, "honestly, I felt...embarrassed."

Sarada raised an eyebrow. "About what?"

"Telling you everything." He looked at her. "I don't want you to look at my dad differently because he really has changed and is better now. I'm the one who's not over it yet."

And, oh. Sarada pursed her lips. Understandable. Well that answered another one of her questions.

"And also...I don't know. I felt like I said too much and you were going to treat me differently."

"How come?"

He shrugged. "I hardly know you like that, and suddenly I'm telling you my whole life story? It's weird." Boruto pushed himself off the ground, but then caught himself with his feet repeatedly. "I just want to forget about it, and just please don't tell anyone. So can we go back to being normal?"

Sarada looked at him. What even constituted "normal" for them? Insults, ignoring, and hating each other? Or being teasing and playful? She didn't even know anymore, something felt like it'd changed on a deeper level. He seemed quite worried that she would tell people about his breakdown, but rest assured, she would never use it against him.

"Of course." She said, and he let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks."

"But," Sarada interrupted, finally finding the gusto to address her issue. Boruto's face fell, worried she was about to put conditions on it, since that's what everyone did. "I can't let go of what you were saying about me to all your friends so easily."

Nervously, Boruto ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, so what do you want?"

"What do I want?" Sarada echoed questionably. "I don't want anything, I'm just telling you it'll be hard for me to trust you after that, because it really hurt my feelings. I thought we were getting closer, but now…"

Boruto was stumped. Sarada wasn't going to blackmail him for this? That was different. Guilt washed over him. She truly was such a kindhearted person, and all this time he really had been so mean to her. No wonder she hated him; he gave her absolutely no reason to like him.

"God, I'm really sorry I even said any of that. Like seriously, it was uncalled for. I was being stupid."

"Well, you live and you learn." Sarada shrugged. "Sure, things can go back to normal, but it'll probably be a while before I'll feel completely comfortable around you again. And the things people have been saying about me are so cruel, thanks to you."

Boruto slumped in the swing. "I'm sorry. I really am. If you let me, I swear I'll make it up to you."

"No need. Like I said, just treat me the way you treat everyone else, that way it's fair."

Boruto seemed deep in thought. They sat in the peacefulness of the dark night until it got too cold, so he walked her home. It was long, silent, and they didn't say a word even as Sarada retreated through her front door.