Monday morning came in cloudy and blustery to welcome in mid-April. Sarada dreaded wearing a skirt, so layered up with tights and thigh high wool stockings. It helped combat some of the chill breeze. Throwing a coat on top helped protect her arms from getting cold, and her uncle picked her up at seven-fifteen sharp.
A new week, a new month, and thank god April Fools Day had been yesterday, which was a Sunday. It was the worst holiday ever and there was no point for it to even exist. Sarada hated all types of pranks, especially if they were ill-willed. Jumping out and scaring someone was one thing, but cruel pranks were another. So to have gotten through that cursed "holiday" without a single scratch was a miracle, especially this year.
Walking into the school, there were some students already inside chattering away about the weekend. Obviously prom was a big deal, and it was rumored that a lot of people were no longer virgins as of Saturday night, so Sarada supposed she'd find out who soon enough through the grapevine. Not that she ever entertained the lies anyway, but it was always interesting to see who was talking about who. It was going to be a long, dramatic, rumor-filled day.
Sighing, she opened her locker to shuffle her textbooks around.
Of course, she didn't expect the rumors to come around saying she wasn't a virgin.
"Oh my God, Sarada, you and Metal?!"
It seemed by some horrible string of fate, Chocho was always the bearer of bad news. But she couldn't help it; it was written in the stars for her to be the school's gossip girl. And she did a damn well job with it, too.
But, it was during lunch, and Sarada had been attempting to enjoy the school's pitiful excuse of a meal while her friends gossiped away as expected, and it made her almost spit out her milk.
"Excuse me, what?" She choked out.
"You and Metal!" Chocho exclaimed again.
Sumire, Wasabi, and Namida stared at her in shock, and Leila and Allison stood behind Chocho with curious expressions. Sarada, herself, was dumbfounded.
"Are you… joking?" She asked.
"I think he was kidding," Wasabi interjected.
Chocho folded her arms. "That's not what I heard!"
Sarada almost fell out of her seat.
"Wait, what? What are you guys talking about?"
Chocho suddenly realized that yep, Metal was a liar. And he was only trying to make Boruto jealous. Pathetic.
Her and Boruto may have had their moments of hatred for each other – especially after they stopped talking – but Boruto came as a package deal with Mitsuki. And in the past couple of months in hers and Mitsuki's talking stage, she'd learned a lot about the Uzumaki, as well as inadvertently spent more time around him. It solidified a couple things for her, actually.
For one, her and Boruto were absolutely not a match in any form. They were both too outspoken and hard headed. They would bicker until their ears bled. Earlier this year she was being delusional, and now with that realization she held no grudge against him and Sarada for falling for each other. They were literally soul mates.
Second, she had actually grown to care about him in a way; only because Mitsuki talked so tenderly about him all the time. It was so infectious that it gave her this weird protective feeling over him, and even though she had been the main source of rumors before, she now was defending Boruto from them. He still pissed her off with his naturally charming asshole-y nature, but still. Things were different now.
It was now clear why Boruto hadn't slept with Leila. Chocho thought he had just gotten too drunk and couldn't get hard, but actually he had been too upset over hearing the news about Metal and Sarada. He wasn't over Sarada.
Scoffing, Chocho flipped her hair behind her shoulder. It was like Sarada to play dumb at first, so to really make sure she was telling the truth, she had to egg her on a little more. Chocho was only doing this for Boruto's peace of mind, because she really could've gone without seeing him mope around the house all morning and singing Post Malone into the toilet.
"It's okay Sarada, you don't have to be shy. Tell us about it!" Chocho urged.
"I can't tell you about something that never happened." Sarada clenched her teeth. "Are you kidding me?! Where is Metal?"
Abandoning her lunch, Sarada stormed out of the cafeteria, and Chocho swiped a finger across her brow, laughing nervously. So double yep, Metal wasn't just a regular liar, he was a big fat liar.
"Oh my, I feel bad for Metal when she finds him." She snickered.
"No, listen!" Wasabi exclaimed. "Me and Inojin were on the couch when he walked in and Boruto was right next to us. I asked him where Sarada was, and he said she was tired, then I was the one who asked if they did it. He didn't even say anything, so that doesn't mean they actually did it. Besides, if they did, it's none of our business!"
"Well, if he didn't deny it that kinda gives it away." Namida frowned. "But I don't know why he would announce that in front of Boruto. That's mean."
"Why would that matter?" Leila suddenly questioned.
"Because Boruto and Sarada have a lot of history." Wasabi scoffed. "They've been so off and on this whole year that it was a huge deal when her and Metal started dating!"
"Wasabi," Sumire scolded.
"What?" Wasabi snapped.
Leila looked to the ground.
Chocho noticed her friend's silence and covered it with a loud chuckle. "Aha, well, we'll keep Metal in our prayers! Hope he doesn't lose an arm!"
She gave the three girls at the table a peace sign, then walked away. Her friends trailed behind, but Leila was slow to keep up the pace.
Chocho sighed. What a train wreck.
XxX
To: Metal
Can you come outside for a minute?
Whilst Sarada may have been on lunch, Metal was in class. She stood by his classroom door, her anger bubbling inside as she awaited a response. It was unlike him to respond unless it was an emergency, so Sarada hoped he deemed this as one.
Metal
Right now?
Yes, she responded, and thank god. She was going to tear his head off. What the hell was his problem going around spreading rumors like that?! What her and Metal did in their alone time was their business and their business only. They hadn't done anything even remotelyclose to that, but if he was going around trying to boost his ego with false accusations, Sarada was going to be very upset.
Footsteps were heard coming closer to the door, and Sarada closed her eyes to calm herself. The door slid open, and Metal poked his head out, and immediately Sarada grabbed his arm and yanked him down the hallway. He yelped, and finally she dragged him down the stairs into the median.
"S-Sarada, h-hey! What's wrong?"
She clasped her hands tightly and swirled around.
"Why are you going around telling people we slept together?!" She demanded in a hushed tone.
Metal's eyes widened. "Wh-What are you talking about? I never said anything like that!"
"Then why did Chocho come up to me at lunch asking me about it? And why did Wasabi say you told her and Inojin that at the after party? Why didn't you even tell me you were going to an after party?! I didn't even know there was one!"
"Hey, hey—calm down! Calm down, I don't know where this is coming from, but we must've just gotten caught in the middle." Metal gently held onto her wrist. "You know how Chocho is, she always wants to start drama."
Sarada hesitated. Well, that was the truth, but Wasabi still has said there was an after party and Metal was there, and she wanted answers.
She narrowed her eyes. "Okay? That still doesn't explain everything else. Don't lie to me."
"I'm not, Sarada. I swear." Metal said. "Inojin was drunk and called me to ask if I could give him a ride home because he could not drive. That was the only reason I went there, I was barely there for less than ten minutes. Since I showed up without you they must have assumed something. Who told Chocho that rumor?"
Sarada hesitated. "I-I don't know."
"Well go ask her. I am so sorry you're having to deal with this Sarada. I wish I could be more help, but I have to get back to class." Metal held her hand reassuringly. "Do you want a ride home today, and we can figure it out?"
Sarada looked to the floor. She didn't know what to believe anymore, honestly… and it seemed futile to crucify Metal over something he seemingly didn't do. The truth would get unveiled eventually, so she had no other choice but to take his word for now.
"I guess..." She said, and Metal nodded.
"I'll wait for you." He said, then squeezed her hand one last time before he went back up the stairs.
Sarada stood in the stairwell. All she felt was confusion and uncertainty. Her friends, the student council, school, Metal, literally everything was getting under her skin! Then add that on top of feeling like she was being watched every corner she turned. The anxiety was constantly eating away at her. She didn't know what she wanted anymore, or even who.
Everything was just so… frustrating.
She pulled out her phone.
To: Chocho
Who told you that?
A couple moments later, Chocho responded.
Chocho
Boruto
Sarada fell onto the steps, completely defeated. Of course it was Boruto...
She had no time to wait for student council tonight nor to go find him, she needed answers now.
To: Boruto
Why are you telling everyone Metal and I slept together?
He was also on lunch and more often than not had his phone on hand, so his response hopefully would be quick.
As expected, her phone buzzed.
Boruto
are you serious? He's the one telling everyone
Sarada felt an uncomfortable amount of anxiety pulsing through her body. She didn't want Boruto to be mad at her for asking, nor for this to ruin the already small remnants of their relationship that remained. She hated that this was the only reason they were in contact with one another, but she needed answers...
Her hands trembled as she typed back.
To: Boruto
I just asked him and he said Chocho made it up and then she just told me you told her first
Boruto
Believe what you want girly but I'm telling you right now he's straight up lying to you
Sarada stared at her phone.
A minute later, another text came through.
Boruto
Besides why would I go and spread a rumor like that?
Sarada felt tears of frustration begin to pool in her eyes.
To: Boruto
Why didn't you just come to me first?
Boruto
Can we talk about this later in person
Sarada let out a choked sob. She wanted to disappear. Everything was such a mess.
Someone was lying to her, but she just didn't know who.
At this point, who cared about the stupid rumor, she just wanted the wolf in sheep's clothing to come out and stop fibbing to her face. If someone truly didn't like her, she'd rather they come forward and say it rather than playing these mind games. It made her feel like she couldn't trust anyone, and she was tired of always feeling taken advantage of.
She had never done mean things to anyone, so why did it feel like the whole world was suddenly against her?
XxX
Student council dragged on. Sarada could hardly focus, and Sumire looked at her friend concerned. She poked Sarada with an eraser, and Sarada jumped.
"Are you okay?" Sumire whispered.
Sarada shrugged, swirling her pencil around her fingers. Boruto looked at her from across the room, but tried to focus on what Headmaster Tsunade was saying.
Once the student council ended, Sarada collected her bag, and Boruto made his way over to her. As per expectations, he was going to talk to her and they were going to straighten this out. On God, Boruto would be the first to admit that he will and always would want to fix things with Sarada without hesitation. So he was going to follow through indubitably so they wouldn't have one of their horrible miscommunications again.
Right when he was about to call her name, Metal seemingly popped up right behind her with a smile. Boruto froze in his spot.
"How was student council?" He asked, keeping his gaze focused on Sarada. She shrugged despondently
Boruto clenched the strap of his knapsack. "Hey Metal."
Metal cast Boruto a low look, then took Sarada by the waist. "You had a hard day, let's go."
Boruto furrowed his brows, holding out a hand. "Hey, woah, I need to talk to Sarada."
Metal flipped around. "Why would she want to talk to you? You are making her reputation miserable, spreading rumors like that."
The room had cleared out quickly, leaving the three by themselves in the orange casted room from the setting sun. The area was quiet so left the stunned silence from Boruto ring loud and clear with nowhere to go. He looked from Sarada, to Metal, and back to Sarada, clutching his knapsack nervously.
"Are you serious?" Boruto asked.
"Okay, stop." Sarada exclaimed desperately.
"No! You seriously don't believe I started a rumor about yours and Metal's sex lives? You gotta be fucking kidding." Boruto threw his hands out in defeat.
Sarada looked to Boruto, her soft brown eyes glossy and weary. Boruto clenched his fists, looking to Metal.
"You talked some shit at prom and I was gonna let it slide, but now you just gotta get everyone else involved to make your story more believable." Boruto glowered. "Inojin and Wasabi were sitting right there when you came into Mitsuki's house and said Sarada wasn't there because she was "tired" from how "wonderful" she is, or whatever the hell you said." He seethed, "And you didn't deny it when Wasabi asked you, so tell me again howI started that?"
Sarada glared at Metal, pushing away from his hold. "Wait, what? Metal, is this true?"
"And weren't you just about to go into the bedroom with Leila?" Metal shot back with no hesitation, and Sarada gasped. Boruto felt his entire body melt. "Why are you so concerned with mine and Sarada's relationship when you clearly have other things to worry about?"
Boruto's insides burned with livid rage, his entire body was beginning to shake. Metal was completely trying to avoid the subject because he knew what he fucking did. This just went to further prove that he didn't answer Wasabi's question on purpose hoping something like this would happen. Him and Sarada didn't sleep together. It was a set up from the start to stir the pot.
"You and Leila slept together?" Sarada asked, her voice crackled.
Wait. No. No, no, no–no–!
"No!" Boruto said quickly, "No, we didn't! Sarada, I swear, nothing happened, we didn't—"
"Shikadai went to get you a condom, that does not seem like just nothing!" Metal's eyes narrowed. "You really never change. Sarada wouldn't sleep with you so you went and found the next girl that would." He scoffed, then adjusted the knapsack on his shoulder. "Sarada, I am leaving. Come on."
When she didn't budge, Metal turned around, and frowned. He looked at her with urgency.
"Are you coming?"
"No one ever said Boruto started the rumors." She said shakily. "So where did you get that from?"
There was a panicked look in Metal's gaze that swept through in a millisecond, but he quickly covered it up.
"Is it not obvious? He is bitter you dumped him and chose me instead, so he is trying to get between us!" Metal pointed at Boruto.
There was a long, heavy silence accompanied by the ticking clock hanging from the wall. Boruto's heart was pounding, Sarada was keeping her gaze low, and Metal was hoping deep down that Sarada would blindly agree with him. But he knew for a fact she was too smart and observant to do that. Of course she'd notice that small detail; if he should have walked into a room accusing anyone it should've been Chocho. Never in their conversation did they establish the culprit could've been Boruto. Metal had jumped the gun before planting the idea in her head first.
Finally, Sarada showed movement by toying with the ends of her blazer.
"Just go." She said quietly, and Metal scowled.
"B-But, I'm your ride—"
"I said go!" Sarada whipped her head around, her eyes seemingly red with rage. Metal stumbled on his own feet before leaving hesitantly, but not without one last glare to Boruto.
Now the two were completely by themselves. Under the circumstances, the undivided quality time didn't feel special. It felt cold, constructed, and hurt. It felt numb. Neither of them knew what to say.
Sarada was sniffling, and Boruto was lost for words.
Daring to take a slow step forward, Boruto ran a shaky hand through his hair.
"S-Sarada, I didn't sleep with her, I swear–"
"Then if I go and ask Shikadai right now, what would he say?" Sarada's intense gaze burned holes through his skin. It felt hot, angry, and toxic. God, he felt sick to his stomach. He couldn't even look her in the eye.
"He'd tell you the truth." He muttered.
"And what is the truth?!"
Boruto was quiet.
"That you asked him for a condom? That you slept with Leila?"
"I did ask him for a condom, but I didn't sleep with her." Boruto said softly, still refusing to meet her gaze. He couldn't sit here and talk to the girl he still had feelings for about the other girl who was supposed to just be a one night stand.
Sarada's eyes quivered.
"Please leave," She said.
Boruto stared at her, the familiar feeling of abandonment washing over him again. For all the odds being against him, Sarada was staying eerily calm in her dealings with him even with everything crashing down around her simultaneously. Him and Sarada had been through this same thing so many different times, he didn't want it to end again. He wished none of this had even happened. If they could go back to the beginning, there were so many things he'd do differently now.
"Let me explain—!"
"Please," Sarada begged, twisting the palms of her hands against her teary eyes desperately, "Stop, I-I just...I just–I can't handle this anymore."
There had to be some good found out of the fact that Sarada was doubting Metal even just a little bit, but Boruto couldn't bear to look anymore.
Without a word, he left.
XxX
For the very first time in the history of her school career, Sarada Uchiha was absent.
For only three days, but it was a big deal.
The empty desk in homeroom and French class had been glaringly obvious, as well as the sudden amount of pressure Boruto felt temporarily filling her role.
Not one text or call had been returned, but then again, he hadn't even tried. She didn't want to hear him out in the first place, so what would make him think she'd pick up the phone or read a useless block of a text? What good would emotionally dumping all his woes in her inbox do? Absolutely nothing. If she didn't want to listen in person, his message might as well be put in a glass bottle at sea.
Some people said Sarada transferred, others claimed she was too embarrassed to show her face back at school, some thought she was genuinely sick.
But if there was one thing Boruto knew for sure, is that Sarada had never been through something like this before; aka, massive social and emotional destruction. So she needed to process that in her own space and by space, that meant the entire galaxy. So this would take a long time for her to recover. Whether or not she wanted to admit it.
And now the roles were reversed. Boruto was the one sitting in class listening to all the cruel, horrible, vile, untrue things being said about her, and what was he supposed to do about it? Repair her defamation, with what room to talk?
Luckily, Leila hadn't said anything about hers and Boruto's near intimate experience, so that had been kept under the wraps between the friend group. She was avoiding him now, but he didn't blame her. He led her on in a way by not disclosing the fact that he and Sarada had been a thing previously, but then again, him and Leila had never been serious enough to where it would have been an issue.
But, her feelings were hurt regardless, and it caused a rift between the friend group. No one really hung out together anymore. It was one of those situations no one saw coming, especially stemming from someone so seemingly innocent as Metal, but no one knew who's side to be on. And when it came to picking sides, people tended to be crystal clear on one or the other, or there was the alternative route of just pure avoidance.
The following Thursday, Sarada walked in alone, and of course the entire student body went hush hush real quick. That was the one thing Boruto couldn't stand. Everyone was so fake to each other's faces, but behind closed doors it was a completely different story. He hated that he had once fallen into that category — it was a level he tried to never let himself stoop to again.
Sarada was doing her best to act like everything was back to normal. And that left Boruto wondering why the hell would she put herself through that if she wasn't ready. All she had said to him the day she got back was she didn't want to fall behind on student council duties and she had been bored at home, but it was a stupid excuse. That's why Boruto existed; so that she could take a break if she needed. She was just trying to sweep the whole situation under the rug.
Still, Boruto desperately needed to talk to her and explain everything. He needed clarity, as did she probably.
But, it just didn't feel right at the moment.
Really, nothing did lately.
In student council nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Sarada was quiet during their discussions, and was quiet when she left. Boruto hadn't seen much of Metal around, but he dared not ask. People seemed to be reading the room, so no one was publicly talking about Sarada or Metal right now.
Unfortunately the following Monday morning, Sarada and Metal did walk in together, and all the tense awkwardness that had been lingering in the halls seemed to be gone, but now the couple seemed off in their own world. It was insane considering how smart and intellectual she was how completely delusional she could be on the flip side. She literally was being lied to every moment she was with the psychopath and was just okay with it.
Boruto was so annoyed, and he was sick of playing nice. Everything was so irritating.
Student council was hard, because he couldn't help but let his eyes trail to Sarada, but then it would be ruined the second Metal walked through the door. Her whole demeanor would change, and Metal was always sure to make their greeting kiss obvious, because he would look at Boruto immediately after. Pft, the next time he did that Boruto was going to go fucking make out with Metal himself.
He was literally addicted to Boruto's reaction, it was so pathetic. Dangling Sarada in front of him like a piece of meat was disgusting. She wasn't valued, or treasured, or appreciated like she should be. She was getting the bare fucking minimum thinking she was in dreamland.
Boruto knew what Sarada wanted and needed in a partnership, he'd been in Metal's shoes before. He'd severely under-delivered amongst other things, and that's why they didn't work out. So he really wondered why Sarada was putting up with Metal's bullshit longer than she had Boruto's. Maybe the bowl-headed control freak was better at hiding his flaws than he was, who fucking knew.
Sarada wasn't coming to him asking for more answers, so obviously she didn't want to believe the truth. She was being placated by Metal's pretty little lies and just taking it. And it was hurting Boruto's feelings.
Either way, thinking about that always put Boruto in a pissy mood when he drove home. Was his bullshit not worth sticking around for, but Metal's was? Seriously?
Once in his room, he kicked his shoes off, threw his knapsack on his bed, tugged his blazer off, and plopped on the floor. He stared up at the ceiling.
Goddamn. Who knew if he would ever get over Sarada. And what was he going to do about it?
XxX
The rest of April passed by in a similar fashion, and so did the beginning of May. The group was divided. Boruto was keeping to himself, Mitsuki and Chocho were official now, and summer was right around the corner.
They only had a couple weeks left before summer break, and thank god because Boruto was about to lose it. He was so sick of seeing the same faces everyday; he couldn't wait to just be alone, sleep in until noon, and eat nothing but chips and mountain dew and stay up until three AM and not have to deal with all this bullshit. Summer was just a heavenly bliss awaiting.
All student council members still had to help plan for the senior cotillion dance, even though some were juniors and sophomores. So that kept Boruto and Sarada busy for the beginning portion of May, and they ended up being designated chaperones. It was awkward since they had been grouped together by homeroom, so thus were stuck watching the back halls making sure any seniors didn't sneak off to the roof or any empty classrooms.
So, there Boruto and Sarada stood, in a dark hallway with music blasting from the gymnasium on a rainy May night, awkwardly bouncing on their feet. Completely alone together. In silence.
They were at least cordial, though, since they had promised Headmaster Tsunade they would behave until the end of the year. Neither of them were trying to get expelled, even though it was very difficult some days. Boruto still wanted to talk to her, and it had been a full month since they had spoken one word to each other.
It was a constant struggle of should Boruto instigate the conversation and start talking first, or see if Sarada truly cared and wait for her to do it?
He wanted to explain to her everything he'd done wrong and take responsibility for it, but also tell her how he felt. He'd been sitting here pining over her for five months – he was bummed out every time he saw her and Metal together, but he wasn't going to be the reason they broke up. It wouldn't be genuine if he tried to intervene, it would be selfish. But at the same time, could she hurry up already? She was breaking his heart.
If he did open up and was completely honest about his feelings, at the end of the day at least he knew that he did everything he possibly could to make it work. And if it didn't happen, then it just wasn't meant to be.
A particularly upbeat pop song began playing, and it brought him back to the present. It lifted Boruto's mood significantly. He began bouncing to the beat.
"Great song."
Sarada blinked in response, but didn't look at him. Boruto pursed his lips and looked around the hallway.
"Isn't it?"
Sarada let out an annoyed sigh. "Yes."
Boruto continued to bounce on his feet.
"You know what would be fun?"
Sarada glanced at him. "What?"
"If we went on the roof."
Sarada scrunched her brows. "Absolutely not."
Boruto whined. "Why not?"
"That's literally what we're chaperoning for – so drunk seniors don't go on the roof!"
"And that's exactly why we should go up there! No one's gonna be up there."
"No." Sarada clenched her fingers together. Boruto pushed his lips out in a pout.
"Please?"
"No."
"Fine." Boruto folded his arms. He hadn't really wanted to go to the roof, but at least Sarada spoke to him. He missed hearing her voice.
Every small conversation he tried to start was shut down rather quickly. This lowkey method obviously wasn't working, and Sarada saw right through his scheme. If Boruto wanted the real, raw, honest Sarada again, he'd have to plan something bigger. More drastic. Something that would really catch her attention, and make her notice him again. Not just acknowledge his physical presence, but something that would completely draw her in emotionally with no choice to opt out. She was too robotic lately. She didn't have that lively, free-spirited glow in her eyes anymore. She was a walking routined shell, and it was sad to see. Nothing gartered a reaction from her anymore – and Boruto wanted to change that.
So, he had an idea.
XxX
They had one week of school left. The final assembly was today, and Sarada and Metal walked into the auditorium together hand-in-hand.
On the outside, everything looked perfectly normal. That's how Sarada wanted it to be perceived. She carefully crafted every single sentence she spoke, or every small movement of her body to appear that everything was fine. For over a month she had been doing that, and so far it was working.
But, to be honest, everything was still weird. Things were still tense and awkward between her and Metal. The whole situation after prom had never been given clarity and at this point, she had accepted that it is what it is, and that was how it was going to be. Letting it go was just the easiest thing at this point. Fighting against something that couldn't be changed was futile, so Sarada was just now going through the motions every day. They hardly talked about anything deep or meaningful, or really spent quality time together. Not much else happened between them, and at school, same thing. They'd greet each other in the mornings, go to class, meet up after school for a moment, go to their activities, then later one of them would show up at the other's house. They would do homework, and when they were done, they would leave.
Metal was at least decent enough to her, and it's not like she was completely miserable. She was just… unsatisfied. And annoyed. And anxious. And felt like a living, walking robot. Twenty-four-seven. There were worse things in the world, right? So she shouldn't complain.
The assembly was pretty straight forward – giving out rewards, shoutouts to students who made the high honor rolls, announcing scholarships, and there was lots of cheering, clapping, and students walking up and down the stage. Pretty straightforward and boring; Sarada resisted the urge to yawn.
As a sophomore class representative, Sarada wasn't asked to be an announcer, only the senior representatives were in charge to give themselves one last shout out before they graduated. It was a nice, harmonious assembly that was going smoothly, and it finally came to a close.
Of course, before they dismissed everyone, Boruto suddenly was walking across the stage, which didn't seem abnormal, since he was a student council member after all, but then he stopped at the podium, which was the strange part. No where in the script had he been given any speaking parts.
The microphone screeched loudly and everyone yelped, and he cleared his throat. There were confused whispers scattering across the auditorium, and finally, Boruto gripped the base of the microphone, opened his eyes, and spoke.
"Sarada Uchiha, I like you! I still do! And I'm not going to ever stop!"
Absolute silence.
So silent, you could hear a pin drop.
For a long moment, everyone was in plain shock.
Sarada was frozen to her core with shock. Oh. My. God.
"That is all." Boruto concluded, and he was out of sight before Headmaster Tsunade dragged him off the stage.
Then, as if all at once, everyone erupted. Instant chatter, gasps, endless questions, some cheering, some screaming, and everyone who was sitting near Sarada and Metal all turned their heads to look at her.
Sarada was absolutely shocked. Wha... The… The audacity. The. Fucking. Nerve! Oh my God. Sarada was going to kill him. Where did that even come from?!
There was a definite sinking feeling this wouldn't go over well with Metal, and she dared to glance over at him. His face was as pale as a ghost, and Sarada slowly sunk into the seat and hid her face in her hands.
Thankfully Sarada was able to escape out the back to avoid the inevitable stream of questions that was sure to follow if she walked through the main halls. She wasn't even going to try to form a coherent thought right now, her mind was going a million miles a minute.
Calm down, calm down, calm down, he's just looking for a reaction out of you, she reminded herself. No one was more dramatic than Boruto Uzumaki when his ego was bruised, obviously. He was so conceited! None of the attention had been on him lately, and this was a damn good way to get people talking again. But why? Why would he go and do something like this? He couldn't possibly still have feelings for her, right? It's been months!
The warm, tingly feeling Sarada used to get when she thought about Boruto sparked deep inside her core. It took her aback, and made her cheeks burn. No. She wouldn't allow it. Boruto didn't really still have feelings for her, this was just a ginormous end of the year prank he was pulling. He probably got dared to do it – there wasn't any actual meaning behind it.
At least, that's what she was trying to tell the little butterflies in her stomach. No! No, no, no, no, she didn't care if Boruto still had feelings for her. Nope. She didn't. At all. Not gonna happen. She wasn't going to crack.
It pissed her off. How was Boruto still able to get into her head so easily? Her head... and her heart? Not only was she annoyed, but she was twitterpated at the thought that he actually got up and confessed in front of the entire school. Like, for him to do something like that, he must really mean it, or just really wanted to piss off Metal. She didn't know at that moment in time, but the optimist in her hoped it was that he still had feelings for her.
Wait, no, she didn't. What was she thinking?! God, she pulled at her hair with an exasperated sigh. No, she was angry at Boruto. Think about how much you hate him, and how much he embarrassed you today. Yeah. He's horrible, how could he pull a prank like this on you?!
As much as slicing Boruto alive was kept on the forefront of her mind, her boyfriend hadn't peeped a single word since leaving the auditorium, nor had she said anything to him. He was the most prominent problem right now, so anxiously, she glanced over at him.
"Um, what's wrong?" Sarada asked. It was a ridiculously stupid question. Of course she knew what was wrong, but she had to take her attention away from her swinging pendulum of emotions and focus on the here and now. He didn't even try to fake a smile.
"Nothing, I'm going home." Metal said.
As expected. Sarada couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Alright." She said curtly. Metal walked away without a single glance, and she wanted to scream.
Itachi picked her up from school. He looked a little pale, but Sarada was way too distracted to notice.
"How was school?" He asked. Sarada slumped in the car seat.
"Well, Boruto confessed his feelings for me in front of the entire student body, and Metal left me in the parking lot. If that says anything."
"Oh?" Itachi raised a brow. "Sounds… interesting."
"You have no idea." Sarada squeezed her palms against her temples. Just thinking about it gave her a headache. "He's so stupid. Oh my god."
"It's not good between you two then?" He questioned, flicking his blinker on.
Sarada sighed. "Not even that– just, so much happened and we never talked about it, so it's just awkward. But I guess this whole time he still had feelings in that stupid head of his this entire time, and decided the final assembly would be the perfect place to announce that. Like, he couldn't have waited until school was over or something?!"
Itachi shrugged. "You have to hand it to him, though. That takes guts."
Sarada shook her head. "Don't even get me started. Metal was so mad that he just walked away from me, like it's not my fault Boruto did that. He's just so insecure he can't handle it."
"Have you tried talking to him?" Itachi asked as they pulled into the driveway.
"Well, no, because he won't talk to me. About anything." Sarada ran her hands through her hair exasperated. "We never talk about our problems, and there's like a million of them. It's just easier to push them to the side and never deal with them, but I'm miserable. He's so boring, it's like I'm suffocating."
Itachi offered a comforting smile. "I'm sure things will work out the way they're supposed to, don't worry so much. If it's right with Metal, he won't let it affect you guys."
"I just already know it will, and that's what pisses me off!" Sarada exclaimed. "Boruto knows this too, that's probably why he did it!"
"No, I don't think so. It is Boruto, after all, he wouldn't say something he doesn't mean." Itachi said gently.
"Yeah, well, maybe." Sarada grumbled, then hopped out of the car. "Are you coming inside?"
Itachi shook his head. "Not today. But I'll pick you up tomorrow."
"Okay. See ya, uncle Itachi." Sarada nodded, and waved as she shut the door then went into her house.
How she actually ended up on Boruto Uzumaki's doorstep later that night with her hand in her pocket, clutching a particular item was beyond her. Her brain had tried to convince her so many times to just not leave her house and just stay home, but she was angry, confused, and all her feelings were beginning to surface back up, so she had to put this to rest and find out what the hell was going through that crazy head of his. She needed answers for all the awkward, confusing encounters they'd had the last couple months. But on the flip side, everything inside her was saying she should forget it and turn around immediately, ignore him and he'll move on, the more attention you give him the more it'll fuel the flame; but she just couldn't let it go.
It wasn't because a part of her still felt the same or anything, because she was in a relationship. Obviously.
Pacing back and forth on the front doorstep was doing no good, so she finally knocked just to get it over with.
"Oh, Sarada!" Hinata greeted her. "Are you looking for Boruto?"
Sarada nodded, but was trembling inside. "Y-Yeah, I hope I'm not intruding."
"Not at all! Boruto should be in his room. You can go up there."
"Th-Thank you." Sarada said nervously, slipping off her shoes in the doorway and making her way upstairs. It hadn't changed one bit—in fact, it almost made her reminisce all the time she had spent here.
Once she approached Boruto's door, she leaned close to hear if there was any rustling. There was soft music playing, and she recognized it as Coldplay, her favorite. She was boiling with anxiety, and with a long inhale and exhale, she built up enough courage to knock as soft as she could, and heard, "come in."
Boruto looked up, expecting it to be his mother, maybe even his dad, but when it was Sarada who walked through the door, he shot upright, his eyes wide with panic.
"Wh-What are you doing here?" He asked, covering himself with a blanket. Sarada scowled and shut the door.
"What do you mean what am I doing here?! You expect to pull something like that and me not to be here?"
"Here we go." He rolled onto his side away from her. Sarada clenched her fists.
"Don't even do that with me; what were you thinking saying that in front of everyone? You humiliated Metal!"
"Eh, he deserved it." Boruto muttered. Sarada yanked the blanket off of him.
"Boruto, I'm serious!"
"I am too!" He retaliated. "All I hear is Metal this, Metal that, blah blah blah, Sarada is such a great catch, and she got away to the likes of him?" He scoffed and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "He's a complete asshole, Sarada. You have no idea what he's like when you're not around."
"You're calling him the asshole yet you're here acting like one?" She said indignantly.
"If you came here to just yell at me you should go. I'm not in the mood right now. I was actually serious about what I said." He muttered.
Sarada's shoulders fell. He… was? Half of her thought it'd been a joke, the other half had pom poms and was cheering with glee that he still had feelings for her. Well, now she was here, and Boruto was saying that's what it was, and suddenly she didn't know whether to be angry, nervous, or happy.
"Wh-What do you mean?"
Boruto wouldn't look at her. "What do you mean what do I mean? Just exactly what I said."
"N-No, like, explain."
"Explain what? That I still have feelings for you?" Boruto sat up, eyeing Sarada through a narrow gaze. She nodded slowly, and Boruto sighed.
"What more is there to explain?"
"Why?" Sarada asked, her tone shaky. "This whole time, you still had feelings for me?"
Boruto avoided eye contact. "What, you think I just got over you in a week or something?"
"W-Well, what about Leila, and me and Metal—"
"Leila and I were never a thing, I already told you that. And I don't give a shit about Metal, I care about you."
Sarada kept her even gaze on him. This seemed surreal to hear all this, especially since it seemed like Boruto had completely moved on and forgotten about their history. The whole thing had seemed so random, but now being here… not so much anymore.
"But, didn't you and Leila sleep together—"
"No, I already told you that too. You just weren't listening."
Sarada looked to the floor, and Boruto sighed.
"There's, uh, a lot I need to talk to you about… if you're willing to listen."
The soft, glossy gaze in Boruto's eyes showed vulnerability. Deep down, he was hoping Sarada would sit and listen to his piece so he could finally get everything off his chest. And especially now, because… she had come to him first.
For once in his life, he wanted to be honest with himself. He was tired of hiding his feelings, he wanted to be free of the constraints. Free of all the fear of judgement from others and himself.
The biggest thing he had learned this year, was what he wanted shouldn't matter to anyone else, nor should he care what others have to say about it.
Slowly, Sarada sat on the edge of his bed. She was stiff, but it looked like her attention was undivided. Boruto let out a relieved breath. For a moment, he couldn't believe it, but this was real life.
She was here, and she was listening.
It was scary talking through all his thoughts, feelings, and experiences this year, especially when it came to Sarada. He expressed his hurt, his anger, and the whole situation with prom and how he felt. It killed him inside that every time Sarada fell into his arms crying with a problem, he'd help pick her back up and she walked straight back to Metal when everything was okay again.
Sarada felt horrible, and had a range of emotions. Truly, she hadn't suspected Boruto would've even been so affected by all this. She honestly thought she meant hardly anything to him, especially when that conflict arose at his birthday party back in December. Looking back, she supposed he had tried everything he could to fix it, but it had been too late at that point. And now sitting here, he had been waiting patiently for her to change her mind.
And that made her even more confused. About Metal, more specifically.
"After I helped you out, I went outside to get some air because I wasn't about to keep watching you and Metal be all googly-eyed over each other." Boruto rolled his eyes, and Sarada cringed. "But then he followed me, and he tried to start all this shit about to leave you guys alone because you're happy and over me, and that I need to stay away from you. All that controlling boyfriend shit."
Sarada's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"
Boruto shrugged. "He's ridiculous. He had nothing to back it up. He's just jealous and insecure and it's literally pathetic."
Sarada looked to the floor. She was absolutely appalled. Metal had tried to fight Boruto at prom? How did she not know this?
Boruto didn't stop there.
"And then after prom, we had an after party at Mitsuki's, and I'm not gonna lie. I was pretty drunk." Boruto scratched his head. "I was just so pissed off about what happened at the dance, that I got this stupid idea that if I slept with Leila it would make me forget about it and get over you. So yeah, Metal wasn't wrong when he said Shikadai was getting a condom for me, but then that's when all that shit happened."
Sarada was trying her best to remain calm. This was all so much information. "What happened?"
"Well, Mitsuki and Chocho had gone to his room to smash, and I was still out in the kitchen with Leila. I told her I'd meet her in the spare room, then I went over to Shikadai and asked if he had a condom. That's when Metal showed up, and oh my god Sarada when I tell you I was about to beat his ass." Boruto fisted his hands through his hair.
"He showed up out of nowhere, and Wasabi asked where you were. He said you were tired then went on to say some shit like how wonderful you were or whatever, and it's like from there you can only assume what happened. So Wasabi was like, oh my god you guys did it! And then he didn't say anything." Boruto scoffed. "And then I wanted to throw up."
Sarada's eyes were wide open.
"So then, I thought if I just go fuck Leila then all my problems would be solved." Boruto laughed. "Yeah, no. I couldn't do it because I realized I was being an idiot. You can't fuck someone when you're trying to get over someone else, it just doesn't work like that."
Sarada swallowed harshly. "S-So… you and Leila didn't do it?"
Boruto met her gaze.
"No, Sarada. I didn't."
"But you were going to."
Boruto eyes quivered as he looked away. "It doesn't matter anymore 'cause I didn't."
She supposed so… but still. This was so much to process.
Flopping on her back, she let out a long sigh. If what Boruto was saying was all true, then Metal wasn't who he portrayed himself to be. But now she was conflicted. Could Boruto have made all this up? Or was he really telling the truth? He used to be the type of person to have an agenda, but not so much anymore. So how was she supposed to know for sure?
But then again, if he had ulterior motives, he wouldn't have confessed everything like this. That wasn't like him. Just like her uncle said, he wouldn't say anything he didn't mean.
So, Sarada believed him one hundred percent.
"I don't know what to say." Sarada said. Boruto shrugged.
"Me neither."
There was a long stretch of silence. Music was still playing from the speaker, and it was shuffling through a Coldplay playlist. It was nice, it was calming to Sarada, but still her mind was now spinning in circles. So many things had been happening around her without even realizing it. She suddenly felt emotional.
"Why didn't you tell me all this earlier?"
Her broken voice hit Boruto hard. He felt guilty. He really should've, but the timing had never been right. Sure, Metal was crazy on his own, but looking at Sarada from the outside, it had seemed like everything was finally going her way. And who was Boruto to decide things weren't actually what they seemed, and try and ruin that?
"You never came to me first. You seemed happy with him." He said softly.
They both were sad. What are all the things that could've been avoided or prevented if they had just talked to each other? How much wasted time could've been saved, and instead spent on each other?
There were so many questions Sarada had. She had to figure out where she stood with Metal. There was still some hesitation to believe Boruto, but at least now they had been crystal clear with each other and she knew how he felt.
It seemed like he didn't want to talk about sad things anymore, as he quickly shifted the mood to one much peppier.
"But anyway. Besides that, how else are things going? Like what's all the hot goss in Sarada Uchiha's life?"
Sarada cracked a smile. "Boruto, you don't have to pretend like you care."
He gave her a doubtful look. "I'm not pretending! I'm just interested to hear all the dirty details."
Sarada pressed a hand to her temple. "Nothing really, everything's been going fine."
"So have you guys done the Fabulous Max yet?"
"The Fabulous what?"
"The Fabulous Max! The Dirty Dan? Grinding the Rind? Come on Sarada."
Her face turned redder than a tomato, and she hated she couldn't hide her expression from him. "Wh-Wha–No! Boruto, we just talked about this!"
"Knock on wood, but make sure it's in the morning." Boruto knocked on his wall, and Sarada smacked him.
"You're such an idiot!"
"Admit it, you still like me though." He held his hands out. Sarada pouted, though her heart was pounding.
"I don't, Boruto. Stop it."
"Okay, okay. I'm kidding." He laughed, though it was forced. He was asking these questions to really see where Sarada truly stood. There was no denying it was a relief to hear from her own mouth that her and Metal hadn't slept together. Inadvertently teasing her was the only way to get true answers, because if something was false, she'd correct it, and if something was true, she was the worst liar and couldn't hide anything. Boruto had learned this about her early on. "You guys just make out and chill or what? Doesn't that get boring? Like, do all you guys do is have romantic candlelit dinners over your calculus books?"
"Hardly." Sarada muttered. She really shouldn't delve too deep into their relationship to keep the privacy, and with everything else, she had to figure it out first.
Boruto's expression was unreadable.
"Ooh, trouble in paradise?"
"Shut up. Not even." Sarada muttered, and Boruto gave her a halfhearted smile. He sat up and set his hand on her arm.
"Hey, well if anything comes from this, it can be the experience you tell your kids about way in the future about how you tried to date your small-town local trackstar but were way too dynamic and cultured for him that things fell apart naturally. Like those Nature Valley granola bars!"
"You are literally insane." Sarada said, but she couldn't help laughing. It was nice to be around Boruto's abundant energy again, he always had some interesting comments to say and it felt good not to worry about him taking anything to heart – he just dished it right back. Of course, neither of them meant their insults, they were just… endearing appellations.
Once their laughter died down, Sarada readjusted her position, and the particular item in her pocket poked against her leg. It was a prominent reminder that she actually came here for something else, too.
"Um...I did want to talk to you about something, though…"
Boruto raised a brow, and her heart thudded just at the mention of it.
Months ago Boruto gave her back the cross necklace and said he would wait for her until she was ready. By no means was she giving it back to him with those intentions, it was more as a charitable peace offering after the last couple months. She impulsively grabbed it before leaving her house. It was a gift she picked specifically for him with his name on it, and did more good if he put it to use than letting it sit in her vanity drawer next to her ruby necklace while she stared at it wistfully in the mornings before school.
"Yeah, what's up?" He scooted closer to her and crossed his legs. The last time they were this close seemed like decades ago. Her hands trembled as she dug into her pockets.
"U-Um, by no means is this what you think it is–" Sarada's tongue was failing to make her point, "just—just it'd be a waste if it sat in my drawer any longer! It was a gift to you, so you need to keep it."
Boruto's eyes were wide as Sarada hastily slapped the necklace into his hands. He looked at her, then back to the necklace.
"Sarada… you know what this means to me."
"Not yet." She said quickly.
For some reason, her own heart was betraying her. It was letting her feelings for Boruto resurface when that's not what she wanted – she just was trying to mend things between them and figure everything out first. She had to talk to Metal first. And just for some reason, it killed her to be on bad terms with Boruto. It didn't feel right. She wanted them to go back to their normal.
"Then when?" He asked, his eyes glistening to shield the sadness.
"I...don't know." She admitted. She could be giving him false hope on the offhand chance her and Metal did work things out. "I-I just want you to keep it. For good luck."
Boruto pressed his lips in a firm line. "Okay."
He walked her down to the front door, offering her a ride, but she politely declined, saying she wanted to walk to clear her head. Boruto watched her go, her hair swaying down her back with each step she took, and slowly closed the door behind him.
Good luck, huh? Well in that case, Boruto would never take the necklace off.