Chapter Six- Kawaki

Sometimes it amazed me at how easily I'd come to love Boruto's family. The accepted me so openly and seemed to love me as well so they meant more to me than they could ever know. More than I could ever tell them. Hinata was a sweet woman who was always smiling and spoiling us and Naruto was a hard worker who had a lot of good stories to tell. I was staying over basically every weekend and always dreaded going back to my aunt. Even though she wasn't home most of the time.

Today was a special day, it was the first time Naruto was taking me on his ship because there was a chance we could go through a storm. This was something any boater tried to avoid so it wasn't that Naruto was looking to go out in a storm, but this trip had to be made today and since there was a chance and I was invited, I wasn't going to miss out.

Boruto seemed worried and didn't stop pouting the whole way to the dock. Sometimes he could be so annoying, but I knew how much storms scared him and how worried he truly had to be at the thought of us being on the ship during one. I tried to reassure him because I didn't want to lose the excitement I felt and eventually a smile formed on his face and he let us go.

I'd never before experienced such a rush. We had indeed went right through a storm in the night. It was rough and wild but I wasn't scared. Not even close. I wanted to be in the center of the storm, feel the heavy rain and hear the roar of constant thunder, see the sky light up with each stroke of lightning. It was breathtaking. I never wanted to leave the ship after that and was beside myself when Naruto told me I could join him anytime I wanted.

I didn't make much time for that though. Even though I really liked being on the vast sea, with school going on I still wanted to spend time with Boruto when I could. He was the type to look for trouble if he felt like I was ignoring him so I had to avoid that at all costs. It wasn't hard to avoid, considering I liked being with him more than anyone else anyway.

Time was forever passing us by and before we knew it, little Himawari was born. She was a precious baby girl that Boruto and I both cherished and we started spending a lot of our free time helping out with her. Hinata was tired often and Boruto and I were helping her a lot, even with the lighthouse. Really, it was all fun and Boruto and I got along so easily, more-so than I ever thought I could get along with anyone.

Our freshman year of highschool went by in a blur but we did a lot and we had fun too. The summer was fun and I finally told Boruto about weed. Only because I was tired of him calling my joints 'non-cigarettes'. He still seemed painfully oblivious about many things, but I knew it was just his naturally innocent nature and he didn't care to hang around anyone that was doing bad things. Like me. He seemed surprised to find out that weed was a drug, but then he deemed me normal and didn't think I had a problem so he didn't care.

When he asked what it felt like to be high though, I smacked him upside the head and told him to lose that curiosity. He was way too pure for anything drug-related. Even if it was just weed. At least, that's how I felt at the time. I still smoked and as time went on, I got more and more into the habit. It wasn't that I had to have it, I just liked to smoke and I would do whatever I liked.

My aunt was the only one with the problem. It seemed like every time I was forced to see her she was riding my ass and driving me crazy. I tried to ignore her but it was near impossible with her acting like a total bitch. It was obvious that she hated having me around, even though she didn't have to take care of me or anything. I didn't know what her problem with me actually was but when spring break of my sophomore year came and she restricted me from leaving her house, I really lost it.

Boruto didn't know where I lived and I had no way of getting in contact with him. Even though he had a cell phone now, I didn't and I was forbidden from my aunt's phone. As if I would have asked her for it. I really had grown to detest the woman because I had never done anything wrong to her. I never asked her to let me move in with her. I would have been more than happy to go through a foster home with strangers. I didn't need her.

Stuck in my room with nothing to do, I had a lot of time to think and my thinking turned into brooding. After five days, I lost it. I couldn't take it anymore, so I started packing all of my things in the middle of the night. I didn't have much. Just my clothes, school supplies and my art stuff. I was able to carry everything. There was nowhere for me to go, so I ended up lugging everything to my hideout.

Having heard a commotion coming from the cliffs as I entered the cove, I dropped all my stuff off and made my way over there, hoping the guys were there with something to clear my head of everything. They were. I had to see Raiko, but he avoided me because he knew I didn't like his ass and I didn't have any trouble out of anyone else.

One of the guys did tattoos and was doing small ones on anybody who wanted them while everybody drank and smoked. It looked like fun and the guy's freehand skills were amazing, so I ended up getting one on my arm. He laughed about all my clean skin and ended up doing a lot more detail on mine than I was expecting. A sick looking skull surrounded by black flames. I couldn't believe how much I liked it and I knew I'd definitely be getting another tattoo after that.

I drank more than I ever had throughout that night and barely made it back to my cove sometime that next morning. I remember making it to the cove, but how I made it inside was beyond me. When I woke up it was only to a large hand smacking me several times on the cheek. With a groan, I sat up and opened my blurred eyes to see blond hair and blue eyes. But it wasn't Boruto. It was his dad.

Still highly intoxicated, I couldn't make out anything that he was saying to me and I couldn't even stand properly. He forced me up though and somehow I ended up at their place. I woke up in Boruto's bed with a migraine, my whole body so stiff all I could do was groan in misery and hold my head.

"Take it easy, party animal." Boruto said quietly, sitting on the edge of the mattress. "You okay? What happened with you?"

He wasn't mad at me and I felt relief because of that. "Long story." I whispered, running my fingers through my hair. I never meant to end up here, making them have to deal with me.

"You scared mom and me too . . ." He said. "Dad was ready to go over to your aunt's house and tell her off."

"Forget that bitch." I snorted and sat up, ignoring my headache. I had a lot to figure out so I couldn't get comfortable. "I need to go."

Boruto frowned. "But why? Kawaki, you haven't even told me what's going on and now you're leaving?"

I got up with a bit of a struggle and groaned when I saw all my stuff in Boruto's room. "What the fuck…" I muttered and turned back to Boruto. "It's some bullshit. That's it. I'm not going to drag you guys into it." I had to get all my stuff and leave. They were too good to me.

"There you go again." Boruto sighed. "You're not dragging anybody, okay? It's just what you do when you care about someone. Don't try to be difficult, we both know you're not getting past mom."

She would undoubtedly kick my ass and I couldn't stop her. "Well… I'll just have to… sneak out."

He raised an eyebrow at that. "Really? I'm not helping you do that. In fact, I'll probably sabotage you."

I glared at him then. "Asshole." I huffed, palmed my face and stared down at my things.

"Come on, Kawaki." He said and folded his legs. "It's not like you'll be a freeloader. You'll have to do your fair share too. You know you want to, I'm the best roommate you could ask for. It'll be fun."

I turned back to him once more and crossed my arms, shaking my head. "You guys have already talked about this shit, haven't you?"

"Maybe."

"Damn it." I rolled my eyes and went to sit on the bed beside him. "Don't you think mom and dad are sick of me by now? Not you, you wouldn't get sick of me but them… I don't want them to hate me… like my aunt."

He looked at me thoughtfully before responding. "I don't think they will. You know what kind of people they are, you're basically adopted. I'm sure it will be okay and you can always tell them if you don't like something. If they were sick of you they wouldn't be holding you hostage right now."'

With a long sigh, I laid back on his bed and held my head again. "Oh my god. I can't do this."

"Yeah you can, stop trying to think of excuses." He said and then added, "Now about that tattoo . . ."

"What?" I quipped, having forgotten all about it until he mentioned it.

"You know. The skull with the fire." He reminded. "Did it hurt?"

"Don't think so. I was drunk as fuck so I don't remember feeling anything." I sighed for the umpteenth time.

He chuckled. "I was kidding about the party animal thing, but maybe I was right after all, huh? It's pretty cool though."

"Whatever." I rolled onto my side away from him but then decided to get back in bed so I moved over and got under the covers. "Since I can't leave I'm going back to bed."

"Well good night then." Boruto laughed quietly, turning off the light before settling beside me. "See you in the morning."

Just like that, I was welcomed into the family completely and I started living with them every day. I was given my own room which was weird for me, it was all weird honestly but I couldn't deny that I was happy. They really made me happy. Even the simplest of things like doing chores gave me purpose and I found myself feeling better about life in general as time went on.

Himawari was growing like a weed, but so were Boruto and I. Our sophomore year passed and during the summer I started helping Naruto on his ship, earning some money so that I could have things I wanted. Like a cell phone. Being on the water was another thing that made me happy. By the time our Junior year began, I was so happy I didn't know what to do with myself. But things were about to start changing for us, Boruto especially it seemed.

It was on our first day back to school that I noticed the change. We were in gym class together when several girls crowded around us and one of them was a little too clingy for his liking. As soon as he got rid of her and we finally managed to get alone, he called her a bitch and I smacked him. I couldn't believe he'd used such profanity and I even asked him who the hell he was, which ended in us getting in a little argument.

I didn't know why he was so angry but it seemed like he was having a lot more attitude recently. Not necessarily towards me, but to everyone. He was focusing on his school work a little too much, I thought. Considering he wasn't exploring like he used to and sometimes if I even brought it up, he would brush it off and act like he had more important things to do. But I knew how important those little adventures were to him, so I couldn't accept it.

We argued about that too. Everybody was getting older and doing a lot more, even his friends were starting to party on the weekends but Boruto didn't seem interested in doing anything like that. I didn't understand. We were still young, but we needed to be out doing things and experiencing life so when some of those girls invited us to a party and Boruto shot her down for the both of us, I decided not to let it go.

It was only after we got home and Boruto went to his room that I confronted him. I was sick of his attitude and tired of him acting so differently out of nowhere so I went to his room and scowled when I found he'd locked his door.

"What the fuck, Boruto? Who the hell do you think you are locking this damn door? Open it now." I demanded and banged on the door when he ignored me. "I'm not fucking around I'll kick this bitch in. Try me."

A few seconds later the door swung open and Boruto glared at me. "What?"

I glared right back. "What do you mean, 'what'?" I snapped. "What?!"

"What the hell are you yelling for?" He asked. "You were the one knocking, so what do you want?"

Not knowing who the fuck he thought he was, I pushed him into his room and slammed the door shut behind me. "What is your problem?" I growled, grabbing hold of him by his shirt before I could stop myself.

"I think it's you that has the problem, why are you grabbing me?" He tried to push me away to get some distance between us but the attempt was futile.

"I'm sick of your shit. Tell me what's gotten into you." I didn't like it and I couldn't calm down until I understood.

He stubbornly started at the floor. "Nothing. I'm fine."

"Liar. Why are you lying to me? What did I do to you?"

Boruto sighed, brow furrowing. "You didn't do anything, I just . . . I've got a lot of things on my mind . . . and I guess I'm not dealing with it that well."

Since we were getting somewhere, I released him and took a deep breath to cool off. "Well then… do you want to talk about it?" I asked, wanting to be there for him if he needed me. Always. He was my best friend after all.

"No." He answered quickly. "Not yet, but . . . soon. Hopefully soon."

It didn't make sense. This wasn't like him. Boruto had always been so open with me, he always told me everything so I didn't get why if something was bothering him so much, he wouldn't want me to know right away. Knowing I couldn't really force it out of him though, I sighed and decided to let it go for the time being.

"We're going to that party tomorrow. Whether you want to or not."

"What?" He asked, blue eyes full of confusion. "Why?"

"What are you going to wear?" I asked, walking over to his closet so I could go through it. "Need your drinking pants."

"You can't be serious." He said in disbelief.

"This looks good." I murmured to myself as I picked a blue collar shirt and then started looking through his jeans.

Boruto groaned in frustration. "You are serious. No. No way, I'm not going."

"Oh, you're fucking going." I grumbled, more to myself than to him as I finally decided on a darker pair of jeans and then grabbed his newest pair of shoes. "Yes." I nodded to myself as I carried everything out and closed his closet, hanging the clothes on the back of the door and setting the shoes down. "Okay," I breathed as I turned back to face him. "You need a haircut."

He took a step back. "You need to stop."

I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and started dragging him to his bathroom. "I'm just getting started. We're gonna have a great time."

"No! You can't do this to me!" He whined and fought me every step of the way.

"Damn asshole. I'm trying to spend some time with you!" I snapped, snatching him into the bathroom as he tried to get away from me. "Surrender."

He looked around, trying to think of a way out of the situation. "We can do something else, it doesn't have to be some stupid party. We could do something more fun, don't you think?"

"When's the last time you got drunk?" I countered, cocking my left brow.

"I haven't." He said, expression suspicious. "What's your point?"

"How drunk are you gonna get? I can't wait to find out." I mused as I grabbed the scissors and grinned at him. "Now come on, let me take care of that bush."

He shook his head, holding out his hand in protest. "W-wait, let's talk about this. Kawaki, don't. You keep those scissors away from me!"

"Hell no. There's no way you're going anywhere looking like that. Now come here, I'm not playing with you."

Boruto glared at the floor and crossed his arms. "I'm fully against this." He said, but sat still.

I laughed and pulled him against me, forcing him to look in the mirror. "Just picture it." I said, moving my fingers to his hair and pushing it back. "You know you want me to give you a nice little trim."

He kept glaring at me through the mirror, but I could tell he was breaking. "Shut up."

"Gladly." I agreed, pushing him towards the sink and forced his head down.

He huffed in protest, but otherwise kept quiet as I wet his hair and he didn't argue anymore while I cut his hair either. Once I was finished, I dropped the scissors on the sink and wiped my hands on a towel before laying it over his head.

"Now, make sure you clean yourself up. You never know, it's your first party… you might get lucky and find a piece of ass. The girls are all over you this year." I teased.

"Like I care." He scoffed and got up, leaving the bathroom.

I followed him out, not liking his tone. "What now, asshole?" I groaned. "I think a piece of ass is exactly what you need. This fucking attitude… I'm sick of it. Sick."

"You don't know what I need." He said, irritated.

I didn't know why but the way he said that really bugged me and I frowned. Maybe I didn't know him at all anymore. "Okay." I said quietly and decided I needed to leave him alone before we lost our friendship… if we even had one anymore.

Feeling at a loss, I went to my own room and laid on my bed. I couldn't get Boruto out of my head, because he wasn't himself and I didn't know what to do anymore. Maybe he'd gotten sick of me and that's what it was. It would make more sense… I knew it wasn't a good idea for me to stay here. A little time apart did people good, right? Thinking this made me feel as if I should leave, at least for a while. Maybe he needed some space.

I would figure it out after the weekend, because I was going to the party with or without him. The next day arrived and I spent some time alone with Himawari after breakfast and when she took her nap, I did the same. After I woke up I started getting ready, picking out my clothes before taking a shower. The night could go well or horribly wrong but I was looking forward to it either way. Being around more people was probably what I needed as well. I couldn't really deal with Boruto as he was now, so this would have to be good for me.

After my shower I got dressed in my favorite faded jeans and a black t-shirt, deciding to wear my boots instead of my tennis shoes. I made it downstairs just as Hinata was finishing up dinner and I offered to set the table. I was in the middle of doing so when Boruto came in, dressed in the clothes I'd picked out for him the day before. He was going to go with me and I couldn't believe how relieved I felt at realizing that.

I watched him as he took his seat at the table, blue eyes avoiding me completely. "Hey." I said as I finished and sat down in my usual seat beside him.

He was quiet for a moment before he took a deep breath. "I'm only going because you are . . . who knows what trouble you'll get into if I'm not there to have your back." He said and playfully shoved me with his elbow.

I grinned, feeling even more relieved at this familiar side of him. "That's the damn truth. Glad you finally realized." I laughed.

"I always knew." He said and looked up at me, smiling. "It's about time you finally noticed."

"Who says I've just noticed?" I rolled my eyes. I knew myself better than anyone and while there was a good chance of Boruto keeping me tame, there was always a good chance that somebody would piss me off in some Boruto-related way and I'd kick somebody's ass. "So… should I tell mom… or you?"

"If you tell her she'll think it was your idea. Which it was." He pointed out. "If I tell her she'll think you were going to go without me and I wasn't having it. Which is also true. I should probably tell her."

"Good idea." I agreed with a nod.

Boruto mentioned us going out to Hinata while we were having dinner and after exchanging a look with Naruto she told us it was okay but not to stay out all night. I planned to get drunk though, and Boruto too so I wasn't so sure about us making it back home so I asked if we could stay the night and Naruto was the one who approved it.

I was excited for the night ahead and it wasn't long after dinner before Boruto and I left the house and went on our way to the girl's place. Her parents were out of town so it was probably going to be a pretty wild party, or at least I hoped so. I couldn't even imagine Boruto drinking really and I figured he was going to be a pain in my ass and try to refuse it, but he was going to have at least one drink with me or else.

"Are you excited?" I asked as we walked up towards the house. There were several people hanging out on the porch, drinks in hand. The music was loud even from the distance.

"I don't know." He said, sounding nervous. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Drink, fuck around." I shrugged. "Iwabe should be here so I'm going to get high and drunk. Don't worry, you're not going to do all that."

He shook his head. "I should have known. So you're going to go off with Iwabe while I get drunk around some strangers?"

I laughed and ruffled his hair, which looked great enough for me to be proud of myself. "As if I'd let you out of my sight around a bunch of strangers with you drinking."

"Good."

I led him into the house that was packed with more people than I expected. Even I had never been to a party quite like this, so I was looking forward to it. We knew most of the people from school and a lot of my older friends were there as well. They were the easiest to deal with, so I pulled Boruto with me to where they were and got us both a beer. I handed Boruto his before opening mine and drinking several swallows. It had been a while, so I wanted to get fucked up, but not too much since I would have to keep an eye on Boruto.

Iwabe was quick to fire something up and we stood in a small circle on the back porch, smoking and drinking. I was having a good time already, but also trying to liven Boruto up. He kept smelling his beer instead of drinking it but I didn't call him out until we finished smoking and I pulled him to the side.

"It's beer. It doesn't smell good. You drink it." I told him.

He huffed at me before staring at the beer again. "Well . . . here goes nothing." He said and finally took a sip. I waited for a reaction but there wasn't one, he just kept a straight face. Then he hummed and brought it back to his lips, taking a real drink.

"You like it, huh?" I mused and had another drink of my own. "Just don't drink too fast, okay?"

"Okay." He said and met my gaze. "I really thought it was going to taste bad, but it doesn't."

I nodded in understanding. "Not everybody takes to beer, but I prefer it myself." I told him and he seemed to agree.

We drank for a while, both of us sipping and pacing ourselves but the effects were worse on me since I had smoked several times already. I could never pass it up when the guys started smoking, but I didn't smoke that often so I was high as fuck and the alcohol wasn't helping. Boruto was only on his second beer and he looked fine, but I knew he was probably starting to feel it a little bit.

I was happy that he didn't seem to be having an awful time. Nobody in my group excluded him, because they knew better than to try some shit like that. Everybody seemed to want to talk to him and the more he drank, the more he talked back. It was starting to feel like I had my old buddy back, but I got a little worried when the girl who was crushing on him found us.

"Boruto!" She squealed in delight, running up to him and locking him in a tight embrace. "I didn't know you were here."

"Yeah . . ." He said, mouth in a thin line. "Uh, you can let go now."

"Sorry." She giggled and released him, but still stood close. "You got a haircut… it looks nice."

"Thanks. Kawaki did it for me, he's not half bad." He said and shot me a cheeky look.

I held my hand over my heart and faked a pout, his compliment making me happy. I decided to keep quiet and see what happened between him and the girl. She was pretty… and pretty crazy about him, but he didn't seem interested.

"Can we hang out together?" She asked him hopefully, her hand clutching at the hem of his shirt. She'd better not wrinkle him.

"What do you mean?" He asked, pretending he didn't know.

"I mean… just me and you for a while." She said and I cocked a brow and sipped my beer, trying to mind my own business.

Boruto frowned and seemed to be lost in his thoughts for a moment. " . . . Alright."

I choked on the beer I'd been drinking and coughed to clear my windpipe while Boruto let the girl take him away. What the hell? How was I going to keep an eye on him if he was trying to get a piece of ass for real? This couldn't be good. It definitely didn't feel right… but it's what we'd come for… wasn't it? This was what he needed… As much as I tried to convince myself of that though, I just didn't like it.

There wasn't much time for me to dread on it, the guys were passing around shots and starting to smoke something else and I wasn't missing out on anything. I was getting a bit carried away and I knew it, but I didn't really care anymore. Boruto could take care of himself. He was with a pretty girl that really liked him and if he really needed me, he would find me for sure. I didn't need to worry about him.

Eventually I cleared my mind of him and hoped he was enjoying himself. I was having a good time, but I knew I needed to stop drinking for a while because I was too high to be really getting drunk. Or anymore than I already was anyway. I was leaning against the banister on the porch, talking to Iwabe when a girl suddenly hopped in front of me. She was wearing a low-cut crop-top and I watched as she stuck a shot glass between her breasts and another girl poured some liquor into it.

"How about a shot?" She asked, leaning forward.

"Iwabe, take a shot." I said, looking from the girl to him and he grinned, more than willing to accept the offer in my place.

"No, no. This one's for you." She giggled, resting her hands on my shoulders and moving even closer to me.

I really didn't want her touching me nor did I want to take the shot from her, but I had an audience and figured I might as well do it and get it over with. Not wanting to waste any time, I leaned forward and took the skinny glass between my lips, pulling it from her cleavage and tilting my head back to take the shot.

"Ooh." She hummed and took the glass from me. "Oh wait, you've got a little-" She trailed off and moved her face closer to mine. I stiffened in surprise when she licked the side of my mouth. She was really forward and apparently had no shame.

I tried to focus on the burn I felt from the liquor going down, but she wasn't moving away from me. She wanted more and brazenly ran her tongue across my lips before kissing me. I didn't plan to return her kiss and didn't have a chance to either before I heard Boruto's voice.

"I'm gonna hurl." He groaned and I pushed the girl away from me just in time to see him running back into the house.

Wondering how much he'd drank, I cursed and hurried behind him inside and to the bathroom. He slammed the door in my face, but I opened it right after and frowned as he knelt at the toilet.

"What the hell? You were drinking in here?" I scoffed, confused because I thought he was with that girl, not drinking… without me.

"G-go away." He breathed before throwing up in the toilet, knuckles white as he clutched the sides.

Rolling my eyes, I plundered through the cabinets until I found a clean washcloth and went to the sink to wet it for him. "Not a chance." I sighed as I cut the water off and wring the rag out. "Why did you start drinking again? I told you to keep it slow."

He shook his head, breath uneven. "No."

"What?" I scowled at the back of his head and folded the rag before laying it on the back of his neck. "That doesn't answer my question."

He tried to swat me away before he threw up once more, groaning afterwards. I sighed and knelt beside him, rubbing his back. I never wanted him to drink enough to get sick, so I felt guilty for letting him out of my sight after all.

"Well, you'll feel better once you get it all out." I said quietly, wondering if something bad happened between him and that girl.

He leaned his forehead on his arm, trying to fight off the nausea. "Stop . . . it. Why are . . . you here?"

I forced his head up, pulled the rag from his neck and started wiping his face with it. "I have to look out for you, right? It's my fault you're sick…"

"You've got . . . more important things . . . to do." He frowned, but wasn't trying to push me away anymore.

My brows furrowed at his words, but I ignored them while I cleaned his mouth. His face was red and his skin was hot. I felt so guilty… all I wanted was for him to have a good time but that had gone downhill quickly. I was also angry because he thought I had more important things to do… but nothing was more important to me than him.

"Should I put you to bed?" I asked, noticing his body had calmed and it didn't seem as if he'd get sick again.

He didn't reply, but his hand came up to hold onto my shirt tightly. The forlorn look on his face made my frown deepen and I stood up, pulling him to his feet. Boruto kept quiet as I helped him out of the bathroom and through the house until I found one of the guest rooms that didn't already have someone inside, though not before I had seen some things I couldn't unsee.

When I got Boruto in the bed, I sat on the edge of it and stared at the floor, wondering how I could have messed this night up so horribly. He'd probably never want to drink or party again. I really wanted his first experience to be good, but it was too late now.

His hand took hold of my shirt again and he looked like he was about to pass out. "Don't go." He whispered, eyes sliding closed without his permission.

I smiled softly as I watched him. "I'm not going anywhere." I promised as he drifted off to sleep.

For a long time after Boruto went to sleep, I just stared at the floor. Even as he slept, Boruto held onto my shirt and I didn't move for a long time, until I decided to go to sleep as well and I got up to lock the door. It had been a long time since we'd slept in the same bed. We really weren't kids anymore, but it didn't feel wrong or anything. I didn't have any trouble falling asleep, I slept hard and couldn't believe it when I woke up before Boruto.

He usually wasn't a deep sleeper, but even after I shook him he didn't wake up. "Boruto." I called to him, shaking him more firmly until he stirred. "Get up, I'm ready to get out of here." I said as soon as his eyes peeked open.

He blinked a few times before looking around, a little confused. "What?"

"I'm ready to go home so come on, or I'll leave your ass." I said, getting up.

Boruto sat up and took a moment to think, realization crossing his features soon afterward. "Oh." He got up as well and led the way to the door.

Everybody else that was in the house was passed out still so nobody stopped us on our way out. We had a decent walk to get home so I wasn't lollygagging, the only thing on my mind was my own bed at home. A nice hot meal. More sleep. It sounded really good. There was no better way to spend a Sunday before returning to school Monday morning. Even as I thought that though, I remembered all the Sundays Boruto and I used to explore and surf. Even if we were just sitting on the beach doing nothing… I missed it. I wanted to do more of that.

Boruto was more quiet than he'd ever been and I was sure he was mad at me for letting him drink too much, so before we walked into the house once we arrived, I grabbed his wrist to stop him, wanting to apologize.

"Don't be mad at me. I'm sorry." I told him and frowned at the way he avoided my gaze.

"Sorry about what?" He asked hesitantly.

"Last night." I shrugged. "I should have kept a better eye on you."

He shook his head with a small laugh, but it was bitter and absent of humor. "I was fine . . . and you were preoccupied."

"Preoccupied?" I repeated, not understanding. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We were at a party." He said. "You were having fun with your friends and . . . and with that girl. You can't waste all your time watching me."

"What girl?" I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "I was at the party with you. You're my friend. Nobody else mattered. You were the one who left me for a girl." I was surprised I threw that out there considering I was the one telling him to get him some.

Boruto shuddered. "Yeah, I did . . . and I hated it."

He hated it? "Why?" I asked, wondering what happened. "Were you scared?"

"No." He said and then sighed. "Kawaki, I'm not mad. You were enjoying yourself kissing that girl and I got carried away and drank too much. It was a crazy night. So . . . so it's okay."

I had to search my memory to figure out what girl he was talking about, but when I thought about it, I remembered. He must have felt bad that I ran after him instead of hanging out with that girl. But I never even kissed her. I didn't even like her. I didn't even know who she was.

"I'd rather spend the night with you than anyone else." I admitted, hoping to reassure him. "But I guess it doesn't matter as long as you're not mad at me."

Boruto didn't get a chance to say anything in response before Hinata opened the door and greeted us both with a hug, having lunch ready. We ate and then went our separate ways. I ended up crashing most of the day and night and wasn't looking forward to going back to school. I was ready to graduate and put it all behind me so I could start working full time and get a place of my own. But I still had nearly two years left. I knew I needed to get away from Boruto though, because I couldn't help feeling that we'd lose our friendship if I didn't. It had already changed so much since I moved in.

I hoped if I gave him some space at least, he'd come back to me. Like he used to.