It had to stop. Those hallucinations and dreams about Boruto had to stop! In Sarada's mind, it suddenly made sense why her friend behaves over-the-top when she thinks she's in love. Sarada had no responsibility to heal Boruto from his emotional scars just because of him helping her feel better.

Love is scary. That's the thought that appears when her expectations and stupid things invade her mind. Sarada managed to avoid Boruto just for one day. Not that it mattered, since she would go to buy a new mobile phone with him today. As much as her inner feelings were a total mess, there's no way for her to avoid him without appearing fickle. Not to mention after they both talked it out and agreed to be friends.

"Pull yourself together, Sarada! You started like Boruto for Boruto not a dream version of him." Yes, that's right. In the moments of confusion about what's happening with her usual stoic behaviour, Sarada used these words to remind herself why she's head-over-heels for the guy in the first place.

Taking the fancy red shirt knee-length black skirt and espadrilles in her hands was natural for Sarada. She wasn't over-thinking what to wear. At least tried not to, since her meeting with Boruto wasn't supposed to be a date. But the two friends casually meeting with each other. Just friends.

Sarada always tried to plan how to use her time to prepare. Maybe that's why she was ready to go out relatively quickly, so her appearing first in the school as well clubroom wasn't anything new. With a stoic expression on her face, no-one could guess how nervous she's feeling.

Boruto arrived early to Sarada's surprise. He wore the same clothes he wears every day. She felt relief that she didn't overdo it while picking what to wear this morning.

"Good afternoon, Boruto," she greeted him first. Usually, he was the one initiating conversations with her. A small change in their daily interaction wouldn't hurt. Her dying on the inside after discovering her feelings towards him is a different issue.

Boruto couldn't hide his stupid grin, "Hey, Sarada. It's a different atmosphere you're displaying today. Did something good happen?"

Sarada only response was silence. Different atmosphere? What he's trying to imply here? Did she appear that snobbish to him? Why she's caring how Boruto views her a lot recently? Before she didn't care about this kind of things.

"No. I just wanted to greet you in a friendly manner first. That's all. Thank you for telling me what happened between you and Asami yesterday." At first, she felt jealous Boruto talked about this girl so highly considering she was the reason why Sarada got labelled as 'cheater'. Nevertheless, the past is the past. Holding a grudge was quite childish on her part after all.

"I see! Ya know, it's feeling quite refreshing to me too." Right? Sarada noded in an understanding. It's not only her greeting him that was refreshing, but more relaxed atmosphere between them too. Considering all the elements of their relationship and the strange tension every time they had a conversation with each other, feeling relaxed felt good.

"I indeed feel our relationship improved a lot in comparison to how we were treating each other when we met," she laughed at the memory of anger she displayed because of her destroyed smartphone. Laughing wasn't something she did often. That cosy, comfortable feeling in Boruto presence was probably the cause of it all. That feeling of safety overwhelmed her like a fire truck. It almost felt too awesome to be real. And at the same time scary. Just like love.

"We're better friends, but our bet never got solved. The lack of progress on either side is disappointing somehow, ya know?" Boruto shook his head. The lack of progress was indeed disappointing for her too. Four months of trying to discover something without any result was tiring her out.

"True. Are you sure we should investigate this case separately? It amounted to nothing so far," she sighed.

"Oh, I have an amazing idea!" Sarada covered her ears. She might have a soft spot for Boruto, but it doesn't mean her ears didn't hurt from him raising the volume of his voice.

"You do?" She accidentally winked in his direction. She couldn't help it. That reaction was subconscious! Her brain and strange dreams messed up her natural self. She's Sarada Uchiha! The girl that natural expression is serious resting face. Even the person she likes is confused by her action.

"I do! Why won't we meet with our respective family members to figure this out, ya know? Like a joint lunch, or something like that?!" Boruto clapped excitedly 'praising' his genius. Sarada suspected he was weak to compliments quite a while ago. Joint lunch, eh? It would be possible. Mom mentioned that dad should come back home not too long ago to her. She was just occupied by her feelings towards Boruto, so it slipped out from her memory.

"That's quite the quacksome idea!" Sarada replied. Messing up the word awesome was one thing due to her nervousness. Not realising she did it after the deed was done and Boruto was lying on the floor with uncontrollable laughter was another.

"Ahem!" Boruto stood up. "Sorry, I shouldn't laugh that long," he said in an apologetic tone.

"Don't apologise. It makes me feel worse for messing up basic vocabulary." Ahh, what a terrible way to look cool in front of her crush.

"When I can come over to your house?" she asked. Her conversational skills are lacking, but being near Boruto give her sensation of hugging her favourite pillow. Is it the feeling of being on the cloud nine that happens when you're in love? That one phase Chō-Chō always says she has while being in 'love' with someone? Sarada was confused about so many conflicted emotions passing through her head during these past few weeks.

"Today should be okay. Ya know, my mom doesn't mind that much when my friends visit without invitations. I think it's different for your parents?" Boruto jolted out from his seat and packed all documents into his small bag. All of the papers couldn't fit in, so he faced a terrible struggle when those papers landed on the floor. Why he's avoiding to look at her? Perhaps, he's just too busy with picking up these documents.

"Hold on a minute. What about us going to the store to buy the new phone for me?" Even if she's in love, she preferred to buy a new phone sooner rather than later. Being love-struck does not equal to being an unreasonable person. Perhaps. It could always be part of her personality and remembering the anger she felt when her phone crashed while meeting Boruto.

"I forgot about that! Why don't we change our plans and go buy it on Thursday? Thursdays are great, ya know? They have promotions on Thursdays!" Promotions? Was he trying to save money for something? It's the first time she heard his voice crack.

"Alright. That plan seems good to me." To not pressure him on why he's acting so weird she agreed to his proposition. Eh? Doesn't that mean she's visiting his house today? That's too sudden! And exciting in some way. Sarada was curious about his personal interests.

"I'll call mom, ya know? Enjoy the tasty food made by her for me, kay Sarada?!" Boruto said. At least he somehow packed all of his school paperwork inside his back. Now he struggled with closing it. Sarada started to understand why Mitsuki is watching Boruto so much. Even while doing boring stuff he's doing it entertainingly.

"I know it's a great plan, but my mom thinks I'm going out to buy a new phone today. I need to ask her for permission before coming over. And I for one cannot inform her by using my own phone." At least if he won't borrow to her his own to make a call. That's what she wanted to suggest in a friendly manner. Tried to. Maybe she gives him too much arrogant impression? Or worse? She's not the type the girl he would date?! No! Behaving like Chō-Chō now is a bad idea. Stop illusions in her brain. Just stop. Dating Boruto is like an invitation to a big package with a bold font that has the word 'trouble' written all over it. Well, she's just starting to accepting it to some degree.

"I see. So you just need to make a quick call, right? There ya go!" Boruto took out a phone from his pocket and handed it to her without questioning any ulterior motives she could possibly have. That means he trusts her not to throw it on the floor in the act of revenge? Anyway, Sarada quickly made a call. After resolving issues with her mom, receiving permission from her felt strange.

"My mom gave me the thumbs up. Saying something about wishing me good luck, or something like that?" Sarada was confused by her mom cheerful tone on the other side of the phone. Giving back phone to Boruto before he accuses her of going through his personal messages, this issue was settled.

"That's cool! Are you ready to taste food from heaven?" he asked.

She was ready! Time to go pay visit and see where Boruto lives.

On the way to visit Boruto in his house, he was strangely quiet. Sarada then settled to walk next to him in comfortable silence. Besides, he looked very nervous for some reason. She decided to ask about what bothers him later since now she was hungry.

Arriving at the place of their destination, she observed Boruto's house looks similar to her own from the outside. How is it possible she never bumped into him, when he lived nearby?

"Mom, I'm home! My friend came over today too, ya know?"

The doors to Uzumaki household was opened by his mom, Hinata. Sarada needed to admit that Boruto's mom had an impressive hearing if she could hear him shouting from the spot they were currently standing.

"Oh, you should tell me before that you invited a young girl, Boruto!" Hinata looked at her son with worry. Was she thinking she's Boruto... Girlfriend, or something? The inner panic-struck Sarada's heart, she wasn't ready to face overprotective mothers, the lack of training in that aspect was the wall she needed to overcome now. Her social skills were terrible and dealing with moms of the friends she had, was the last thing on Sarada's list to do.

She barely was being on good terms with her own mom. Their honest talk happened not too long ago, and Sarada still felt distant from her.

"Umm... Hello, Mrs Hinata. I'm Sarada, it's pleasant to meet you," she said to avoid announcing herself as Boruto's girlfriend.

"Yeah, yeah. Now when my friend introduced herself, can we come in?" Boruto interrupted them.

Feeling grateful he wanted to make her comfortable around his mom, Sarada smiled. Just one of the many things she loved about him.

After entering the house, Boruto's mom turned into a great host, showing her around various rooms and telling where are the stuff she can use. Surprisingly, they had a small chat with each other, so in exchange, Sarada found out she had a lot in common with Mrs Hinata.

Meanwhile, Boruto was sulking saying something about 'life not being fair', as well 'starting to get along too fast.'

Sarada pretended not to hear these comments.

"Forgive me if it's rude to ask," Mrs Hinata looked at her in a deep thought. "Do you have feelings for my son?"

Sarada went quiet. How she should answer this question?! She didn't want to insult someone by accident, because of her poor way of using words.

Hinata just nodded seeing her reaction as if it told her everything. Were her feelings that easy to notice?! At this point, Sarada wouldn't be surprised if she saw her face is red like tomatoes she hates.

"I doll, I mean I do, I mean..." her ability to speak vanished.

"Don't worry, I won't tell him." Hinata laughed. "Besides, he's clearly jealous I'm stealing your attention. Go talk to Boruto before he starts to complain his friend ignores him."

"Alright."

Feeling relived Sarada bowed to Hinata and went over to Boruto. She needed to admit that she liked the interior of the house. Setting a lot of plants aside, the rest of the house looked cleaner than her own room.

"Boruto."

"Who's speaking?"

"Me. You invited me here, or is your memory that flawed?" Sarada wanted to scream at how petty he was right now. She didn't have a choice but to talk with his mom. Avoiding misunderstandings about their current relationship was important.

"My memory is perfect, ya know. Thank you very much."

"Stop being so petty. You're my friend, aren't you?" She started to grow frustrated with his sulking. It wasn't the typical frustration she usually felt. That was on another whole level. New, unknown, thrilling. Sarada had no idea how to deal with these new, sometimes overwhelming whirlwind of feelings. Experiencing them took a toll on her everyday life.

"I'm not petty!" he objected.

"Yes, you are!" she raised her voice. What the hell happened with his good mood from before?

"Oh, so even you can get upset, ya know?" Did he try to test her patience? That's so underhanded.

"That wasn't funny," she whispered. Boruto gaze always gave her impression as if he can see her mind. The deepest thoughts she hides from this world and even herself. Once, it went to the point she suspected he can see her feelings towards him.

Friends?

This was a lie she's telling to herself. There's no way she can be just a friend to him. Especially with all those feelings flooding her mind.

"I'm sorry. I actually am worried about you, ya know?" Worried? Why? She's in perfect health today.

"Worried? Why?" Her words echoed her thoughts.

"Well, you see... I'm worried about how you express yourself." he let out a nervous chuckle. "You are keeping to herself too much. It's not a bad thing, believe me! It's just I feel you hold back on expressing yourself. That's not healthy in the long run, ya know?

Sarada paused to think about what was said by him. Three to four months ago, for sure she would ignore his words. Not now. Now, when she has all these feelings confusing her, and without outlet she can rely on. Talking about her problems with someone else about not knowing how to express emotions, never crossed her mind.

"I don't know how to." Yes, she didn't know how to make herself clear.

"You don't know how to do what?" Boruto was waiting for her answer.

"How to act around overprotective mothers, or talk to people without scaring them. I don't know how to show my feelings! I just don't!" To be honest, she nearly cried but stopped herself. She didn't want to make a scene in front of Boruto's family.

"Hey, Sarada. Look at me." Boruto gently placed his hands on her shoulders. The sense of familiarity washed over her. She looked up. His beautiful blue eyes were oddly calming and his soft-looking lips... Was it wrong wanting to try to kiss him right now?

Startled by what she intended to do, she promptly backed away.

"Let's talk about it later. I don't think the time and place is right." She nervously tried to run away from this confrontation. That wasn't the time to unleash her repressed emotions on him and to think she was thinking about kissing him in front of his mother!

"Fine, let's go eat. Lunch should be ready." Boruto shook his head, he seemed disappointed.

Ah, instead of asking what was bothering him, she ended up making him worried.

Stupid teenage hormones.

Boruto feeling nervous while sitting next to Sarada was the understatement of the year. This entire morning he tried to not overreact to Sarada's sudden change in behaviour.

At the same time, he liked this change. Sarada looked more relaxed around him. For a while, he thought she needs someone to call her out on holding her feelings back. He had no idea why. It was just important for him to confront her about it himself. There were moments where he really enjoyed being around her too.

Back then, when Sarada nearly embraced him that closeness wasn't something he disliked. He liked the warm look in her black eyes, the smell of her strawberry shampoo and caring banter they had before the moment died down.

Boruto asked himself the question of what would happen if he and Sarada were there alone. His little "what if?" question.

He scowled in displeasure about not ever learning the answer.

"Mrs Hinata the food is delicious. Boruto was right about it tasting like heaven!" He noted down in his mind that Sarada has good contact with his mom. It's better to avoid trouble from these two getting along.

"Oh, thank you, dear. My son here pretends to be very picky about complimenting my cooking, you know?" Oh, boy. He hoped it won't turn into 'time to embarrass Boruto' afternoon.

Who's kidding? It totally would. Both mom and Sarada can be really fierce. At least, when they want to. Good thing Himawari still didn't come back from her art lessons. Boruto wasn't sure if he could survive all three of them being in one room and ganging on him.

Despite emotional turmoil, Sarada faced it was fun to spend lunch with Boruto and his mom. Coming back to her own house, made this happy feeling slowly fade. Generally speaking, she had a good day.

So why she was feeling like she wasted her chance?

Nevermind, she just needs to open the door to her own house and rest. Dreams about Boruto were enabling her to sleep properly. However, instead of hallucinations, she'll dream about that she tried to kiss him in front of his mom. No biggie.

"Hn.."

Wait, that voice coming from the inside of an house… is not her mom. Did she forget about something?

That's right! Dad was supposed to come back soon, but she never excepted to be the day he returned. In a frenzy, Sarada quickly unlocked door to see her dad sit on the couch in the living room.

"Papa, welcome home!" she shouted from excitement and pulled him into an affectionate hug. Some things never change.

"I missed you too, Sarada." As always her papa was a man that would choose silence over speaking. She didn't mind, who knows when she has a chance to see him again?

"Mom should say you'll come back today! I wouldn't go over to eat lunch with Boruto then!" Sarada complained while a small smile appeared on the face of the middle-aged man.

Sasuke Uchiha, even though older still was quite handsome at his age. The only thing betraying him were glimpses of grey hair strands or torn up clothes.

"Who's Boruto?" Sasuke questioned.

"He's a good friend and president of the club I'm a member of. You know Naruto Uzumaki, the principal of our school? Boruto is his son." Sarada wasn't sure why she was telling all these little details. Perhaps, she wanted for papa to see Boruto in a more positive light, or her crush went above being 'crush' long ago?

"Naruto son? Invite him over for lunch at our house this week."

"Eh, why, papa?" The request coming from her papa was strange. Well, she should just agree to do that for now. It's not like her dad wants to kill Boruto after all, he just wants to meet him.

Sarada didn't understand why her papa showed interest in inviting Boruto over after she told him he's the principal son. But it can be the piece of the puzzle they need to learn the truth about messages between her mom and Boruto's dad.

In her distraction, she slammed her body onto the cupboard. Nicely decorated green box, suddenly fallen on her feet. Ouch. The box for sure belonged to her mother, but it was a letter that stuck out that caught her attention.

What was it? Should she call Boruto to come over? Maybe it contains the truth they need to decide the winner of their bet?

One day later, Boruto and his entire family came over to Uchiha household. Adults started to exchange polite greetings with each other. Meanwhile, Sarada concocted a plan to pull Boruto into her room to talk about bet in private.

Luckily, it looked like the excuse she'll provide was easy to deduce. Boruto parents and her own seemed to know each other and maybe wanted to talk without the presence of children.

Blurting out the excuse about catching up with Boruto, she landed with him in her room. She regretted not pulling with her Himawari too, but she needed talk to the blond without interruptions.

"Your room looks like a library, ya know!" Boruto eyes focused on every bookshelf she had in the room. Sarada tried not to scream in annoyance. They had more urgent matters right now.

"Were you aware our parents knew each other?" She needed to know the answer. Because if he did it mean he was lying to her from the start. She would hate it. Hate it so much that he was lying in front of her. Especially after she decided to put trust in him and his offer of friendship.

"Nope, I had no clue up until now."

Sarada felt relief. He wasn't lying! She just suspected the worst and was overthinking the entire situation.

"Good to know, since I had no idea either. Papa decided to invite your family over so suddenly without explaining himself," she pondered the strange situation when it was dad's idea to invite someone over. He usually preferred a small company of people.

"Is the reason you called me still actual?" Boruto eyed her with this 'I'm worried about you' expression he always had when he was thinking she's sad.

"Yes. I found a pretty green box behind a cupboard in the living room. I hid it in my room for us to look inside the content." Sarada hoped the bad feeling she had about what is inside, disappear.

"Are you sure you want to do that? We can always forfeit our bet if it's too much for you, ya know?" She could sense Boruto was feeling nervous too.

"Yes."

As much guilt she felt by going through her mom personal belongings, Sarada wanted to know what's inside. Taking the few deep breaths and reassured by Boruto presence, Sarada decided to open this Pandora Box.

It was too late to regret her actions.

AN:

Hello, everyone!

I admit I overestimated how many scenes I could fit into this chapter. It came out longer than I excepted and I had to move some of the planned scenes to the chapter nineteen. I made minor changes for those scenes to suit the story more, so that's all. I was surprised to see I would reach nearly 4k words with this chapter.

I am doing better after the treadmill accident too. I didn't want to finish on such cliffhanger, but life. Rest is the same as usual.

Your clumsy author, Karinrumi :)