Only One Month

The rest of the dinner goes over without any further disturbances or mentions of their deal. Sarada enjoys herself, listening to Boruto ramble about classes, friends, homework, his family.
He’s lighthearted now that she has accepted him as her temporary boyfriend, all is well in his world. Sarada bites her tongue the happier he gets – it’s not that she is exactly lying to him, but she isn’t honest either.

She knows she just got Boruto’s hopes up, high enough to reach the sky if you’d put it figuratively. So all in all this would be nothing but a prolonged rejection, stretched out slowly over the course of a month.

Was she cruel for it? Maybe. But she couldn’t possibly reject him until they’d part ways one day. Gotta give the boy a chance to see that maybe she’s not as great as he believes her to be. If he’d lose interest, she wouldn’t have to reject him at the end of the month and all was good.

Yeah, as if that is going to happen.
Her hand is on the white table cloth right next to his, the contrast between them softened through the candlelight; Boruto’s skin has always been darker than hers, no matter how much time she’d spent in the sun, but in the low candlelight the glow to his eyes and cheeks make him appear radiant, like a small sun.

Her own personal sun, in a way. Boruto can make the most mundane meetings and events enjoyable. This is a character trait Sarada wishes she could have inherited from her mother, but she is more like her father. Stoic, cool on the surface. Like a clear lake with frost at the edges.

You’re so stiff! He’d use to say as kids. Loosen up.

You’re so childish, Boruto. Not everyone has the benefit of not having to take anything seriously, she’d reply.

As Boruto calls the waitress over to pay their bill, Sarada realizes that he does take her seriously. Like any small mishap would make her take a beeline to the exit of the restaurant to leave him behind. He didn’t want to hear her when she’d offered him to split the bill – she has more than enough money from her parents – after all, he was the one who had asked her out to this date so he should be the one to pay. Anything else, so he said, would be disrespectful.

“You can make it up to me by allowing me to hold your hand on the way home.” He winks at her, puts on his jacket before helping Sarada into her own. Sarada laughs, he’s flirty now that the tension between them is gone, and she doesn’t mind.

She slips her hand into his, his skin is warm and there is a hint of sweat, too. Nervousness, she assumes, no matter how hard he tries to appear nonchalant and relaxed.

On their way to the car, he pulls her close to him, and Sarada only meets his gaze for a second, then drops her eyes on the path in front of them. Boruto had that serene happiness on his face, no cheeky teasing left to taint it, he couldn’t believe his own luck tonight. Their time together for this month is more than he’d hoped he’d get. His eyes had been filled with warmth to the brim, and guilt spikes up inside her.

It will be more than just painful to disappoint him at the end of the four weeks.

As Boruto drives home after delivering Sarada to her doorstep, his mood is a constant high. It doesn’t matter she had eaten half of that garlic bread at the restaurant, clearly not in the mood to kiss him good night, or that she had looked away every time he had looked at her for more than a few seconds.

It doesn’t matter because he’d get to go out with her again. When they said goodbye to each other, he’d made sure to ask her about the next date and they’d agreed to go to the movies. A horror movie because of course, Sarada had read the novel the movie is based on. Boruto kept his thoughts to himself, but her decision had surprised him. Sarada loves romantic movies and novels.

In her childhood bedroom, she would have entire rows of books only about romance stories. He cannot recall her ever reading that many horror novels, but he’d let her have her way.

Once he comes back to his dorm room, he gets a call from Shikadai.

“Hey, how’d it go? Do I need to bring over the vodka?”
Boruto laughs. “No, there’s no need for that. Sarada and I have our second date later this week.”
First, silence. Then, hysterical laughter from the other end of the line. “She agreed to go out with you? She really did?”

“Yes! Why do you sound so surprised?” Boruto asked with a scowl on his face. Shikadai’s laughter is borderline insulting. Is it really this surprising Sarada would want to go out with him on another date?

 “Because, sunny boy, she’s rejected you more times than I can count. It was honestly pathetic to watch you try time and time again,” Shikadai said with an edge to his voice. Shikadai is one of his only friends who really know just how deeply Boruto feels for Sarada.

“Nice. Nothing you say to me tonight could bring me down though. The date went great, food was bomb and we held hands on our way back.” The tone in his voice is boastful.

“Oh yeah,” Shikadai replies back coolly, “Did she kiss you goodnight?”

“Well…” Boruto begins but his friend cuts him off mid-sentence. “Boruto, holding hands means very little and you know that. Don’t get your hopes up,” Shikadai reminds him.

“I’m not saying you need to lick each other’s faces within the next week, but I know you.”

“I know you’ll take every glance she throws you as a positive sign she’ll stay with you at the end of your deal with her. I know you will get your hopes up. And I also know if you get your hopes up and she’ll leave you – “ Shikadai has enough tact not to mention that he believes Sarada is only dating Boruto to make him lose his interest (not out of cruelty, Sarada is not a cruel person, but to make him finally lose his romantic interest in her), “ – you will be absolutely devastated.”

Well, if this isn’t a mood killer, Boruto thinks. The high he has been riding on comes crashing down and he looks at his left, free hand. The hand with which he’d held Sarada’s on their way home. Suddenly, the entire evening loses its sparkle, seems almost phony and Boruto’s throat closes up.

“Later, Shikadai.”

“Boruto –“

“Later!”

He hangs up on his friend and throws his phone on the bed in anger. With a grunt he takes off his shirt, pushes off his pants and lies down on the bed, closing his eyes but he knows there will be no sleep for him tonight. What could have been a good night’s sleep, will now turn into anxiously recalling everything Sarada said to him over their shared meal.

It’s not in Boruto’s nature to rethink everything the people say around him or the things he says, but this is different. Sarada is different like that. The reality is that Shikadai is right. Boruto will try to do his hardest not to get his hopes up and he knows Sarada will not pick him, be with him, but is it really that bad to just dream about possibilities for a while? Even if they don’t have an actual chance of happening? Everyone else around him is allowed to fantasize, why can’t he?

You will be absolutely devastated.

It takes him hours to fall asleep, Shikadai’s words still running loudly in his mind.

Although Sarada doesn’t tell Chocho about her month-long trial with Boruto, her friend still comes running to her with an accusing expression on her face.

 “I guess you talked to Shikadai,” Sarada says before Chocho can open her mouth to start screaming at her. Chocho has been telling Sarada to give Boruto a chance ‘for the sake of her own happiness’.

 “How did you know?” Chocho puts her hands on her sides, hips tilting forward. Today, Chocho is wearing a dark dress with colored tights.

“Because Boruto talks to Shikadai about everything. And I know Shikadai talks to you. I knew you knew about the deal the moment you came here,” Sarada replied, pushing her glasses up her nose. Chocho looks dumbfounded.

“Deal? What deal?” she asks, voice lower now to protect their privacy amongst the other students.

“Oh. Well, I guess Shikadai left that out.” Sarada clears her throat. “Boruto and I are going to try dating for a month. At the end of it, I can decide if I want to stay with him or not.”

“Oh. My. God. Girl. Girl.” She sits down next to her friend with glowing eyes, but Sarada cuts her off before she can start gossiping about Boruto.

“I know, I know. It’s cruel of me to do that and get Boruto’s hopes up when I know damn well how he feels about me.” Sarada ends her sentence in a long and hard sigh.

“Wait what,” Chocho says, confused at her words, “What do you mean? You’re dating him even though you don’t reciprocate his feelings?” Sarada winces at her friend’s true words.
“So you’re telling me that you, knowing full well that Boruto Uzumaki worships the ground you’re walking on, have agreed to date him, despite also understanding that you do not return his feelings, only to get his hopes up and inevitably crushing them in the process?”

“Yes,” Sarada whispers, head hanging low.

“Damn. I didn’t take you for a heartless woman. But here you are, I have to admit; I am impressed.”

“Chocho! This isn’t funny!” Sarada exclaimed.

“I know it’s not!” Chocho lowers her voice again, now in a calming manner. “Please tell me you’re not going to kiss him. Poor boy won’t recover.”

“It’s part of the plan,” she explains to her, “To at least kiss him once. I don’t mind doing it, don’t worry. But there will be no sex involved,“ Sarada tacks on at Chocho’s sharp inhale.

“Just tell me you’ll be gentle about letting him down. He’s a softie.”

Sarada laughs. “Don’t worry, I’ll try my best.”

Boruto comes into the cafeteria after Sarada and he had to text her during first period to save him a seat. He doesn’t think much whether she’ll sit by herself or surrounded by friends, but when their eyes meet across the room and he sees her sitting next to Chocho, Sumire and Inojin, his stomach still drops. Having her to himself is a selfish thought, yes, but he only has a month with her. Still, he isn’t going to keep her from their friends and this doesn’t make him lose his bravado.

“Hey,” he greets everyone. Inojin doesn’t pay more attention than usual to him, but Chocho’s face is smug and Sarada’s cheeks are colored on a lovely pink shade. Of course, they all know about what happened last night.

“Hey,” Sarada replies and Chocho casts her a meaningful glance. Inojin pretends not to notice the awkwardness between them, but he knows Inojin is listening. Sure enough, he will run to Shikadai to report everything to him.

Boruto would like to lean in for a quick kiss from Sarada – and she’s sitting close enough to him for it – but he isn’t going to do this in front of their nosy friends. Besides, he’s sure she wouldn’t return it. It’s too soon.

They eat their food in uncomfortable silence until Sarada takes a look at her watch and exclaims it was time for them to go to their next class.

“I can walk you – if you want to,” Boruto offers with an easy smile. “I know your next class is on the other side of the campus.”

“That would be kind, thank you,” Sarada answers him before taking her jacket and her backpack. As soon as Boruto and Sarada leave the vicinity of Inojin and Chocho, Sarada sees them sitting closer together, most likely to gossip about the awkward lunch break they all just had to endure.

As they step outside, Boruto offers her his hand again, she takes it and lets their arms fall in between them.

“That was an awful meal,” Sarada begins and Boruto needs to laugh the tension off. It’s good to be outside now, away from the curious eyes of their friends.

“I agree. Maybe they’ll get over it in a week or so.”

“Oh God, I sure hope so. I don’t think I can endure another one like it.” Sarada exhales and then turns to look at Boruto.

“I do think this whole dating thing is partially overrated, and I don’t mean dating you or anyone else specifically. But having someone who walks you to class is kind of nice.” The smile she gives him is enough to color his ears red, but he can only grin in return.

“Well, it’s nice having someone to walk to class then.” As they make it up the building to her History class, Boruto brings up another topic to talk about.

“You know, you kinda surprised me when you said you wanted to watch a horror movie Saturday. I know you love romance novels so I thought you’d prefer Pride and Prejudice, but you really want to go and see ‘IT’?” Sarada laughs and he takes it as a cue to continue, “You don’t have to watch a horror movie because of me.”

“I just find it weird to watch them with other people, romance movies I mean. Usually, there are kissing scenes and sex scenes and it just makes everything awkward. If you watch it with a date, there’s this sort of expectation in the air.”

 Oh…so she didn’t want to watch a scene like that with him because she thinks he’d expect her to make out with him?

“You know I don’t expect you to do anything you really don’t want to do, right,” he asks her for affirmation.

“Oh, yes, I know. We have been friends for a long time, remember? I wouldn’t have tolerated you for so long if I would’ve thought you were such a person.”

They turn around a corner and reach Sarada’s classroom. Since he has a free hour before he needs to get going again, he can go to the library for a quick study session and is in no rush.
“Thank you for bringing me to my class…,” she trails off as she turns around and they look at each other. If their situation were any different, he would kiss her on her lips, maybe linger there for a bit. He’d tell her he would miss her even though they’d see each other again after only a few hours.

But their situation is the way it is, so he only leans in and presses his lips against her cheek. He doesn’t have the guts yet to go in for a full kiss, this must suffice for now. And yet, he is not disappointed, instead gets to see faint pink blush coating her cheeks. She looks like she wants to say something for a moment, hesitates and then leaves him to go to her class.

Boruto keeps thinking about the blush he saw the entire way to the library.