A/n I'm really excited to be typing this story. It's been in the back of my mind for a while now but I've been a little apprehensive to start it because it needs a little bit more work than other stories I've written. Please let me know how you feel about the summary and first chapter so I can get some feedback and enjoy

Sakura sighed. She hated the night shift more than anything else in the world. To make matters worse she'd been lucky enough to be blessed with the closing shift.
"- And here's your receipt. Have a nice evening." Sakura smiled politely at the customer whilst the customer grumbled rudely in reply snatching the receipt from Sakura's hand. Sakura waited until the old lady was safely out of sight before poking her tongue out at her.

Haruno Sakura, aged 19 was currently an employee of the Lucky Sucker. Actually she was the employee of the month but Sakura knew that had more to do with the fact that she was always there than anything else. She wasn't the best employee there but as a poor university student she definitely spent more time at the Lucky Sucker than anyone else. She wasn't so lucky but she definitely was a sucker.

"Oy, Sakura – chan." Sakura turned her attention towards the direction of the voice. It was her fellow employee Lee. Lee was also a university student and happened to go to her university. In fact the majority of the people working at the Lucky Sucker were all university students. They were all one big lucky family of suckers.
"Hey Lee." Sakura said struggling to muster up the strength to be as energetic as he was.
"Sakura – chan, you are looking so cute tonight. The green of your apron really brings out your eyes." Lee smiled so brightly at Sakura she felt like she was going to pass out.
"Easy there Lee." Sakura said patting him on the shoulder. "Don't hurt yourself."
Sakura left Lee at the register and moved towards the shelf she'd been packing before having to serve the previous customer.
"Sakura – chan." She heard Lee shout. "When is your big interview?"

He was referring to, of course, the very important job interview that Sakura had lined up for tomorrow. It was an interview for an internship at one of the cities biggest companies. If she didn't get this internship then she'd have to do another semester at university instead. Seeing as she was so close to finishing her course she decided to take the easy road to graduation.

"Tomorrow, Lee. I told you yesterday, remember." Sakura was very aware that Lee knew exactly when the interview was. She was also very aware that Lee was looking for excuses to talk to her. He hadn't left her alone since he'd started at the Lucky Sucker.
"Oh, yes. That is right." Lee smiled sheepishly. "It is funny because Sasuke Uchiha has an interview tomorrow as well. I hope it is not for the same place as there is probably only one opening."

Sakura dropped the tin she'd been packing. Sasuke Uchiha was another fellow employee at the Lucky Sucker. A fellow employee that just so happened to be studying the same course as Sakura and getting better grades. Her heart sunk. How did she not know that he was going to be going for the same internship? She'd known about hers for a month he would've known all along that Sakura was gong for the same one.

He's probably been laughing at me this whole time. There's no way I'll get it with Mr Perfect to contend with.

Sakura looked Lee dead in the eye.
"Are you sure he's going for the same one, Lee?" She asked seriously. Lee looked uncomfortable like he had said too much and instantly regretted it. Sakura was known for her less than short fuse. She put her hands on her hips and gave Lee a look that clearly stated no-nonsense. It was then that a customer approached a relieved looking Lee and the conversation ended there.

Sakura kicked the box lightly with her foot deciding that now was the right time to take her break. She grabbed the heavy box awkwardly and carried it to the back room planning to dump it on the stockpile. As she was unceremoniously dumping it though she managed to slice her finger on the rough edge of the box.
"Oh, come on." Sakura popped the finger straight into her mouth to try and quell the bleeding, to no avail. Tonight was going to be a very long night. She'd only been in the store an hour and already she'd had three rude customers and cut her finger on a box, and by the looks of it pretty badly too. She'd need a bandage and maybe antiseptic, definitely time for a break.

As she walked to the break room Sakura's mind wandered to the internship as it regularly had been doing for the last few weeks. Getting this internship had been all Sakura had thought about for the past two months. It had completely consumed her whole being. She'd made it all the way through the preliminaries up against fifty other candidates. She knew the position had come down to three candidates but she hadn't ever met the others. She had felt hopeful up until the point Lee had opened his big mouth. Now that she knew that Sasuke the glorified genius was on of the candidates she knew she didn't have a chance. He was constantly blowing her out of the water with his grades to the point where she'd always make sure they didn't have any of the same classes with him at their university so she could avoid the mortification.

By the time she reached the tearoom the blood had stopped pouring from her finger. She decided antiseptic and a plaster were still needed. Pushing the door open with her back she entered the tearoom and made a beeline for the first aid kit. The only problem was she needed two hands to open it, made difficult by one finger being out of action.
"Stupid thing." Sakura grumbled to herself. She was at the point of throwing the mean little box at the wall behind her when two big hands snatched it out of hers. She turned around quick as lightening to see the last person she wanted to bump into that night.

"What are you doing? Idiot." Sasuke opened the small box with one swift click. On top of the great grades Sasuke happened to be the most arrogant and egotistical person she'd ever met. She found it really hard to stay in his presence for too long due to this.
"I don't need your help. Asshole." Sakura grabbed the small box from his hands glaring at him all the while. She hadn't meant to be so unnecessarily rude but she didn't need him to come in here and insult her further with his apparently massive intelligence when he'd known all along about the internship. "I'm perfectly capable of putting a plaster on my finger."

Sasuke grabbed Sakura's hand despite her and examined the cut much to Sakura's protest. She tried to snatch it back but the look Sasuke gave her told her to shut her mouth and stop squirming. Sakura observed his calm features. Aside the fact that he was her nemesis she couldn't help but find herself admiring his appearance from time to time and she wasn't the only one. Many girls had fallen for Sasuke at the Lucky Sucker but again they weren't Lucky - they were just suckers. Sasuke silently reached into the first aid kit and pulled out a disposable alcohol swipe. He applied the chemical to Sakura's finger without word of warning and she bit her lip to muffle her yelp of pain – those things hurt but she wouldn't let him know she thought so. Sasuke had noticed and gave her a fleeting smirk before wrapping a bright blue plaster around the cut.
"Shall I kiss it better?" Sasuke smirked fully this time raising the finger to his lip.
Sakura snatched her finger out of his hand like it was burning her flesh. She knew that Sasuke knew that he pissed her off so he continued to do it on a daily basis to torture her.
"You can kiss my ass." Sakura pushed past Sasuke and left the tearoom suddenly feeling like maybe she'd take her break later.

She stormed through the store until she spotted a mass of blonde hair in one of the aisles. Her friend Ino was lazily pricing items and chucking them haphazardly onto the shelves stopping every now and again to inspect her nails.
"Oy!" Sakura said to the blonde girl who jumped in fright.
"Kami, Sakura I thought you were a boss then." She rested her hand on her heaving bosom as if to calm her heart pace.
"Sasuke is such an asshole." Sakura said ignoring her friend's shock.
"What did he do this time?" Ino rolled her eyes. She had, many times, listened to her friend's views on the great – or not so great – Uchiha. "Don't tell me he asked to borrow a pen."
"Worse." Sakura held up her finger to show her friend. "He plastered my finger for me like I couldn't be trusted to handle the first aid kit on my own. Ino laughed and shook her head at her friend before grabbing another item and continuing with the pricing.
"How dare he." Ino mocked her.
"Oh, trust me." Sakura added. "That's not even the worst part."
"Yeah." Ino prompted her friend as she changed the figures on her pricing gun.
"The…" Sakura searched for a word. "- Asshole! He's going for the same internship as me. I mean, it's bad enough he's not satisfied unless he's out-doing me in everything; he has to go and apply for the same internship as me. There are literally ten other firms he could have applied for. Can you believe him?" Sakura looked at Ino expecting to see an appalled look on her face but when Ino continued to stock the shelf in front of her and not meet her gaze she knew something was up.
"You knew." Sakura accused her friend. "Didn't you?"
"Sakura, don't lose your head but I wasn't going to be the one to tell you." Ino held her hands up in front of her as if to surrender. "If I had have told you before the last few interviews you would have completely been distracted. Look how far you've made it already. You don't know he'll get it. The interviewer will definitely prefer you to Sasuke."
Sakura leaned her back against the shelf her head in her hands.
"If it were me I'd hire you over him any day." Ino patted her friend on the shoulder. "You have people skills. Sasuke is an arrogant bastard."

Sakura took a deep breath assessing the situation. Ino was right she had made it this far. Who's to say that the placement would go to the candidate with the highest scores? It wasn't all about grades anyways. It was about who you were as a person and how you would benefit the firm.
"Okay, Ino." Sakura stood up proud like a woman reborn with purpose. "I won't let him ruin my interview tomorrow. I'll march in there and give it my best."
"That's the spirit, forehead." Ino cheered the pink haired girl on.
"I'd better get back to work." Sakura beamed at her friend. She really did feel better. "I'll see you in the car on the way home tonight?"
"Ah…" Ino gave Sakura yet another apologetic look. "I'm going home early tonight…" Sakura's shoulders slumped. "…So I won't be able to drive you. I'm sorry, please don't hate me."
"It's okay." Sakura said defeated. "I'll just catch the bus."
"I really am sorry."
Sakura said goodbye to her friend and left her in the aisle.

After a while of mundane shelf-packing in which she'd been interrupted by many rude old customers asking about the locations of products, that hadn't moved since before her birth, Sakura decided that it was time to take her break. As she entered the tearoom for the second time that evening she was met with a silent Hinata waving her arms to get her attention and beckoning her to stay quiet. Seated beside her friend with long raven hair and pale eyes was a fast asleep Naruto, his shirt untucked and hair even more unruly than ever.

"He's been working all day." Hinata whispered. "He was talking to me then 'poof' he fell asleep. Just like that. Out like a light."
"Poor guy." Sakura frowned at Naruto. If he'd been working all day that meant that he wasn't working the close like he normally did on a Tuesday night. "Hinata are you working close with me tonight?" If Naruto wasn't working it and Ino wasn't working it and Hinata wasn't working it that left only…
"No not me. Sasuke – kun is working it. He swapped shifts with Naruto because he has that interview tomorrow." Hinata whispered apologetically. So Hinata knew too. Sakura wondered if everyone knew and they had all been humouring her this whole time.
"You knew too?" Asked crestfallen. "Everyone knew but me."
"Oh." Hinata's eye's widened like she'd just betrayed everyone without realising. "I thought you knew."
"No, I only just found out." Sakura slumped in the chair across from Hinata and the still sleeping Naruto. "Now I'm working close with that asshole and I have to catch the bus afterwards." She put her head on the table in front of her like Naruto who was snoring happily.
"Poor Sakura don't worry you'll beat him." Hinata stiffened. "Don't tell him I said that."
Sakura laughed at her friend and left the table to make a cup of very strong black tea.