This is my first fanfic! Please read and review, but most of all, I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Naruto, obviously, does not belong to me.

*EDIT: Several years later, I decided to read through this again. I still love it, but I revised it a lot... don't worry, the plot is the same, I only added more detail, changed wording, and made it flow better. Thanks!

Chapter 1: New Employee

"Congratulations! You're hired." I heard the manager's voice through the phone. Finally, my sister would quit nagging me to get a job.

"Thanks," I responded, emotionless. Starting tomorrow, I would be a café cashier at the local bookstore. My life was already tiring; I went to a shitty school with loads of homework, spent most of my time studying and doing chores, and now I had to add on a part-time job. Sighing to myself as I hung up the phone, I ran my hand through my blood-red hair. This is going to be fun.

RING! RING! RING!

The annoying school bell sounded the next day. School's over, time to go home. . . wait, I have to WORK. Inwardly groaning as I slung my backpack over my shoulder, I said "bye" to my friends.

Oh. That's right, I didn't have any friends.

My classmates scrambled for the exit of the school, gossiping, chatting, and laughing while I packed up, alone. I hated them. Every one of them. Since I first moved here in middle school, I was named the freak of the school because I looked and acted strange to them. They'd give me disturbed looks and comment about my hair or black-rimmed eyes amongst each other; but I always overheard. People would either avoid me, or put me down. There have been times when I thought I had a chance of making a friend, and it turned out they were only doing a bet or mocking me. Because of this, I turned cold toward everyone and now, as a sophomore in high school, I still remained with no friends and the same cold attitude.

Slowly, I walked out of the school by myself and felt the frigid air through my thin, gray hoodie. Since it was the beginning of November, the weather was getting colder. I zipped my hoodie up higher and started toward town along the pale, cracked sidewalk. I'd never had a job before and was reluctant to get one, but I needed the money to help pay expenses in the house. My mother passed away when I was young and my father never really cared about me, so after my older sister, Temari, moved out of the house and became more financially stable, she offered me a place to stay with her. You could say I never knew what it was like to have a loving family life. Even my sister and I had kind of a weird relationship, but I knew she at least cared. She kept pestering me to get a job so I could help her out, and although I agree it's probably the least I could do, social interaction is my worst nightmare. That is why I had been putting it off.

After a long walk, I had found the bookstore and pushed my way through the glass doors. It was roomy inside, with large windows to let in natural light, and rows of bookshelves with brand new books - what anyone would expect in a bookstore. Boring music was playing in the background. The café was connected to the bookstore, off to the side of the entrance. It had small tables where people sat with their laptops or books, sipping coffee and eating pastries. On the counter sat samples, gift cards, and other small merchandise. There were cakes, cookies, and muffins on display for people to choose. A coffee aroma occupied the air, while café machines and light chatter could be heard. It was such a cookie-cutter setting.

"Oh, thank goodness," a relieved, male voice caught my attention. I turned to see a tan, young man with brown spiky hair, who seemed to be around my age. He had red triangle shapes painted on his cheeks, which I found odd.

"You're the new cashier, right? I've been doing most of the work around here, since we've been low on employees," His smiling face turned to an uncomfortable one. "Oh. . . Gaara. Y-you're the new employee?"

I stared at him indifferently and asked in monotone, "Do I know you?"

"Uh, yeah. We're in the same class. . ."

That would explain his reaction. Just like everyone else, he thought I was a freak - he was scared of me. This job was going to be worse than I thought. Working alongside a classmate - another one that hated me, and whom I also hated. He interrupted the awkward silence, anxiously, "Well, I'll, um, show you the basics and give you your work attire."

I followed him behind the counter of the café for training. He showed me how to work the cash register, told me where to find certain things, and demonstrated how to make different coffees and Frappuccinos in case I needed to. It didn't seem too complicated, just tiresome, especially when imagining a line of customers. He held out a brown paper bag.

"Here. Change into this." I grabbed it by the handle and went into the back room. Setting the bag down on a chair, I reached in, feeling the rough cloth. Then I pulled out an olive green, button-up shirt with a collar. There were also a pair of black jeans, a nametag, and... a visor - similar to that of Kiba's.

Me? Wear a collared shirt and visor? Damn, this was definitely going to be worse than I thought. After changing, I met Kiba again behind the counter. When he saw me, his eyes widened a fraction... he appeared to be holding back a chuckle. Aware of this, I shot him a glare. The uneasy expression returned to his face.

"Er- you can start now. If you have any questions, ask me." He quickly scrambled to a machine and began making a frappacino while I trudged over to the cash register to take care of a few people in line.

"Can I take your order?" I asked the lady, flatly. She stepped back slightly with a disturbed expression. I raised a hairless eyebrow. Was it my red hair? My piercings? My eyes? She told me what she wanted, but I assumed that she was concentrating more on my appearance than what was coming out of her mouth. The rest of the customers in line did the same. They must not have been used to seeing someone who doesn't conform to their taste. I didn't care. I just wanted to do my job so I could go home and work on my pain-in-the-ass English essay.

The customers had finally calmed down, and I had time to breathe. As I did this, I subconsciously scanned the café. Everything had become pretty quiet, and there were only a few people, but someone stood out. There was a young girl sitting alone at a table next to the large window, reading. She was a pale and petite girl with long, black-indigo hair. She was sporting an oversized lavender sweater, leggings, boots, and a knit winter beanie. I noticed her earlier, while Kiba was instructing me but wasn't paying much attention. She'd been sitting there around the time I arrived and hadn't spoken once. I assumed she was just another one of those people from the school who hated me. Later, I went to the back room again to change. It was 6:30 p.m., and since it was almost winter, the days were shorter, so it became darker sooner.

Walking toward the door without a glance at Kiba, I impassively said "I'm leaving."

"Alright," I could hear the relief in his voice. I was used to this, and ignored it.

Once I got home, Temari immediately bombarded me with questions about my new job.

"So, did you like it? It wasn't too complicated, was it? How were the other employees?" I managed a "hn" as I proceeded to my room, leaving Temari in silence. I didn't want to think about it anymore, much less talk about it. I knew I'd have to go back tomorrow, and dreaded it as much as school.

Shutting the door, I mumbled, "That was a pain in the ass." I was finally alone. Social interaction was always exhausting to me. I didn't understand how others were able to do it so easily. After throwing my backpack on the floor, I collapsed on my bed to rest just for a few short minutes before getting up, sitting at my desk, and beginning my English paper.

Thank you so much for reading! This is the beginning of Gaara and Hinata's story. If you leave a review, I would greatly appreciate it!

Edit: If you have read this in the past, you will notice there are changes in my writing, but there are no major changes as far as plot. I hope it flows better for you. I think my use of grammar has improved at least a bit over the years.