It wasn't a proper shift in gravity. I mean, nothing like the moving of the sun and the feeling of floating and all that fluff Jake used to blabber about. It wasn't anything of such drama, yet the first time my eyes set on him, the centre of the room shifted.
He was standing within a group of tall, muscular boys, probably football players- which was not unusual, given that I was at an informal party to celebrate the start of the sport season. Lydia, my roomie, basically dragged me out in a windy cold night (not for me of course) as, in her view, I desperately needed to mix with the other sex. Which I kind of avoided since starting college.
Yes, I started college, away from rainy cloudy Forks. As a payback for babysitting the Cullens, the Doctor helped me out with my college application and Edward paid for my fees- oh wait, he actually lent me the money, but I know that he won't accept it back. He just can read minds, you know, and this make things so much easier. Anyway, here I am, in Flagstaff, Az, with one year delay on my academic course towards medicine. I know that maybe it is not the coolest college in the whole country and that with the help of the geniuses-vampires I could have gotten into some more high-profile institution but I felt like I belonged here: weather is kind of perfect for me and there is quite enough space for a run, also in my wolf form, if I feel like it. As for the subject, I really like it, helping people. I was deeply impressed by Carlisle work, how he uses his supernatural abilities to help the "weak" humans. Furthermore I used to be quite good at school, before the whole wolf thing. I sat my exams and got straight into it, and it was good.
I liked being away from home: not being forced to change into my wolf shape every 24 hours to patrol, not having to share Jake's thoughts about his love for Renesmee (maybe adoration is a better word for that, anyway he got so sweet I was that close to become diabetic, puah), not feeling like the wrong one, the different one. Honestly, the whole situation in Forks had become too sweet and candy-pink coloured for my taste, as everyone got what they had always wanted: Bella married her vampire and had a wonderful daughter, Jake imprinted on her and she was safe, we defeated the bad leeches, Seth got the role of third wolf in the pack and felt really proud, Sam was marrying Emily. Even mum was recovering from dad's death and started dating Detective Swan. That was the moment in which I felt really out of place, I was way too sad and bitter for any of them and felt I had to clear the air. For their and my sake.
I am quite happy here, even though I miss the boys more than expected, I miss our perfect understanding, our special bond, I miss even my brother. But I won't go back, I am not ready yet.
Living with "normal" people was not exactly a piece of cake at the very start: the past year and a half spent among vampires and huge shape shifters made me loose contact with reality, forget how everyday life goes. But I am getting better and better, also thanks to my roommate Lydia, who pretends not to see all my little quirks and has put the biggest effort to make my social life if not brilliant, at least acceptable.
That's why tonight she dragged me out of bed (not physically, of course, but I must admit that she has quite a strong character), forced me in one of the multiple super fancy dresses Alice slipped in my suitcase the night before I left and brought me to what is probably considered one of the coolest informal party of the whole term: apparently only the members of the first and elite teams of the most prestigious sports were invited along with selected friends. Lydia just started going out with a third-year football player and she was clearly enjoying her moment of popularity. Needless to say, there were almost no freshers and the people looked way too cool for a socially-impaired, grumpy wolf-girl. For Lydia's sake, I pushed back my rush of panic ("Leah Clearwater, you defeated the leeches!") and pulled out my best smile, trying to work out a plan to sneak out without her noticing...when my eyes casually fell on him.
He wasn't too tall, I would have said him to be quite built and muscular, but the muscles suited him, as if he was born with them. He was listening to the conversation with a concentrated look, his dark eyebrows joint together in some sort of a frown, but he didn't look crossed. His black hair was tied back in a low tail, while his copper complexion, similar to mine, contrasted pleasantly with his light blue shirt.
A part of me would have wanted to get closer and start talking to him, maybe ask Lydia to introduce me, but the shy me won the battle without much effort. My heart bumped with joy when she pulled my wrist and dragged me to the small group to greet some other football players who were friends with her boyfriend.
"Hey guys, this is Leah, my roomie-" –that girl had charm, for real. She was almost as charming as Rosalie Cullen, and that was gold. The players greeted me smiling but without much interest...except him.
He turned to face me with a warm smile:" Nice to meet you, Leah , my name is Tumo."
At that point everything clicked back in place: I had already met that guy at the societies fair a couple of weeks ago. He had appeared out of nowhere and handed me a leaflet for the "Native American Society", as " we all shall learn and respect the past where we come from." I had taken the leaflet and slipped quietly away: I was well aware of my origins, thank you very much.
And now, there he was, standing and smiling, clearly oblivious of our previous encounter. I smiled back and replied: "Nice to meet you too. I guess you are a football player ."
"Actually I am not, I play rugby." (damn me, how did I forget all the basic rules of communication lecturers were desperately try to cram into our minds?)- "How about you? Do you play any sports?"
"Hum, no, I came here with my roommate."
"You don't like sports?"
"I do, it's just I am rather busy with my course, so I just go for a run from time to time."
"First year, huh? What are you studying?"
"I am preparing for Medical School. How about you?"
"Second year. Sport science, with a scholarship for rugby. I want to become coach after, use rugby to make boys better. I played for Highland Rugby all my high school years."
Highland rugby! That was something: he was amazing!
We spent the evening chatting casually, almost enclosed in our personal bubble, unaware of the drunk students and players. When a rather tipsy Lydia came to drag me away, I said simply: "It was nice meeting you, hope you have a nice night." At which he replied: "Yeah, same. Hope to see you around again."
Completely out of the blue, I raised on my tiptoes and planted a light peck on his cheek, "Sure." I said waking away with a smile.