Any slander and stereotypes referring to real sororities and fraternities are purely fiction and not a reflection of the actual organizations.

Leah laid the plastic black tablecloth across the cardstock table. Today was the activities fair at Pacific University. The quad was abuzz with booths for various clubs, organizations, and Greek life. The table Leah was manning was located on the far south side of the field in the aisle designated for local businesses. To her right, a couple of middle-aged ladies were setting up a bright pink booth for a mom-and-pop bakery. They had a tiered stand filled with miniature cupcakes and a sign that read "free samples." The table to her left was for a pizza place. Leah had never been there, but she passed it along her route to the café.

Leah wanted to explore the fair, but she was responsible for running a booth for Connie's Corner Café, located a couple blocks south of campus.

Leah looked around the quad. Most of the organizations had standard booths with a couple students running them. The Fraternity tables were another story. The western side of the quad boasted elaborate booths with large groups of students in matching T-shirts energetically running each one. Each group looked to be dressed for a different occasion, with Sigma Chi looking like they were on their way to a country club while Sigma Nu appeared as if they had just gotten back from the gym. Some booths were more subdued, like the women of AXiD, who had a banner and a large posterboard to educate anyone interested in learning about their organization. Their cute little booth was sandwiched between Pike's mechanical bull and Lambda's homemade two-story tall slide. The slide was questionable at best and definitely contained at least three Osea violations.

A man in a blue shirt carrying a large stack of pizza boxes approached the table next to Leah's.

"Do you need a hand?" Leah offered. The stack was so tall, he could barely see around it.

"That's alright, I've got it," He responded. The tall man carefully lowered the boxes down to the table. The stack wobbled precariously. Leah held out a hand to stop it from falling.

"Thanks," the man said.

"No problem," Leah responded.

"Beautiful weather for the activities fair," the man commented, striking up a conversation.

"It is," Leah agreed, taking in the clear blue skies. The sun put Leah at ease as she knew she didn't have to worry about any vampires lurking around campus. "I wish summer could last forever."

"You and me both," he nodded. "I'm from Arizona, so this is my kind of weather. I'm Ian, by the way."

"Leah," she replied. "I've lived in Washington my whole life, so I'm used to the clouds."

"Nice, how'd you end up at the café?" Ian asked with a genuine curiosity.

"I needed something to help pay for school," Leah answered simply. She had no desire to delve into her money problems with a stranger. She didn't have much money saved as she hadn't planned on ever attending a 4-year university. However, when she found out about Seth and Jacob's plans, she begrudgingly enrolled to keep an eye on them. The Cullens offered to pay for both her and Seth's education, but she vehemently refused. She had tried to bully Seth into doing the same, but he didn't see any issue with accepting the handout. Leah firmly believed both the boys had lost all sense when it came to the friendly small-town bloodsuckers.

"Oh, you're a student here?" Ian raised his eyebrows. "Me too. What's your major?"

"Psychology," she answered.

"Same here. Are you a freshman?" Ian inquired.

"No, well, this is my first year, but I'm transferring in as a junior. I already have an associate's," Leah replied. She had earned the degree two years prior. She was surprised that she hadn't had more issues with her credits transferring, but she decided not to question it.

"I'm also technically a junior. I took the scenic route. My degree is taking a while," Ian smiled.

"I get that. Whatever works for you. A degree is a degree." Leah replied. They continued to chat while the quad filled with students. Freshmen started to wander over, lured in by the free snacks. A few students politely stopped by Leah's booth out of politeness, eyeing the next table's snacks as she gave her spiel. She didn't have anything to offer aside from a flyer containing their menu and a map with the café's location highlighted.

About halfway through the event, the free samples began to run out. Only Ian had any food left. A pack of girls wearing matching Phi Mu shirts stopped by for some pizza. The women were all so similar in appearance, they could've passed as biological sisters.

Leah spotted Seth across the quad and waved him over.

He approached the booth with Nessie and an Asian girl that Leah didn't recognize. Leah hadn't seen the girls in the crowd. As they approached, Leah noticed a small mechanical device on Nessie's ear, mostly obstructed by her hair.

Seth caught her eye and shook his head subtly, silently conveying a message that said, "Don't ask."

Leah figured he'd tell her later when they were alone. "Hey Seth, can you find the psychology club and sign me up?"

"Sure, I'll be right back." Seth turned and headed back into the rows of tables. Nessie and the other girl stayed behind at Leah's booth. Nessie introduced the girl as her roommate, Kimmy.

"How's the activities fair?" Leah asked politely. While she wasn't particularly fond of Nessie, Leah always made an effort to be cordial. Leah couldn't hate her, not as Jacob's imprint. But Leah saw red flags invisible to Jacob. Flags unrelated to her being half-vampire.

"Pretty good so far," she responded. "I just signed up for sorority recruitment."

"Good luck," Ian responded, adding himself to the conversation after the Phi Mu girls had left. "I'm in Kaps."

Leah didn't know much about the campus Greek life, so she wasn't sure what "Kaps" was. She figured he was probably referring to Kappa Epsilon Nu as that was the only organization she had seen that started with a K.

"That's cool," Nessie responded.

"Are you going Greek?" Ian asked Kimmy.

"Yeah, I plan on rushing Kappa Phi Lambda," Kimmy replied.

Ian nodded. "Good for you. Their recruitment is much easier than the other sororities."

"What do you mean?" Nessie wondered. "Sorry, I don't know much about Greek life."

"KPL is a cultural sorority, not a social sorority and they don't participate in formal recruitment," Ian explained. "It's a more relaxed approach compared to PanHell, which is what you signed up for. Recruitment is intense. They have a ton of rules."

Nessie nodded as she absorbed the information. Leah noticed a girl with purple in her hair grabbing a slice of pizza from Ian's booth as he talked.

"Go away," he called out in a teasing voice. "I'm talking to PNMs. No dirty rushing!"

The girl rolled her eyes, "Shut up."

"What's a PNM?" Nessie questioned.

"You," Ian answered.

"Potential new members," the girl explained. "We're not supposed to talk to you before recruitment."

"Are you in a sorority?" Nessie asked.

The girl nodded and gestured to her shirt, which read Beta Iota Tau. "Yeah, I'm a Beta."

Leah couldn't help but be surprised, this girl's appearance didn't fit Leah's expectations for a sorority girl. She didn't fit the stereotypical mold of a skinny blonde. That wasn't to say she was unattractive. Quite the opposite. She had curves in all the right places and her skin was a warm bronze color. Not quite as dark as Leah's, but it was a beautiful natural tan that the Phi Mu's could only dream of achieving.

"What's it like?" Nessie probed.

"It's a party every day," she answered between bites of pizza. "This past week has been a blast," Leah detected sarcasm in her voice. Leah sensed that there was more to the story.

"How do I know which sorority to choose?" Nessie asked, not seeming to notice the sarcasm.

"You'll go to each of the four houses and talk to women in each sorority. There are multiple rounds of recruitment, and at the end, there's a mutual selection process. Just keep in mind the sorority has to choose you too, so you might not get your first choice," The girl answered. Leah detected a subtle warning in the girl's response. Nessie continued quizzing the girl on sorority life until Ian interrupted with a warning.

"SK, 9 o'clock," Ian said, subtly pointing out a white girl with honey-blond hair in an emerald green Sigma Kappa shirt heading in their general direction. The girl from Beta shoveled the remainder of her pizza slice into her mouth and hurried away into the crowd.

"What if nobody chooses me?" Nessie stressed.

"Just be yourself and I'm sure you'll find your home," Ian answered. Leah knew this answer wouldn't reassure Nessie. Being herself would not end well for anybody.

A pair of frat guys wearing SAE shirts approached the table for pizza. Kimmy stiffened.

"What's wrong?" Nessie asked her.

Kimmy looked over her shoulder to make sure the boys were gone. She spoke in a hushed voice. "Do you know about SAE's reputation?"

Nessie shook her head.

"They're nicknamed Sexual Assault Expected. I don't know whether or not that applies to this chapter though," Kimmy explained.

Ian grimaced confirming Kimmy's fears without explanation. The girls lingered at the table, chatting with Ian about the various frats and their stereotypes before continuing on to check out the rest of the booths.

Leah asked Ian about the girl with purple in her hair.

"That's Kat, she's my pledge wife," Ian answered.

Leah's heart inexplicably sank at the word wife. Her eyes fell to his hands, searching for a ring that wasn't there. "You're married?"

Ian laughed, "No, it's a frat thing. We're just good friends. She's our frat's sweetheart, too."

Leah didn't know what a sweetheart was, but she was relieved to hear he wasn't married.

Leah began to wonder what was taking Seth so long. She scanned the quad. It wasn't particularly hard to spot him. He towered over most of the crowd. He seemed to be ensnared in a conversation with the guys in Sigma Nu. Those boys were taller and more muscular than most, but even they only came up to Seth's chin. Eventually, Seth made his way back to Leah's table with a stack of fliers in hand. One was for the psychology club while the rest were from various fraternities.

"Did you get lost?" Leah asked.

Seth shook his head. "I think I just signed up for rush."

Leah raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Seriously?"

Seth shrugged. "Yeah, why not? It sounded fun, and the guys seemed really insistent. Worst case scenario, I'll meet some new people."

Ian snorted. "They want you on their intramural team."

"I don't play sports," Seth shifted his weight uncomfortably. Their werewolf strength gave them an unfair advantage. It would be difficult to lie low while outperforming everyone.

"Then avoid Snu," Ian advised. "Why don't you check out Kappa, we have an event next Thursday. You don't have to worry about sports. Kyle and I carry the soccer team."

"Sure thing," Seth nodded.

Leah turned her attention back to the booth as the crowd started to thin out. The activities fair was coming to an end. Ian offered Seth the remaining pizza, which he gladly accepted. Leah grabbed a couple of the remaining slices, knowing Seth and Jacob would have devoured the entire thing by the time she returned to the house that the three of them were renting together. Unlike most first-year students, Leah and Seth had opted against the dorms. They'd been werewolves long enough to have a handle on their self-control, but it was still better to play it safe. You just never know when someone might wolf out on a whim and shred their clothes. The trio thought it would be best to spare the unsuspecting student body from potentially witnessing the werewolf walk of shame.

Seth left with the pizza as Leah packed up her booth. She continued chatting with Ian. He was an easy person to talk to and the conversation flowed naturally. Leah loved the normalcy of the moment. No vampires, no werewolves, just two people chatting. For years, Leah had been saying that she was walking away from the world of the supernatural. She was going to give up her wolf self and be human. Every time she tried to leave it all behind, something pulled her back in. Leah knew that the truth was that there was a part of her that was afraid to walk away. The threat of the dark-cloaked bloodsuckers still haunted her dreams.

After the close call several years ago, the Cullens and their allies seemed certain that the Volturi would be returning, but nobody knew when. Time was viewed differently by the immortals. Vampires count centuries like they're weeks, so there was no way of knowing whether they'd be back tomorrow or two hundred years from now. Leah wished they'd come back soon so she could get it over with and move forward. She knew that, realistically, they probably wouldn't return within the span of a human lifetime. But what about Jacob and Seth? Jacob had decided to live forever and Seth seemed content to stick around as well. The thought of leaving her baby brother to fight the monsters while she lived a normal life was nearly unbearable. The Cullens seemed to believe that their psychic vampire would be able to see the threat coming, but Leah wasn't convinced. Far too many things had been able to get past her already. But was Leah really going to spend centuries waiting for a battle she had little hope of surviving?

As she chatted with Ian in the sun, she had never been more sure that she was ready to leave the pack. The threat of the Volturi seemed so far away. Leah had a glimmer of hope that Pacific University could be the dawn of the life she'd been dreaming of.

Chapter Playlist:

Best day of my life - American Authors - Leah

Oh, Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison - Ian

Honky Tonk Badonkadonk - Trace Adkins - Kat