Gravity by Serenity

Prelude: Sunset Orange

She sighed as she tapped her pencil against the pad of paper in front of her. It really wasn't her fault that her brain decided to take a vacation for the week she thought resentfully glaring at the blank page before her. Though the term paper was due tomorrow, she just couldn't focus. Her mind wandered every where but the subject at hand, which was actually one of her favorites, history. Slowly she went over her day from beginning to end, starting with her shower this morning in the dorm's shared bath house and ending with the conversation with her best friend after her last class for the day, earlier this afternoon.

"This is college and you only live once, you should get out more."

She had protested again pointing out the fact that she did get out. She had went to that sorority party just last week but her friend had laughed.

"You can't count coming for five minutes and then rushing off when the booze arrived. How long has it been since you went out on just a simple date? Not since Hojo as far as I remember."

No, she had gone out with a blue eyed Koga once during the summer, but that didn't work out, though he still called her his woman when they chatted from time to time, she thought with a smile. Her best friend, Sango had never known about Koga and their inside joke until a little while ago when they had run into each other in the mall over spring break so she was apt to forget about the small fling.

"You know, maybe you should get a boyfriend to help you loosen up a little, maybe get laid... or not, but you know you need to do something than school work all the time. All work and no play makes you age faster you know?"

Kagome sighed and put her pencil down, pushing herself away from her desk thinking that perhaps Sango was right. Perhaps later she would take Sango up on her offer to set her up with one of her boyfriend Miroku's single friends, but that was later and right now she just wanted to clear her head so she could finish her paper. Standing up she walked out of the room snatching her coat from the hook by the door and heading out into the hallway. Responsibly she locked the door behind her and hoped that Sango had remembered her keys today, in case the willful girl should return before she did from her walk.

Kagome waved at the few people who greeted her before stepping out into the glaring orange light of the sunset that was washing over the school grounds. Though, summer was just around the corner the weather in the area had yet to get the hint and so the wind was still bitter; only a breath of warmth tinged the breeze to give hope that any day she could lose the light jacket and finally bust out her cooler and much more cuter tops. Her feet followed the familiar path to the park not far away from camp that she often walked whenever she had too much to think about. She could only sigh as she saw all sorts of happy couples, some old, some young, walking and talking to one another happily.

She knew she wasn't unattractive, but she also modestly accepted that there really wasn't anything especially captivating about her appearance either. Her hair was long and thick and did little more than lay flat all the way down to the middle of her back, black with a slight undertone of blue which really only accented her blue almond eyes. Her eyes were really the only feature that she thought of as appealing in her otherwise plain heart shaped face. Her body was slim and soft, unlike Sango who worked out quiet often and had a toned and trim body. Sometimes she wondered if she was the ugly friend in their relationship, even though she knew she and Sango were too close for that to be the truth.

Reaching her destination she sat down in the middle of her bench to watch the sun's final displays of the day as she continued to wonder why it is she had only had two men ask her out. The sun lowered and one by one the lights of the city below her hilltop perch came to life, but she was too lost in her own musings to really notice. Taking from her pocket the small pad of paper and tiny pen she kept there most of the time for occasions such as this she began to jot down the beginnings of a poem.

If we were to meet tomorrow,

Would we recognize each other

As the star crossed lovers, we are

Or would we pass on by, forgetting,

What was or what will be?

Past meeting future

Future meeting eternity.

With a growl she tore the page from its spiral holdings before crumpling it up and tossing it over her shoulder without a thought. She heard the paper wad bounce off something, a tree presumably, before it bounced to the ground where she ignored it for a moment. It didn't take long before her more environmental side got to her and she stood and turned to pick up her trash, still slightly frustrated. What she didn't expect was the most beautiful man to be standing there with a very expensive looking camera in hand and an annoyed look marring his angelic features. Kagome found she could do little more than to stare open mouthed at the man for a moment before he bent down and picked up the offending wad of waste and unfolding it. Two things happened at once at that moment.

One, she realized that she must have hit him with her worthless dribble.

Two, this god like beauty of a man was reading what she wrote.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" she blurted and was about to apologize further when the angel silenced her with a cold glare that sent shivers down her spine.

"You ruined my shot for this?" he asked stoically, holding the wrinkled page between two fingers.

She had to swallow quickly to relieve her suddenly parched mouth, "Like I said I'm sorry, I didn't even know you were there."

"So you just make a habit of littering then?"

"No! I was getting up to get it just now, but then-"

"So are you just careless, then?" he asked before she had a chance to finish her sentence.

"No, I just-"

"People like you are the reason why this world is falling apart. You're probably one of those spoiled children from the college aren't you? Used to mommy picking up after you and so you don't care to make a mess here either, right?"

"Well, yes, wait no, hey-"

She found that his words stung for some reason as he stepped toward her and his approach quickly silenced any other words she had in her throat. His cold amber gaze settled on her own and she felt her heart begin to race, pounding in her chest. She felt the danger radiating from him, but she also found she was... excited, by this man. This seraph of a man was towering over her his silver hair the only thing moving in the light breeze and somehow she knew that he could kill her in an instant, but something more basic at the back of her mind said that he wouldn't.

"By the way, your writing is appalling. I seriously hope that isn't your major because you will get absolutely no where in life."

He walked away from her dropping the paper at her feet, and it took her several moments to calm her racing heart enough to turn and shout out after him, but he was already gone. She stood there a hand to her heart almost panting from holding the breath she didn't realize she was holding. Who was that man? she wondered to herself. She bent and picked up the crumpled sheet and reread what she had wrote. Really it wasn't that bad, after all it was a rough draft, but she wasn't able to let her thoughts wander further as her phone in her pocket was buzzing with the tone she recognized as Sango's. Sliding the phone open she answered.

"Did you lock yourself out again?"

Sango snorted indignantly, "No, I'm not that irresponsible thank you very much! Where are you?"

"The park down the road. I couldn't think so I came to get some fresh air. Hey while I'm thinking about it, do you think you could do me a huge favor?"

"Sure, what's up?" she sounded confused as she replied, but it also sounded like she was busy doing something else as well.

"Um, I was wondering," Kagome paused when she heard a crash and Sango cuss. "What are you doing?"

"Well, I was trying to change in a hurry. I'm meeting Miroku for a study session in his dorm," Sango replied though she sounded like she was further away, meaning she had placed the phone on speaker.

"Oh well good then can you ask him to maybe, um, possibly..." she found she was too embarrassed to finish her sentence. "Ugh, just never mind!"

Sango laughed lightly causing Kagome to pout, "Yeah, I'll ask him if he'll set you up on a blind date, don't worry," she laughed again and picked her phone back up switching off the speaker phone as she admired herself in the full length mirror behind their door. "What made you change your mind?"

"Well, I was thinking that maybe you're right, you know?"

"I'm always right, but go on anyway."

Kagome frowned and glared back down at the ground since the speaker was out of her death glare radius, "I'm just burnt out on school, you know, so I thought that perhaps having someone other than you to vent to would be a good thing. A stress reliever."

"I see, I'm just not good enough for you anymore!" Sango teased in a mock hurt voice that Kagome could almost believe had she not known Sango was an actress.

They chatted for a few moments longer about trivial things before getting off the phone as Kagome headed back. Their dorm house was just next door to their school building, contrasting harshly with the antiquity of the school building and the modern dorm. The art department had taken it upon themselves to paint the building as well causing further injury to the injustice in Kagome's own opinion. She felt the ancient building was beautiful, which was one of the many reasons she had decided to come here, so far away from her family, aside from the fact that it produced the worlds most excellent musicians and artists. She was here on scholarship for her academics, but her major was in music, especially the cello, though she could play a wide variety of instruments, including the flute. Her dream was to one day to become famous for her cello playing, maybe even getting into a band like Apoctolyptica, whom she adored.

She sighed slightly relieved and as the sun set behind her she set her mind to thinking about anything but that man she met in the park.