Fic: Educated Differences - Chapter One
Title: Educated Differences
Universe: AU
Rating: PG-13 for now (NC-17 later)
Relationship status: first time
Word count: 3719
Genre: romance, friendship
Trope: teen
Warning: Language, sexual situation, light bullying.
A/N: Something to note, because this is an AU set in this time period, Spock is not a Vulcan for obvious reasons, he’s just a bit weird.
Summary: Early 21st century college AU. Jim and Spock are freshmen and are put together as roommates.
Chapter One
Jim bent over, inhaling as much air as possible as he put down the two large boxes in his arms and adjusted the large duffle bag which was lying across his chest, slowing cutting off even more of his oxygen supply.
He took his key out, double checking the room number and pushed the key awkwardly into the lock. He threw a smile on his face, ready to meet his new roommate.
He pushed open the door warily and his eyes fixed on the figure at one of the desks. His new roommate turned around and their eyes met. Jim groaned.
30 minutes earlier
‘You cannot park there,’ a voice said as Jim got out of his car, a lamp in one hand.
‘Huh?’ Jim said, looking up to see a man, no older than himself, staring at him with dark eyes. Jim had to resist the urge to laugh at his ridiculous bowl haircut.
‘You are not allowed to park there,’ the man said again.
Jim frowned. ‘It says student parking, I’m a student,’ Jim said, pointing a thumb at his chest.
‘You are a freshman which means you have yet to apply for your parking permit.’
‘What are you? The parking police?’
‘I am merely pointing out that you will most probably be clamped if you remain parked here and considering the state of your car, I doubt you will be able to afford the fine.’
Jim snorted. ‘Fine, I’ll go move somewhere else.’
‘There is a visitor parking lot at the south end of campus,’ the man said, nodding his head in that direction.
‘I have all my stuff, can’t I unload it here and move the car later?’
‘That is against the rules and would also provide a hazardous environment and safety risk with all your… stuff lying on the curb,’ the man said distastefully.
Jim’s jaw tightened. ‘Fine, I’ll move. Whatever.’ Jim gave the man an annoyed scowl before throwing his lamp in the passenger seat and driving off.
Now
Jim stared at the ‘parking police’ in annoyance as he stared back, gaze unwavering.
‘What a lovely coincidence,’ Jim said sarcastically, eyes rolling as he dragged one of the boxes into his room with his foot.
‘I am Spock,’ Spock stated, not getting up from his chair.
Jim nodded his head. ‘I’m Jim. I was too busy ignoring and disobeying all the campus rules earlier to get your name,’ Jim said bitterly, wiping a bit of sweat off his forehead from his long trudge with all his stuff from the other end of campus.
Jim dumped his duffle bag onto his bed before heading back out to get the boxes he had left in the hall. ‘Thanks for helping by the way,’ Jim said sarcastically when he re-entered, taking his lamp out of box with a flourish and staring pointedly at Spock.
‘I do not understand,’ Spock replied, his eyes slightly confused.
‘Sarcasm? Heard of it?’
‘I have, although your execution of it was not very effective,’ Spock said, swivelling his chair back around to face the desk and away from Jim. Jim shot his back a glare.
Jim quickly unpacked as much stuff as possible, throwing things in his set of drawers without bothering to fold. Every now and again he’d catch Spock watching his actions critically and with disapproval, clearly not a fan of the Jim Kirk method of unpacking.
‘What you studying?’ Jim asked curiously as he sat down on the edge of his bed, noting all the large books on Spock’s desk, one open in front of him.
‘Physics, specializing in quantum electrodynamics and chaos theory,’ Spock replied, sounding ever so slightly smug.
Jim’s eyes went wide, reluctantly feeling impressed. ‘Wow. Sounds hard.’
‘Hard is relative to the person attempting it. For you, I am sure you would view it as hard. I, however, do not find it much of a struggle,’ Spock said, turning back to his open book.
Jim bit his lip to stop him from snapping at Spock and quickly got up, putting his duvet and pillows on his bed before putting on a fake grin and turning back to his roommate, determined not to be put down on his first day.
‘I’m studying statistical mathematics with minors in foreign languages and English,’ Jim said, even though Spock hadn’t asked.
Jim smiled as he saw Spock turn to look at him in surprise. ‘You do mathematics?’
‘I do. I’m pretty awesome,’ Jim said arrogantly, smiling at Spock confidently.
‘That is subject to interpretation,’ Spock said, a slight smile on his face like he was instantly more relaxed and calm knowing Jim wasn’t some dumb frat boy.
‘So, we should probably work out a few things,’ Jim said, getting Spock’s full attention as he swivelled to face Jim fully.
‘Indeed. For example, you will never, under any circumstances, touch my bed or any of my things. I will know if you have and I will report you.’
Jim blinked at how serious Spock was. ‘Fine, no touching of your things.’
‘And I will not accept any music or noise whilst I am studying. Also, I wish for lights out to be at 11 promptly every night.’
‘11pm? No music? You kidding?’ Jim said as Spock gazed back at him.
‘I am not kidding. I do not kid.’
‘Fine, well, if there’s a red tie around the door handle, you don’t come in.’
‘Why?’ Spock asked, eyes narrowing slightly. ‘What is it you wish to hide?’
‘Sex,’ Jim stated, eyebrow raised challengingly.
Spock shifted in his chair, looking uncomfortable. ‘You are sexually active?’
‘Yep, I’m 18 so I’m not breaking any laws,’ Jim said, feeling defensive as Spock stared at him, his face passive.
There was a knock on the door which broke their small staring contest and Jim got up, throwing open the door quickly.
‘Bones,’ Jim said loudly with a grin, throwing his arms around his friend and squeezing.
‘How you settling in, kid?’ McCoy said, pulling back and striding into his room, looking at the mess Jim had already created on his side of the room with bemusement.
‘Oh, Spock, this is my friend Leonard McCoy, he’s a third year medical student. We’ve known each other since we were kids,’ Jim explained as McCoy turned to look at Spock curiously.
‘Spock? Interesting name,’ McCoy said, smirking as he shared a teasing look with Jim.
‘He studies physics,’ Jim explained. Spock watched McCoy carefully, like he wasn’t overly fond of the new addition in his room.
‘Fancy,’ McCoy said snarkily, walking over to Jim and lowering his voice. ‘What’s his deal?’
‘Fuck knows,’ Jim said quietly back, aware Spock was still watching them.
‘Want me to show you around campus?’ McCoy said, his voice going back to normal level.
‘Of course, maybe you can show me where to apply for a car permit,’ Jim said, casting a look at Spock as he followed McCoy out.
…….
‘Jim,’ McCoy said, rolling his eyes as Jim introduced himself to the two girls representing the dance society, a large flirtatious grin on his face. ‘You hate dancing.’
Jim stepped away from the table and looked at McCoy. ‘I’m sure I could learn to like it,’ Jim said, casting another look at the girls, causing them to giggle.
‘You do realise college isn’t just one long opportunity to get laid, right?’ McCoy said, sounding doubtful.
Jim turned to him with mock shock. ‘Seriously? But that’s what the college entrance booklet told me.’
‘You’re hilarious,’ McCoy said, rolling his eyes.
Jim smiled, looking around at all the various tables representing various societies and groups. ‘I have to join something,’ Jim said, noticing the cheerleading table. ‘Can you see me as a cheerleader?’
‘I can see you inside a cheerleader,’ McCoy said irritably as Jim continued to look over at the girls with interest and a large smile.
‘Maybe I could join the celibacy club, I like a challenge,’ Jim said, squinting into the sun light.
‘Jim, college is serious and you’ve somehow managed to get onto a very prestigious course at a very good college so how about you respect that by, I don’t know, taking things seriously?’
‘Bones, I know I’m lucky but it doesn’t mean I can’t have fun.’
‘Why don’t you join the maths society then?’
Jim pulled a face. ‘I doubt there are hardly any hot girls in the maths society, Bones.’
McCoy raised a disapproving eyebrow. ‘Jim, you’ll be able to get laid without joining a club and so for that reason, you may as well pick something you actually enjoy or like doing.’
Jim nodded in agreement and looked around before slowly walking along the path, looking at the various societies on offer before spotting what he wanted. ‘Over there.’
McCoy followed Jim over to the table, looking surprised. ‘Chess club?’
‘I’m amazing at it,’ Jim said, taking the sign up sheet and smiling at the girl behind the table. He took a pen and looked at the sheet of paper. ‘Oh crap.’
‘What is it?’ McCoy said, looking over his shoulder.
‘Spock,’ Jim said, tapping the pen at the name at the very top of the list.
‘Think of it as a chance to get to know him,’ McCoy said as Jim quickly wrote in his name and details.
‘I don’t think I want to get to know him, he’s so… weird,’ Jim said, walking away from the chess club’s table.
‘Don’t be such a brat. You’ve spent less than 10 minutes in his company, he could end up being a good friend.’
‘Doubt it,’ Jim said, winking at a dark skinned girl signing up at the languages table. She shot him a glare.
………..
The rest of the afternoon was spent doing orientation which meant Jim suddenly had a lot of paper work he didn’t give a crap about and had met a lot of people who he forgot the names of promptly afterwards.
He had an early dinner with a few new friends from his course before sitting through various talks about campus life and how to get settled into the college lifestyle.
He got back to his dorm in the evening and noticed on his timetable that this was time they allocated for people to get to know everyone else in their residence halls and on their floor, so Jim went straight to the room next to his and knocked gently on the open door, noticing two boys unpacking boxes.
‘Hi there,’ Jim said with a smile as the two boys turned toward him with friendly smiles. ‘I’m Jim, Jim Kirk, I’m living next door.’ Jim indicated with his thumb which wall they shared.
‘Pavel Chekov, from Russia,’ Chekov said, pushing his curly hair away from his face and he smiled openly at Jim.
‘International student, awesome,’ Jim said, shaking his hand with a smile before turning to the other occupant.
‘I’m Sulu,’ Sulu said, reaching across his bed to shake Jim’s hand.
‘Nice to meet you guys,’ Jim said, casually looking around their room.
‘Who is your roommate?’ Sulu asked, taking some books out of a box by his desk.
‘Spock… I don’t know if that’s his last or first name,’ Jim said with a shrug, putting his hands in his pockets.
Sulu and Chekov exchanged a look. ‘He the one with the bowl cut?’ Sulu asked.
‘Yeah,’ Jim said.
‘He told us off earlier for leaving some of our boxes in the hallway. Apparently it’s a breach of fire safety rules or something,’ Sulu said, giving Jim a sympathetic look. ‘Bad luck, man.’
Jim shrugged. ‘You guys staying here this evening for the halls party?’ Jim asked, trying to ignore the stab of annoyance at getting put with the most annoying roommate on campus.
‘Yes, ve are,’ Chekov said. ‘I have Russian vodka.’
‘Awesome, I’ve got my math placement test tomorrow morning at 9am so I can’t really get too drunk tonight.’
Three hours later and Jim was drunk. He was so grateful to his new best friend Chekov for the alcohol that he’d walked up to random people and threw his arms around their shoulders, announcing loudly how much he loved Russia. Chekov just watched in amusement.
One girl happened to find his drunken worshipping of Russia vaguely endearing which is how he ended up lying on his bed, moaning loudly as the girl kissed his neck sloppily, both ignorant that the door to the room was wide open.
‘Oh wow, you live just under us,’ a female voice said before coughing pointedly and disapprovingly.
Jim stopped, his hands pulling the girl’s hands away from their place at his jeans zip and looked toward the door to see Spock standing behind a dark skinned girl, who he vaguely recognised from the languages society table.
‘Evening,’ Jim said, his voice slightly slurred as he sat up, affectively knocking the girl to the side. ‘Russia is awesome.’
‘Who are you?’ The girl next to Jim asked, watching them with disdain.
‘Nyota, and who must you be? I bet your parents are so proud that you’re settling in so easily at college,’ Nyota said bitchily, moving to the side as Spock walked in, barely making eye contact with Jim.
‘Excuse me? Where do you get off being rude to me when you interrupted us?’ the girl snapped as she pushed blonde hair behind her ear.
‘Now now, girls, there’s enough of me to go around,’ Jim said, lying back on his bed and putting his hands behind his head with a cocky smile.
Nyota pulled a face. ‘I don’t fancy having several STI screenings, thanks,’ she bit out.
Jim sat up, feeling offended. ‘You don’t know me,’ Jim said to Nyota as she rolled her eyes.
‘You’ve been hitting on every girl on campus today, including me, and on your first night you get drunk and end up in bed with some girl, who I’m sure you don’t know the name of.’
‘Hey, he knows my name,’ the girl said, turning to Jim with a pointed look.
Jim’s eyes widened and he took a beat to think. ‘Something beginning with a B?’
‘Asshole,’ the girl said, getting up and grabbing her purse before walking out of the room huffing. Nyota folded her arms across her chest and shot Jim a glare.
‘I don’t like you,’ Jim slurred, turning onto his stomach and nuzzling into his pillow, a line of drool falling from his mouth.
‘I’m hurt,’ Nyota said sarcastically, turning to Spock, who was sitting at his desk watching their interaction passively. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch.’
‘I look forward to it,’ Spock said with a nod of his head. Nyota gave Jim another disgusted look before turning and walking out, shutting the door behind her with a click.
Jim opened his eyes slightly. ‘Psst, is she gone?’
‘Yes,’ Spock replied, watching Jim.
‘You got a date with her? How’d ya manage that?’
‘It is not a date,’ Spock stated, averting his eyes as Jim stood up unsteadily and removed his top before awkwardly jumping out of his jeans.
‘You better bring your A game,’ Jim said, crawling under the covers as Spock looked back toward him.
‘I do not follow,’ Spock said. The only reply he got was a loud snore.
………….
‘Fuck, fuck, fuck,’ Jim moaned, pulling on his jeans haphazardly and smelling a t-shirt before throwing it on.
Spock stood at the door, about to leave. ‘You did not inform me you were also sitting a placement test.’
‘I do math, of course you did,’ Jim snapped, tying his shoes on quickly. ‘God, I feel like death.’
‘You were severely intoxicated last night,’ Spock informed him.
Jim shot him a glare. ‘Thanks, I hadn’t realised with the pounding headache and the constant nausea.’
‘I will depart,’ Spock said as Jim sprayed himself heavily with body spray.
‘Wait, I’ll walk with you,’ Jim said, frantically grabbing some pencils and a calculator.
They walked silently out of their residence and down toward the lecture theatres, Jim casting looks at Spock and feeling oddly guilty for behaving so badly in the brief time they’d known each other. He knew it would be best if he and Spock at least attempted to be friends if they were living together for the foreseeable future.
Jim inhaled and exhaled slowly. ‘I’m sorry I was such an asshole last night. I’m just trying to find my feet here,’ Jim said quietly as they walked into the entrance of the building where their tests were. ‘It was completely disrespectful of me to just bring a random girl into our room on the first night. I mean, they’ll be girls on other nights but I’ll always warn you. I’m sorry again.’
‘Apology accepted,’ Spock said, quirking his lips in a small smile as Jim looked toward him, feeling relief flood through him.
‘Good. I’d love us to try and be friends.’
Spock looked at him like he was trying to calculate an impossible equation before giving a quick nod. ‘I am open to that development.’
Jim grinned. ‘Ok, well, good luck,’ Jim said with a cheerful smile.
‘Luck is a useless term,’ Spock said, whirling around and heading down toward where his test was being held.
Jim just chuckled before heading into his own test room.
……….
‘How’d it go?’ Jim said, collapsing onto a chair at the table Spock and Nyota were having lunch at.
‘Kirk, go away,’ Nyota said with an annoyed sigh.
‘Oh, sorry, I know you’re on a date I just wanted to see how Spock did,’ Jim said, shooting an arrogant smile at Nyota. She responded with a glare.
‘It is not a date,’ Spock said emphatically and Jim couldn’t help the smug expression that flitted across his face when Nyota looked vaguely upset at that realization. ‘I found the test relatively simple and straightforward, and yours?’
‘Yeah, was pretty good. Easier than I expected.’
‘Great, now you can go,’ Nyota said, her eyes hard.
‘I would leave but as Spock said, it’s not a date so there’s no reason for me to leave. Unless Spock wants me to,’ Jim said, glancing at Spock and wondering if Spock was going to be an ass and tell him to leave.
‘I do not care,’ Spock said, biting into his sandwich. Jim shot Nyota a smug look and leant back in his seat, arms across his chest, feeling surprised that Spock didn’t tell him to go away.
McCoy suddenly appeared at Jim’s side, a bag of chips in his hand. ‘Jim, how was your test?’
‘Not bad, want to join us? This is Nyota by the way,’ Jim said with a grin. Nyota looked less than pleased that more people were joining their table, her hopes for actual alone time with Spock very quickly dwindling.
McCoy sat down, shaking her hand quickly.
Jim spotted more people and smirked. ‘Sulu, Chekov,’ Jim said loudly, catching their attention as they walked past with another guy in tow. ‘Join us?’
‘Sure,’ Sulu said with a shrug, sitting down. ‘This is Scotty by the way.’
‘Hey, I’m Jim, and this is Nyota, my roommate Spock and my friend Bones, although you can call him McCoy,’ Jim said, making introductions as various nods of acknowledgment were shared across the table. Nyota bit her lip in anger as Jim threw her a cocky smile.
‘So, Nyota, what are you studying?’ Scotty asked, barely glancing at anyone else.
‘I wouldn’t bother, she thought she was on a date,’ Jim said with a slightly malicious smile.
‘A date?’ McCoy asked, eyebrow raised.
‘With Spock,’ Jim said. Everyone turned to face Spock with varying looks of curiosity.
‘At no point did I suggest this was a date,’ Spock stated, shooting Jim an irritated look and completely ignorant that his statement had hurt Nyota.
‘Stop being an asshole, Kirk,’ Nyota said, getting up from the table with a loud huff. ‘I’ll see you later, Spock,’ she said, her tone becoming soft as she shot him a smile. Her face became hard as she looked at Jim before stalking off. Jim looked gleeful as he rocked back in his chair, feeling like operation: piss off Nyota had been a resounding success.
‘I like her,’ Scotty said with a smile. ‘Seems feisty.’
‘That’s one word for her,’ Jim said dryly.
‘I do not understand why you insist on bullying her,’ Spock said, his eyes focused in on Jim.
‘I wasn’t bullying her. I was just playing, that’s all.’
‘I doubt she took it so. Considering it is your second day at college, I would suggest leaving it until next week to make enemies,’ Spock said, standing up and giving a nod to the rest of the table before striding off.
‘He secretly loves me,’ Jim said arrogantly.
‘I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire,’ McCoy said, Sulu and Chekov letting out amused snorts. ‘Stop being such an asshole to everyone and make friends.’
‘I’m only being an asshole to Nyota because she was a bitch to me. All’s fair,’ Jim insisted.
McCoy turned to the rest of the table. ‘Ten bucks says Jim doesn’t last a month without being slapped.’
‘Slapped by Nyota or slapped by anyone?’ Scotty asked, already getting out his wallet.
‘Let’s make it interesting; just Nyota,’ McCoy said with a smile.
‘Two weeks,’ Scotty said, throwing in his cash.
‘I’ll take three weeks,’ Sulu said, hunting down his wallet. Jim just rolled his eyes, not at all bothered people he barely knew were already starting some kind of betting pool based on his behaviour.
‘What’s her deal anyway?’ Scotty asked, nodding his head in the direction Nyota had rushed off in.
‘Better question, why is she enamoured with that guy who speaks like he’s a computer?’ Sulu said.
‘Maybe she’s von of those girls who likes a challenge,’ Chekov said with a slight shrug.
‘I don’t know Spock that well at all but I get the feeling Nyota’s barking up the wrong tree. In fact, she’s not just barking up the wrong tree, she’s in the wrong field,’ Jim said as McCoy rolled his eyes. ‘I’m living with him, I’ll work out his deal pretty quickly but I’m almost positive Nyota is going to be disappointed.’
Chapter Two
Universe: AU
Rating: PG-13 for now (NC-17 later)
Relationship status: first time
Word count: 3719
Genre: romance, friendship
Trope: teen
Warning: Language, sexual situation, light bullying.
A/N: Something to note, because this is an AU set in this time period, Spock is not a Vulcan for obvious reasons, he’s just a bit weird.
Summary: Early 21st century college AU. Jim and Spock are freshmen and are put together as roommates.
Chapter One
Jim bent over, inhaling as much air as possible as he put down the two large boxes in his arms and adjusted the large duffle bag which was lying across his chest, slowing cutting off even more of his oxygen supply.
He took his key out, double checking the room number and pushed the key awkwardly into the lock. He threw a smile on his face, ready to meet his new roommate.
He pushed open the door warily and his eyes fixed on the figure at one of the desks. His new roommate turned around and their eyes met. Jim groaned.
30 minutes earlier
‘You cannot park there,’ a voice said as Jim got out of his car, a lamp in one hand.
‘Huh?’ Jim said, looking up to see a man, no older than himself, staring at him with dark eyes. Jim had to resist the urge to laugh at his ridiculous bowl haircut.
‘You are not allowed to park there,’ the man said again.
Jim frowned. ‘It says student parking, I’m a student,’ Jim said, pointing a thumb at his chest.
‘You are a freshman which means you have yet to apply for your parking permit.’
‘What are you? The parking police?’
‘I am merely pointing out that you will most probably be clamped if you remain parked here and considering the state of your car, I doubt you will be able to afford the fine.’
Jim snorted. ‘Fine, I’ll go move somewhere else.’
‘There is a visitor parking lot at the south end of campus,’ the man said, nodding his head in that direction.
‘I have all my stuff, can’t I unload it here and move the car later?’
‘That is against the rules and would also provide a hazardous environment and safety risk with all your… stuff lying on the curb,’ the man said distastefully.
Jim’s jaw tightened. ‘Fine, I’ll move. Whatever.’ Jim gave the man an annoyed scowl before throwing his lamp in the passenger seat and driving off.
Now
Jim stared at the ‘parking police’ in annoyance as he stared back, gaze unwavering.
‘What a lovely coincidence,’ Jim said sarcastically, eyes rolling as he dragged one of the boxes into his room with his foot.
‘I am Spock,’ Spock stated, not getting up from his chair.
Jim nodded his head. ‘I’m Jim. I was too busy ignoring and disobeying all the campus rules earlier to get your name,’ Jim said bitterly, wiping a bit of sweat off his forehead from his long trudge with all his stuff from the other end of campus.
Jim dumped his duffle bag onto his bed before heading back out to get the boxes he had left in the hall. ‘Thanks for helping by the way,’ Jim said sarcastically when he re-entered, taking his lamp out of box with a flourish and staring pointedly at Spock.
‘I do not understand,’ Spock replied, his eyes slightly confused.
‘Sarcasm? Heard of it?’
‘I have, although your execution of it was not very effective,’ Spock said, swivelling his chair back around to face the desk and away from Jim. Jim shot his back a glare.
Jim quickly unpacked as much stuff as possible, throwing things in his set of drawers without bothering to fold. Every now and again he’d catch Spock watching his actions critically and with disapproval, clearly not a fan of the Jim Kirk method of unpacking.
‘What you studying?’ Jim asked curiously as he sat down on the edge of his bed, noting all the large books on Spock’s desk, one open in front of him.
‘Physics, specializing in quantum electrodynamics and chaos theory,’ Spock replied, sounding ever so slightly smug.
Jim’s eyes went wide, reluctantly feeling impressed. ‘Wow. Sounds hard.’
‘Hard is relative to the person attempting it. For you, I am sure you would view it as hard. I, however, do not find it much of a struggle,’ Spock said, turning back to his open book.
Jim bit his lip to stop him from snapping at Spock and quickly got up, putting his duvet and pillows on his bed before putting on a fake grin and turning back to his roommate, determined not to be put down on his first day.
‘I’m studying statistical mathematics with minors in foreign languages and English,’ Jim said, even though Spock hadn’t asked.
Jim smiled as he saw Spock turn to look at him in surprise. ‘You do mathematics?’
‘I do. I’m pretty awesome,’ Jim said arrogantly, smiling at Spock confidently.
‘That is subject to interpretation,’ Spock said, a slight smile on his face like he was instantly more relaxed and calm knowing Jim wasn’t some dumb frat boy.
‘So, we should probably work out a few things,’ Jim said, getting Spock’s full attention as he swivelled to face Jim fully.
‘Indeed. For example, you will never, under any circumstances, touch my bed or any of my things. I will know if you have and I will report you.’
Jim blinked at how serious Spock was. ‘Fine, no touching of your things.’
‘And I will not accept any music or noise whilst I am studying. Also, I wish for lights out to be at 11 promptly every night.’
‘11pm? No music? You kidding?’ Jim said as Spock gazed back at him.
‘I am not kidding. I do not kid.’
‘Fine, well, if there’s a red tie around the door handle, you don’t come in.’
‘Why?’ Spock asked, eyes narrowing slightly. ‘What is it you wish to hide?’
‘Sex,’ Jim stated, eyebrow raised challengingly.
Spock shifted in his chair, looking uncomfortable. ‘You are sexually active?’
‘Yep, I’m 18 so I’m not breaking any laws,’ Jim said, feeling defensive as Spock stared at him, his face passive.
There was a knock on the door which broke their small staring contest and Jim got up, throwing open the door quickly.
‘Bones,’ Jim said loudly with a grin, throwing his arms around his friend and squeezing.
‘How you settling in, kid?’ McCoy said, pulling back and striding into his room, looking at the mess Jim had already created on his side of the room with bemusement.
‘Oh, Spock, this is my friend Leonard McCoy, he’s a third year medical student. We’ve known each other since we were kids,’ Jim explained as McCoy turned to look at Spock curiously.
‘Spock? Interesting name,’ McCoy said, smirking as he shared a teasing look with Jim.
‘He studies physics,’ Jim explained. Spock watched McCoy carefully, like he wasn’t overly fond of the new addition in his room.
‘Fancy,’ McCoy said snarkily, walking over to Jim and lowering his voice. ‘What’s his deal?’
‘Fuck knows,’ Jim said quietly back, aware Spock was still watching them.
‘Want me to show you around campus?’ McCoy said, his voice going back to normal level.
‘Of course, maybe you can show me where to apply for a car permit,’ Jim said, casting a look at Spock as he followed McCoy out.
…….
‘Jim,’ McCoy said, rolling his eyes as Jim introduced himself to the two girls representing the dance society, a large flirtatious grin on his face. ‘You hate dancing.’
Jim stepped away from the table and looked at McCoy. ‘I’m sure I could learn to like it,’ Jim said, casting another look at the girls, causing them to giggle.
‘You do realise college isn’t just one long opportunity to get laid, right?’ McCoy said, sounding doubtful.
Jim turned to him with mock shock. ‘Seriously? But that’s what the college entrance booklet told me.’
‘You’re hilarious,’ McCoy said, rolling his eyes.
Jim smiled, looking around at all the various tables representing various societies and groups. ‘I have to join something,’ Jim said, noticing the cheerleading table. ‘Can you see me as a cheerleader?’
‘I can see you inside a cheerleader,’ McCoy said irritably as Jim continued to look over at the girls with interest and a large smile.
‘Maybe I could join the celibacy club, I like a challenge,’ Jim said, squinting into the sun light.
‘Jim, college is serious and you’ve somehow managed to get onto a very prestigious course at a very good college so how about you respect that by, I don’t know, taking things seriously?’
‘Bones, I know I’m lucky but it doesn’t mean I can’t have fun.’
‘Why don’t you join the maths society then?’
Jim pulled a face. ‘I doubt there are hardly any hot girls in the maths society, Bones.’
McCoy raised a disapproving eyebrow. ‘Jim, you’ll be able to get laid without joining a club and so for that reason, you may as well pick something you actually enjoy or like doing.’
Jim nodded in agreement and looked around before slowly walking along the path, looking at the various societies on offer before spotting what he wanted. ‘Over there.’
McCoy followed Jim over to the table, looking surprised. ‘Chess club?’
‘I’m amazing at it,’ Jim said, taking the sign up sheet and smiling at the girl behind the table. He took a pen and looked at the sheet of paper. ‘Oh crap.’
‘What is it?’ McCoy said, looking over his shoulder.
‘Spock,’ Jim said, tapping the pen at the name at the very top of the list.
‘Think of it as a chance to get to know him,’ McCoy said as Jim quickly wrote in his name and details.
‘I don’t think I want to get to know him, he’s so… weird,’ Jim said, walking away from the chess club’s table.
‘Don’t be such a brat. You’ve spent less than 10 minutes in his company, he could end up being a good friend.’
‘Doubt it,’ Jim said, winking at a dark skinned girl signing up at the languages table. She shot him a glare.
………..
The rest of the afternoon was spent doing orientation which meant Jim suddenly had a lot of paper work he didn’t give a crap about and had met a lot of people who he forgot the names of promptly afterwards.
He had an early dinner with a few new friends from his course before sitting through various talks about campus life and how to get settled into the college lifestyle.
He got back to his dorm in the evening and noticed on his timetable that this was time they allocated for people to get to know everyone else in their residence halls and on their floor, so Jim went straight to the room next to his and knocked gently on the open door, noticing two boys unpacking boxes.
‘Hi there,’ Jim said with a smile as the two boys turned toward him with friendly smiles. ‘I’m Jim, Jim Kirk, I’m living next door.’ Jim indicated with his thumb which wall they shared.
‘Pavel Chekov, from Russia,’ Chekov said, pushing his curly hair away from his face and he smiled openly at Jim.
‘International student, awesome,’ Jim said, shaking his hand with a smile before turning to the other occupant.
‘I’m Sulu,’ Sulu said, reaching across his bed to shake Jim’s hand.
‘Nice to meet you guys,’ Jim said, casually looking around their room.
‘Who is your roommate?’ Sulu asked, taking some books out of a box by his desk.
‘Spock… I don’t know if that’s his last or first name,’ Jim said with a shrug, putting his hands in his pockets.
Sulu and Chekov exchanged a look. ‘He the one with the bowl cut?’ Sulu asked.
‘Yeah,’ Jim said.
‘He told us off earlier for leaving some of our boxes in the hallway. Apparently it’s a breach of fire safety rules or something,’ Sulu said, giving Jim a sympathetic look. ‘Bad luck, man.’
Jim shrugged. ‘You guys staying here this evening for the halls party?’ Jim asked, trying to ignore the stab of annoyance at getting put with the most annoying roommate on campus.
‘Yes, ve are,’ Chekov said. ‘I have Russian vodka.’
‘Awesome, I’ve got my math placement test tomorrow morning at 9am so I can’t really get too drunk tonight.’
Three hours later and Jim was drunk. He was so grateful to his new best friend Chekov for the alcohol that he’d walked up to random people and threw his arms around their shoulders, announcing loudly how much he loved Russia. Chekov just watched in amusement.
One girl happened to find his drunken worshipping of Russia vaguely endearing which is how he ended up lying on his bed, moaning loudly as the girl kissed his neck sloppily, both ignorant that the door to the room was wide open.
‘Oh wow, you live just under us,’ a female voice said before coughing pointedly and disapprovingly.
Jim stopped, his hands pulling the girl’s hands away from their place at his jeans zip and looked toward the door to see Spock standing behind a dark skinned girl, who he vaguely recognised from the languages society table.
‘Evening,’ Jim said, his voice slightly slurred as he sat up, affectively knocking the girl to the side. ‘Russia is awesome.’
‘Who are you?’ The girl next to Jim asked, watching them with disdain.
‘Nyota, and who must you be? I bet your parents are so proud that you’re settling in so easily at college,’ Nyota said bitchily, moving to the side as Spock walked in, barely making eye contact with Jim.
‘Excuse me? Where do you get off being rude to me when you interrupted us?’ the girl snapped as she pushed blonde hair behind her ear.
‘Now now, girls, there’s enough of me to go around,’ Jim said, lying back on his bed and putting his hands behind his head with a cocky smile.
Nyota pulled a face. ‘I don’t fancy having several STI screenings, thanks,’ she bit out.
Jim sat up, feeling offended. ‘You don’t know me,’ Jim said to Nyota as she rolled her eyes.
‘You’ve been hitting on every girl on campus today, including me, and on your first night you get drunk and end up in bed with some girl, who I’m sure you don’t know the name of.’
‘Hey, he knows my name,’ the girl said, turning to Jim with a pointed look.
Jim’s eyes widened and he took a beat to think. ‘Something beginning with a B?’
‘Asshole,’ the girl said, getting up and grabbing her purse before walking out of the room huffing. Nyota folded her arms across her chest and shot Jim a glare.
‘I don’t like you,’ Jim slurred, turning onto his stomach and nuzzling into his pillow, a line of drool falling from his mouth.
‘I’m hurt,’ Nyota said sarcastically, turning to Spock, who was sitting at his desk watching their interaction passively. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch.’
‘I look forward to it,’ Spock said with a nod of his head. Nyota gave Jim another disgusted look before turning and walking out, shutting the door behind her with a click.
Jim opened his eyes slightly. ‘Psst, is she gone?’
‘Yes,’ Spock replied, watching Jim.
‘You got a date with her? How’d ya manage that?’
‘It is not a date,’ Spock stated, averting his eyes as Jim stood up unsteadily and removed his top before awkwardly jumping out of his jeans.
‘You better bring your A game,’ Jim said, crawling under the covers as Spock looked back toward him.
‘I do not follow,’ Spock said. The only reply he got was a loud snore.
………….
‘Fuck, fuck, fuck,’ Jim moaned, pulling on his jeans haphazardly and smelling a t-shirt before throwing it on.
Spock stood at the door, about to leave. ‘You did not inform me you were also sitting a placement test.’
‘I do math, of course you did,’ Jim snapped, tying his shoes on quickly. ‘God, I feel like death.’
‘You were severely intoxicated last night,’ Spock informed him.
Jim shot him a glare. ‘Thanks, I hadn’t realised with the pounding headache and the constant nausea.’
‘I will depart,’ Spock said as Jim sprayed himself heavily with body spray.
‘Wait, I’ll walk with you,’ Jim said, frantically grabbing some pencils and a calculator.
They walked silently out of their residence and down toward the lecture theatres, Jim casting looks at Spock and feeling oddly guilty for behaving so badly in the brief time they’d known each other. He knew it would be best if he and Spock at least attempted to be friends if they were living together for the foreseeable future.
Jim inhaled and exhaled slowly. ‘I’m sorry I was such an asshole last night. I’m just trying to find my feet here,’ Jim said quietly as they walked into the entrance of the building where their tests were. ‘It was completely disrespectful of me to just bring a random girl into our room on the first night. I mean, they’ll be girls on other nights but I’ll always warn you. I’m sorry again.’
‘Apology accepted,’ Spock said, quirking his lips in a small smile as Jim looked toward him, feeling relief flood through him.
‘Good. I’d love us to try and be friends.’
Spock looked at him like he was trying to calculate an impossible equation before giving a quick nod. ‘I am open to that development.’
Jim grinned. ‘Ok, well, good luck,’ Jim said with a cheerful smile.
‘Luck is a useless term,’ Spock said, whirling around and heading down toward where his test was being held.
Jim just chuckled before heading into his own test room.
……….
‘How’d it go?’ Jim said, collapsing onto a chair at the table Spock and Nyota were having lunch at.
‘Kirk, go away,’ Nyota said with an annoyed sigh.
‘Oh, sorry, I know you’re on a date I just wanted to see how Spock did,’ Jim said, shooting an arrogant smile at Nyota. She responded with a glare.
‘It is not a date,’ Spock said emphatically and Jim couldn’t help the smug expression that flitted across his face when Nyota looked vaguely upset at that realization. ‘I found the test relatively simple and straightforward, and yours?’
‘Yeah, was pretty good. Easier than I expected.’
‘Great, now you can go,’ Nyota said, her eyes hard.
‘I would leave but as Spock said, it’s not a date so there’s no reason for me to leave. Unless Spock wants me to,’ Jim said, glancing at Spock and wondering if Spock was going to be an ass and tell him to leave.
‘I do not care,’ Spock said, biting into his sandwich. Jim shot Nyota a smug look and leant back in his seat, arms across his chest, feeling surprised that Spock didn’t tell him to go away.
McCoy suddenly appeared at Jim’s side, a bag of chips in his hand. ‘Jim, how was your test?’
‘Not bad, want to join us? This is Nyota by the way,’ Jim said with a grin. Nyota looked less than pleased that more people were joining their table, her hopes for actual alone time with Spock very quickly dwindling.
McCoy sat down, shaking her hand quickly.
Jim spotted more people and smirked. ‘Sulu, Chekov,’ Jim said loudly, catching their attention as they walked past with another guy in tow. ‘Join us?’
‘Sure,’ Sulu said with a shrug, sitting down. ‘This is Scotty by the way.’
‘Hey, I’m Jim, and this is Nyota, my roommate Spock and my friend Bones, although you can call him McCoy,’ Jim said, making introductions as various nods of acknowledgment were shared across the table. Nyota bit her lip in anger as Jim threw her a cocky smile.
‘So, Nyota, what are you studying?’ Scotty asked, barely glancing at anyone else.
‘I wouldn’t bother, she thought she was on a date,’ Jim said with a slightly malicious smile.
‘A date?’ McCoy asked, eyebrow raised.
‘With Spock,’ Jim said. Everyone turned to face Spock with varying looks of curiosity.
‘At no point did I suggest this was a date,’ Spock stated, shooting Jim an irritated look and completely ignorant that his statement had hurt Nyota.
‘Stop being an asshole, Kirk,’ Nyota said, getting up from the table with a loud huff. ‘I’ll see you later, Spock,’ she said, her tone becoming soft as she shot him a smile. Her face became hard as she looked at Jim before stalking off. Jim looked gleeful as he rocked back in his chair, feeling like operation: piss off Nyota had been a resounding success.
‘I like her,’ Scotty said with a smile. ‘Seems feisty.’
‘That’s one word for her,’ Jim said dryly.
‘I do not understand why you insist on bullying her,’ Spock said, his eyes focused in on Jim.
‘I wasn’t bullying her. I was just playing, that’s all.’
‘I doubt she took it so. Considering it is your second day at college, I would suggest leaving it until next week to make enemies,’ Spock said, standing up and giving a nod to the rest of the table before striding off.
‘He secretly loves me,’ Jim said arrogantly.
‘I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire,’ McCoy said, Sulu and Chekov letting out amused snorts. ‘Stop being such an asshole to everyone and make friends.’
‘I’m only being an asshole to Nyota because she was a bitch to me. All’s fair,’ Jim insisted.
McCoy turned to the rest of the table. ‘Ten bucks says Jim doesn’t last a month without being slapped.’
‘Slapped by Nyota or slapped by anyone?’ Scotty asked, already getting out his wallet.
‘Let’s make it interesting; just Nyota,’ McCoy said with a smile.
‘Two weeks,’ Scotty said, throwing in his cash.
‘I’ll take three weeks,’ Sulu said, hunting down his wallet. Jim just rolled his eyes, not at all bothered people he barely knew were already starting some kind of betting pool based on his behaviour.
‘What’s her deal anyway?’ Scotty asked, nodding his head in the direction Nyota had rushed off in.
‘Better question, why is she enamoured with that guy who speaks like he’s a computer?’ Sulu said.
‘Maybe she’s von of those girls who likes a challenge,’ Chekov said with a slight shrug.
‘I don’t know Spock that well at all but I get the feeling Nyota’s barking up the wrong tree. In fact, she’s not just barking up the wrong tree, she’s in the wrong field,’ Jim said as McCoy rolled his eyes. ‘I’m living with him, I’ll work out his deal pretty quickly but I’m almost positive Nyota is going to be disappointed.’
Chapter Two