Notes: Right, so, I have literally no idea what I'm doing. This is my first attempt at writing fanfic, my first time posting it, and the first story I've written for this movie. Feedback would be fantastic, and if I'm doing anything wrong, please feel free to point it out. Enjoy the story!
The smooth rumble of the engine sounded like a purr of content, and the wind tasted like the freedom he desired. The roar in his ears drowned out thoughts of Sam and Frank. The sound of police sirens pushed more adrenaline into his veins and instead of stopping as most would when faced with thoughts of tickets and fines, he floored the gas pedal. Faster, faster, faster, until everything except his fingers gripping the wheel became a blur. Contrary to what people will attempt to tell you, James T Kirk had thought his plan through. He knew the dangers, knew the consequences, and he knew how to hotwire a car. The only part he was unsure of was his ending destination. The car would go off the edge, sure, but would he go with it?
The sound of the siren became louder as the police droid caught up, but the sight of the cliff in front of him drove all thoughts of authority out of his mind. Frank couldn't sell his father's car, he just couldn't. He didn't deserve to rest his beady eyes on the car, much less touch it. James would rather destroy the car then let it go to someone else so that Frank could pay for more beer and cigarettes. Ironically enough, that was exactly what he was doing.
There it was, looming in front of him. This was his chance, James thought, his chance to fly. His chance to leave everything behind-a stepfather who didn't want anything to do with him, a mother who couldn't look him in the eye, and memories a brother who had decided that even Jimmy wasn't enough to stay. This was his chance to get out. James didn't have much of a self-preservation instinct, but this...well, the feeling itself wasn't new, but the opportunity to go through with it was. Adrenaline flooded James's veins. He really could just let himself fall. There was no one left to miss him. That would be giving up, though, and Sam had told him that, no matter what Winona (not mother, Winona was not, nor would she ever be, Mother) said, Kirk's weren't cowards. He had drilled rules into James' head-to never back down from a challenge, to hold up a reputation, to always carry a knife in his shoe. James couldn't just push all that away. He had, true to Sam's rules, never backed down from a dare. So James dared himself to live longer than his father, to show the world, no, the universe, that the Kirk name meant more than just a man who had died twelve minutes after becoming captain to save his crew.
James hit the brakes and jumped as the tires squealed and the car went sideways off the cliff.. His chest hit the side of the cliff, his waist banged hard against the rocky wall, and his hands scrambled for a hold on the jagged ground. The police droid stopped just feet before the cliff, and James beamed up at him.
This was going to be fun.
...This wasn't fun.
`The judge had tried aimlessly to convince James that he wasn't in his right mind, that he was just a desperate young boy trying for attention, but James wasn't having it. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he told them such. No, he wasn't traumatized. No, he didn't just want attention. No, it wasn't because he missed his mother (not to say he didn't miss Winona from time to time, but they didn't need to know that.) James knew exactly how far a clean change of cloths and a "please" could go. He knew how to widen his eyes to seem younger and more innocent. He knew how to plead, how to cry on demand (and make it look convincing) and how to lie. He knew how to read people-who wanted to fit him into a mold, who wanted something from him, who wanted to get rid of him, who would be convinced with bright blue eyes and a whimper. He knew who was going to throw a punch, who was going to try to keep him down, and when people had decided that he wasn't worth the effort. Sam had taught him the basics, but even though Sam was four years older then him, James's manipulation and reading skills far surpassed his own. (well, he didn't know anymore-it had been quite a while since he heard from Sam (push that thought down, make the memories go away, now was not the time or place for self-pity.))
As stated above, though, James wasn't having fun. He was bored out of his mind, which wasn't uncommon, but these past few years he didn't even have the promise of Sam to distract him. James quickly pushed that thought to the back of his mind, wrapping it in chains and shoving it into a box with the rest of the "Sam" memories., Now wasn't the time to deal with regrets.
Frank had defended himself against all accusations, and since they only had James' words to go on, he didn't face any charges. James refused to go back with him, though, and evidence forced the authorities to decide that Frank was indeed an unfit guardian for James. They were going to send him off with some uncle he had never heard of, a brother of his mother who lived in a colony on Tarsus iv. James couldn't decide if it would be worse to stay in Iowa or go off-planet; he knew this town, this city, this planet, and he knew how to deal with his stepfather. His Aunt and uncle lived on an entirely different planet, and that would take some getting used to. But one of James' most prominent abilities was that to adapt, so he figured it would be okay. On the other hand, going off planet would mean getting away from Frank, which was definitely a plus. Besides, it didn't seem like James had much of a choice. They were going to send him off weather he liked it or not.
James found himself sitting in his and Sam's room (no, just his room now-push that thought back down, lock it up, throw away the key) with his backpack on his shoulder. The bag hadn't been used for school for a while, as James was ten now, and he had already finished high school and was working on several degrees in an online college.
The colony his aunt and uncle lived in frowned on electronic devices of any kind, but all the wires, gears, Padds, old phones, communicators, and other "building materials" that James had collected over the years (which was quite a lot) remained stashed in his bag. James didn't have much-unlike his brother, he didn't take comfort in physical objects, and the only things he really owned were useful. So all his clothes, toiletries, and other belongings fit nicely into his backpack. Even his blanket (Sam and him only had one thin blanket between them, they took turns when it was warm and shared it in the winter-no, lock and key, lock and key, push it down to the back of his mind) fit into the bag. He finished well before the sun was up, ready for the long trek to the station. Frank wouldn't take him, he knew, so that left it up to him to get there on time. Most people would have found the bag heavy, far too heavy to walk five miles in a light drizzle, but James had been taking care of himself since he was old enough to walk. It wasn't the first time he had pulled stuff like this. The bag felt completely natural on his bruised shoulders, packed with things as it was, since James often packed it up and pretended he was going somewhere far away, when really he was just going out to explore and find a place to set up camp for a while.
Set up camp for a while-that was exactly what this. Who said he had to stay? No one, that's who. The only people who had the authority to tell James what to do were gone. Once he could pass for eighteen, James could leave Tarsus iv and, heck, Earth too in the dust. James could explore the entire universe with nothing to tie him down and just enough credits for necessities.
Well, now was his chance, he supposed. He was really leaving, entering space for the first time since he was three and had stowed away with his mother when she left earth for the first time since he was born. This was going to be interesting.