It's been about three days now

Since I've been aground

No longer overwhelmed and it seems so simple now

It's funny when things change so much

It's all state of mind

- Pearl Jam

Spock wasn't like the others, who would lean against their lockers and pretend to be cool. They all failed miserably, in his opinion. Not only did they try too hard, but they looked uncomfortable and most of them looked like they just wanted to cry. It wasn't his problem; he had enough to deal with. Instead of his usual graceful stride, head bowed down to avoid the glares of his classmates; he was scanning around the hallways, for any possible future escape room and because he knew they absolutely hated his eyes. They called them beady; like he knows more about you then you do, always watching quietly. They compared him to a snake, hunting his prey, lurking in the shadows until the right time to strike. In reality, Spock was like a lamb- small, weak and vulnerable.

Not many knew who Spock was, but they certainly knew his family. It's not every day that the mayor of the city marries a girl from the slums, but it happened and now Spock is the one receiving the abuse. They called him dirty, accusing his mother of marrying his father, Sarek, only for the money. Spock mostly took these insults with grace, biting his lip to prevent crying or worse, to lash out and harm anyone. His mother, Amanda, insisted that he get as involved with the after school activities as much as he could, but he couldn't bring himself to join anything other than the school band. At least there, he was semi accepted, even if it was only a few students and the teacher who didn't think lowly of him. That was more than Spock had ever been able to acquire, and he took it gratefully, not wanting to lose them. Sometimes when Spock is having a bad enough day, he'll stay after class to talk to the teacher, Leonard McCoy, commonly called Bones by his students and some other teachers, much to his annoyance. On the outside, he has a gruff appearance, but everyone knows he's actually one of the most accepting people to be forced into this hell hole with them.

As Spock was turning the corner, he was looking at the wild flowers that grew in the small garden the school insisted on having. Spock liked that place; he would go there to do homework or to read a new book. Most people didn't go out there, besides the custodian, because it was overgrown with weeds and had no place to sit but the dirt and mulch. Spock commonly chose the far side wall, resting against the bricks, but sometimes when he thought no one was looking, he would pick the weeds one-by-one, and pick a flower off to bring home to his mother. No one could yell at him or tell him to stop, because they adored Amanda, they admired her intelligence levels, and she was often seen walking around with the flowers Spock picked tucked in her ear, making her more beautiful and radiant than she already was. Getting lost in the memories of how the night of one particular deadly storm, he snuck in to cover the flowers with a tarp, getting himself drenched and sick with a fever, but the garden had been saved, much to the delight of his mother, he didn't notice the snickering, sneering faces of the kids to the right of him. Before he knew what was happening, he was falling into someone.

Spock opened his mouth to cry out in shock, landing half on top of someone. No, not just someone, but Jim Kirk. James Tiberius Kirk, captain and star of the football team, rumored to be with the cheerleader captain, Nyota Uhura. The Jim whose mother is on the school administration; resulting in many jealous teenage boys accusing Jim of getting his athlete position for that sole purpose, and not because he had real talent. Spock has seen Jim play, hiding behind the bleachers, and what he has is pure talent and drive. Shaking himself back to reality, he peeled himself off, dusted the front of his jeans, and fixed the glasses on the bridge of his nose that refused to stay in place. Glancing under his lashes, Spock felt his breath hitch. God, Jim, he had a dumbfounded expression, like he didn't know what had just happened. Giving him a quick once over, he was pleased to see the leather varsity jacket he never seemed to take off, with a tight white shirt underneath and pants that refused to be held up, revealing the thin line of pale skin and a hipbone. Instead of helping him up like a normal person, he coughed and raised an eyebrow. That seemed to break Jim of his trance, because he turned a deep scarlet and scrambled up. Spock watched as Jim extended a hand towards him, and he internally freaked out, thinking he was going to hurt him for the accident just now. Instead, Jim fixed Spock's collar that had folded up when he fell. Jim flashed one of his famous smiles, the one that he gave to strangers and friends alike, the one that Spock swore was brighter than the sun itself.

"Are you alright?" Jim pondered, leaning his head back to get a better view of Spock. The tips of Spock's ears turned darker; if he dared to look up he would catch Jim checking him out. Spock was nothing special, at least in his mind he wasn't. Just his usual leather boots, pants that were a bit too tight, with his usual cardigans and lame glasses that refused to sit still.

"I am fine." Spock replied coldly, still refusing to look upwards. Jim frowned slightly, and Spock's heart ached, knowing he was the one to place it there.

"At least look at me so I can apologize correctly."

At this, Spock's head snapped up, unsure of what he just heard. "I'm sorry?"

Jim smirked and reached to pat Spock's head, "I said, I'm sorry for running into you. I should have looked where I was going."

Spock swatted Jim's hand away in annoyance, nearly glaring at him, "You are forgiven. Now, if you excuse me, I must get to class before I am late."

He was already moving when Jim stepped in front of him again, "Let me take you!" Jim looked like an over excited child on Christmas morning, ripping open a stack of presents, to discover he got exactly what he had asked for. Spock had to look away, his heart yearned to say yes, but he knew better.

"I assure you I can get there in one piece." With that, Spock swiftly walked away, his back ramrod straight. Spock could feel Jim's eyes on his back, and he almost turned around to wave him over, but held his determination and continued on his way.