"I'm…Jim Kirk," he said with a bashful smile.

In most situations, Felicity was quick to think on her feet. Especially, when it came to class discussions. As a matter of fact, right now, Felicity wished she was in a classroom. Preferably, a History class. In that History class, the instructor would ask Felicity a question about seventeenth century English colonization such as "What was the first permanent settlement established by the English in 1607?"And, Felicity would instantly respond by saying "The first permanent English settlement was 'James's Fort' which is more famously known as Jamestown named after King James I of England." Then Felicity would receive a nod of approval from her instructor and allow Felicity to make herself comfortable in her seat as she listened to her instructor's lecture on English colonization for the rest of the class.

However, Felicity wasn't in a classroom setting and no amount of wishing was going to change that. As a matter of fact, Felicity was instead standing in front of a half-naked James T. Kirk. And so, comparatively, Felicity was unable to think on her feet as her mind wasn't exactly in the right place to start a conversation. And, she wasn't necessarily able to grant Kirk an intelligent reply. Nevertheless, Felicity needed to speak or else an uncomfortable silence would linger between a half-naked Kirk and a fully clothed Felicity. Felicity needed to say something. She needed to say anything!

"Hi…" Felicity croaked out with her eyes cast to the carpet.

Well...anything except that. She found that her throat was unexpectedly dry.

In consequence, the uncomfortable atmosphere Felicity had hoped to avoid settled into her dorm room with ease. The silence settled in with so much ease that it had practically made friends with the steam that escaped the bathroom and the distinct sound of water that leaked from the showerhead. In this moment, Felicity attempted to keep her eyes cast to the floor, pretending that Kirk had more than a towel wrapped around his waist. She also attempted to ignore the fact that beads of water dripped down Kirk's bare chest and pooled at his waistline. Again, she was doing her best to ignore how under dressed James T. Kirk was. But, it seemed that 'pretending' and 'ignoring' wasn't going very well for either of them.

"Um…" Jim said, biting his upper lip. "I'm just…going to get…dressed."

"That sounds like a good idea," Felicity said, nodding her head more than quickly enough.

With that, Jim quickly collected his clothing off the floor and returned to the safe haven that was the bathroom. When the bathroom door closed, Felicity released the breath she had subconsciously held in for the entire time. She then began to pace in the small space of her room to collect her thoughts. He was here. James Tiberius Kirk was actually here at Star Fleet Academy. Kirk did arrive at the shuttle. Her father was right. His faith wasn't misplaced. It was in the right place all along. And, Felicity was wrong. No wonder her father was so happy on the shuttle when they arrived at Star Fleet. He must have seen Kirk enter the shuttle prior to takeoff. And, her father didn't tell her. Dad, how could you not tell me?!

Now, as luck would have it, the famous "Genius-level-repeat-offender" had appeared half naked in her dorm room. Of course, the reason Kirk appeared half-naked was because he used Felicity's shower to clean himself off after sleeping with her roommate. Seriously Ariel, Felicity thought. Out of all the guys for you to take back to our room and sleep with- did it really have to be him? Did it really have to be James Tiberius Kirk of all people? Felicity began to believe that the Greek Goddesses of Fate certainly had a cruel sense of humor. The Fates managed to make Felicity surprised, embarrassed, and relieved all at the same time. Plus, they managed to make Felicity feel flustered. And, Felicity did not like to be flustered. Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos were probably laughing hysterically at Felicity right now. They proved to Felicity that Kirk's mugshot didn't lie about his appearance. He had dirty blonde hair, blue eyes and a promiscuous smile. Felicity mindlessly gripped her locket, if anything the mugshot undermined his appearance. Felicity wasn't wrong about Kirk being a pretty boy. And, Kirk was certainly aware that he was. How else did he manage to sleep with a girl his first night on campus? He must have put his charm to good use, Felicity decided.

After rummaging through her thoughts, Felicity stopped her pacing and rested herself on her bed. Perhaps now, she'd be able to speak in more coherent sentences when Kirk exited the bathroom. Hopefully, it would be much easier for both of them to speak to one another. Certainly, things would be easier for Felicity.

In due time, Kirk emerged from the bathroom for the second time that night. Fortuitously, Kirk was fully dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. Felicity bit the inside of her cheek, she hadn't yet figured out what to say to him. He swiftly took a seat on the ruffled mess of Ariel's bed. He sat in parallel to where Felicity sat on her own bed. He collected his boots and proceeded to put them on in his feet. From where she sat, Felicity could see the bruises he earned from the night before in Riverside, Iowa. His face must still be sensitive, Felicity thought.

"Does it hurt?" Felicity asked him.

"Does what hurt?" he said glancing at her as he tied the laces of his boots.

"Your bruises," Felicity gestured to his face. "You must have taken a beating."

All though Felicity knew some of the details of what took place the night before, she figured playing dumb about what happened in Iowa could work to her benefit. And, besides Kirk didn't know what she knew. And, most importantly, he didn't know who her father was. Speaking of which, Felicity had no plans to let her father know that she saw Kirk half-naked. Even though, she was a grown women her father was still very protective of her, especially when it came to boys.

"They're that noticeable, huh?" Kirk said, bringing his hand to his cheek.

"Not too much," Felicity replied honestly.

"They aren't too bad," he said next. "I've gotten much worse. And, I'll probably get much worse in the future," he gave a small chuckle.

Felicity could only imagine what he went through in the past to get himself physically bruised. His record was filled with offenses. There was no doubt in Felicity's mind his offenses earned him some harsh bruises. "And, if you think I'm in a terrible state. You should see the other guys."

Felicity remembered the three cadets on the shuttle with bruised faces of their own. She also remembered, specifically, the cadet with the bruised knuckles that "flirted" with her in the ship yard. Felicity had definitely seen the "other guys" and she didn't really want to see them again. Regardless of the jokes he made, Felicity knew he was hiding the pain he felt. It was all an act, she could tell.

"Are you planning to be a History major?" Kirk suddenly asked.

The question, Felicity thought, seemed to come from out of the blue. "What makes you ask that?"

"There's a copy of Edith Hamilton's Mythology on your bed," he began. "It's usually history majors that have texts on Ancient Civilizations."

Felicity turned to the book she had gotten from the library. It looked as if Felicity had placed the book on her bed before getting distracted by the mess in her dorm room. She should have expected that he was observant.

"I'm not exactly sure," Felicity said in good conscience. "I'm fascinated by the subject, but I have yet to decide if it's something that I want to major in for a military career. I mean what Captain really wants to have a Historian on a Starship? As far as I know, most Captains think that historians take up space."

"I wouldn't mind."

Felicity raised an eyebrow at him, "You wouldn't mind?"

"Yeah, I say the more the merrier. Especially if the Historian just happens to be a cute little brunette," he said with a twinkle in his eye. He was clearly talking about her.

Before Felicity could process what Kirk had just expressed, he took several steps towards her. Knots started to form in her stomach. His eyes were a lot bluer up close. She clutched her necklace again. She was beginning to lose her composure.

"You don't mind if I get that back do you?" Kirk inquired, tilting his head towards Felicity's hands.

Felicity awoke from her trance and followed his gaze to the black leather jacket she forgot was in her grasp. "Oh…Sorry," she handed the leather over to him. Her fingers brushed against his in the exchange. Briefly, she felt a tingling sensation pass to her fingertips.

"So, I didn't catch your name," Kirk spoke, not removing his eyes away from Felicity.

Felicity knitted her eyebrows together at Kirk's words, "Really?" She thought she had given him her name. But, he was right, she hadn't. In all the confusion, Felicity hadn't thought to do so.

"It's-"

But just as Felicity was about to answer him, the sound of a door opening caused both of them to shift their attention away from their conversation and to the perpetrator of the sound.

"I think we can go for one more round before my roommate comes back-" said Felicity's redheaded roommate Ariel. She strolled into the room dressed in shorts and a tank top with bottles of alcohol locked in her arms.

"Oh," Ariel said, realizing her plans would have to change from the sight of her roommate. "Hi…you're back."

"Yeah, I am," Felicity said with folded arms and a tight lip.

"That's my cue to leave," Kirk said rapidly, making sure to hurry out.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" Ariel asked, trying to salvage what was left of her intimate night with Kirk.

"Sorry," he said as he stood in the threshold, slipping his arms into his jacket. "I don't think your roommate will like that very much."

Unexpectedly, Kirk winked at Felicity in spite of Ariel's close proximity to him. Luckily, Ariel hadn't noticed Kirk's wink or Felicity's small smile in response.

"Aww," Ariel said with disappointment in her voice. "Message me, when you want to meet up again."

"Right… Kirk said hesitantly as if he needed to think about the concept before exiting out the door.

It was obvious to Felicity that Kirk had no intention of calling Ariel back. But, Ariel didn't seem to realize it. When the door closed, Ariel sighed to herself as if she had just had the most romantic night of her life. Too bad the feeling didn't seem to be reciprocated by Kirk. Ariel jumped face first onto the cluttered sheets of her bed.

Ariel turned her face in Felicity's direction hugging a pillow to her chest, "Isn't he hot?"

Yes-I mean-no! Felicity confusingly thought before putting on her most serious face, "Ariel, we need to talk."