Beep... Beep…Beep

"Good morning to you too," Felicity drowsily replied to her alarm clock as it went off on her bedside table. Felicity briskly turned it off, remembering that she was sharing her room with someone else. Felicity looked across the room to see if she disturbed Ariel. From the sight of Ariel lying on her bed with her limbs spread, eyes closed and mouth open, it looked like Felicity hadn't disturbed Ariel at all. The snores that escaped Ariel's mouth also proved to be a sign that she was definitely undisturbed by Felicity's alarm. Felicity laughed quietly to herself, the way Ariel looked was almost comical. After stretching her arms and legs, Felicity got out from under her blue covers and made her way to the bathroom. It was time for Felicity to get ready for the school day. She made sure to pick up her datapad on the way over to see if she received any messages while she slept.

When Felicity entered the bathroom, she immediately winced due to the lights that flashed on in response to her presence. Felicity put her tablet to the side as she reached for the handles to the sink. She kept her eyelids partly shut as she let the warm water run out of the faucet. She still wasn't used to the bright light. Next, Felicity slipped her hands under the warm water and splashed her face to awaken her senses. Within seconds, she was able to open her eyes fully. She was met with the image of herself wearing her loose fitted red pajamas and her brown hair in a tousled mess. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in regards to her appearance, Felicity deducted. Her brown eyes also seemed healthy as they were not bloodshot the way they would be from a lack of sleep. Everything looks fine, Felicity thought. She had managed to get a good night's rest. She then reached for her toothbrush with toothpaste in hand and began to brush her teeth.

Just like anyone else, Felicity had a morning ritual. This was the way Felicity started her day. It was her morning routine. But, today's ritual was somewhat different than most days. There was still the lingering memory of what took place the night before.

Yes, Felicity had a lengthy discussion with her roommate regarding bringing guys back to the room. And, yes, Felicity still hadn't forgotten about the person that coincidently slept with her roommate, used her shower, and introduced himself to her despite his half-naked state. Felicity cringed at the thought of Ariel having sex in her dorm room. She tried to shake the thought of it out of her mind. Yes, Felicity hadn't forgotten. And, something told her she would never forget. To her dismay, the event was practically on replay in her mind. The replay made Felicity think in hindsight about the actions she should have taken and the words she should have said. But, most importantly, she was replaying what he had said to her.

"Especially if the historian just happens to be a cute little brunette."

Felicity paused at brushing her teeth. Felicity was dissecting his statement, specifically the part of his statement where he called her "cute". Kirk had called her "cute". He said it without effort. So effortlessly it amazed her. It was practically skillful. And, that surprised her. It took her off guard. He must use that line a lot, Felicity guessed. That was the only explanation. But, even so, he had managed to brush off his statement as if it wasn't a big deal. Rather, his statement quickly turned into an understatement as his attention moved quickly to his leather jacket. The leather jacket that just so happened to be in Felicity's hands. It doesn't mean anything, Felicity tried to convince herself. Just like him sleeping with Ariel didn't mean anything.

Felicity then spat into the sink and washed her mouth clean of the minty paste. As she dried her lips with a spare towel, she couldn't help but look at herself in the mirror again. What did he mean by "cute" anyways? Felicity pondered. Babies were cute. Dogs were cute. Admiral Archer's prized beagle was cute. And, Felicity sure as hell knew she wasn't a baby or a dog. What could possibly be "cute" about her? What could it be? Felicity turned her face from side to side, examining the features of her appearance. Felicity traced the shape of her nose, her cheeks, her jaw, and her neck. She then ran her fingers in the tousled brown locks of her bed-head. Next, she put her face closer to the mirror, seeing the brown irises of her eyes. As a young girl, Felicity remembered being very critical of her brown hair that seemed to get tangled way too easily. She had to keep her hair tied in various ways because of it. Over the years, she had her hair in pigtails, pony tails and buns due to how unmanageable her hair was. Growing up, Felicity also didn't particularly care much for her brown eyes as the rest of her classmates had either blue eyes or green eyes. She was usually jealous of how their eyes seemed to sparkle in the sunlight whereas her's didn't seem to at all. One classmate in particular Felicity was jealous of was Carol Marcus. Carol was Felicity's childhood friend. They were introduced to one another since both of their fathers were aiming to be prestigious Starfleet officers. Their childhood was somewhat similar as they both had absentee fathers, so it made sense for them to have playdates with one another. Felicity realized she hadn't seen Carol in years since she went away to boarding school in London, England. As Carol was kind, Felicity wondered how she was getting along wherever she was. To Felicity, Carol was the girl everyone seemed to be attracted to because of her blonde hair, blue eyes and magnetic personality. Her hair was perfectly straight whereas Felicity's was either wavy or curly. Felicity's eyes were also a lot darker compared to Carol's.

Felicity let out a breath, if there was anything attractive about herself she couldn't see it. And, if there just happened to be anything that was "cute" about her, Felicity definitely didn't see it. A shine of light was suddenly reflected in the bathroom mirror. It belonged to Felicity's necklace or what Felicity still felt was still very much her mother's necklace. That's right, Felicity recognized. I get my looks from you, Mom. And you were the prettiest lady in the whole wide world. Felicity gave a faint smile. I shouldn't be too hard on myself because if I do that means I'm being hard on you too. What kind of daughter does that make me?

Without warning, her stomach began to growl. Felicity shifted her hand to her abdomen, hoping the action would ease her hunger. Felicity sighed, during orientation yesterday the faculty had stated that the mess hall wouldn't be open for another day due to renovations. She wasn't sure where she would be eating breakfast this morning. Or maybe…she wouldn't be getting any breakfast at all. She'd have no choice but to go to class hungry in a couple of hours. Disappointment washed over her, she wanted food. Preferably, chocolate chip pancakes. It looked like she would have to make do without food.

To take her mind off her hunger, she moved on to brush the knots out of her hair. At the same moment she finished brushing, her datapad beeped. It seemed like she had just received a message.

"Breakfast at Evan's?" said the text.

Within seconds, another message appeared.

The following text said, "My treat."

Felicity smiled, he knew her all too well.

Felicity finally replied with her own message, "Do you really have to ask, Dad?"