-AN-

Sorry guys my Spock is a little creepy towards Uhura at first! lol But rest assured she will warm up to him quite quickly! A few OC's in this too btw. Enjoy!

-Spock-

I awoke with a strange giddy feeling. The bond between Uhura and myself was releasing a steady stream of exhilaration. It made me feel like I could get up and run a marathon for the sheer thrill of it. Although the emotion was mildly enjoyable, I had to cap it off. According to my internal clock it was exactly 10 o'clock. I had overslept for 3 hours. This left me with half an hour to prepare myself for the cadet entrance ceremony that took place at 11 o'clock. The time would be sufficient.

I arrived at the main lecture hall with exactly 18 minutes to spare. The hall was filled to capacity with cadets. Thankfully faculty had reserved seating. I took an available seat next to Mr. Briggs the young professor who specialized in particle synthesis. He smiled at me and I nodded in acknowledgment. For the next 3 minutes Briggs fidgeted in his seat and made several odd attempts to initiate conversation with me.

He eventually managed to spit out, "S-Spock. Hey so what are you doing later on tonight?" He eventually managed to spit out.

How strange. "I am retiring to my quarters and finishing my sorting assignment given to me by command. Why are you inquiring about my duties?"

He turned pale. "Well if you are not busy-"

"I am occupied."

"Okay I'm going to come right out and say it. Some of the other staff members made a bet with me that I could get you to come hang out with us at a bar tonight. I bet over half of my salary Spock. Please. Just come with us, for an hour at least. You've never spent time with us outside of the academy. Who knows you may have fun!"

Briggs sounded desperate.

"I decline." My time should be spent working not frivolously playing about with my colleagues.

Briggs scrunched up his face "Okay. I didn't want to do this but how about I help you out on that program you've been working on. With my knowledge of particle synthesis I can make your simulator as real as possible. I'll even do it free of charge."

Briggs made a sound argument. I did need a realistic experience to give the program full authenticity.

"I will accompany you for an hour on this outing."

Briggs clasped his hand to his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you Spock. I was in quite the pickle."

"But you are not covered in vinegar. I fail to see how that relates."

"Just know that I am in your debt Spock." Briggs said in a joyous tone.

It was now exactly 11 o'clock and Admiral Barnett entered the floor and gave the commencement address to the new cadets. The room was silent. As I had heard and memorized this speech already I turned my attentions elsewhere. My mind began probing Uhura's bond to test whether or not she was of close proximity. She felt close but she was definitely not in the hall. It was curious that she would miss the commencement address. I felt a pang of regret at not being able to see her today; however my duties lied with Briggs and my sorting assignment. My class roster had already showed that she had been assigned my Xenolinguisitcs 200 level class. Usually new recruits were not allowed entrance into this class. However due to her high level of aptitude I permitted the exception. Without a doubt I will be seeing my fair share of cadet Uhura during her academy career.

Forty five minutes later the commencement ceremonies ended and the faculty was able to return to their duties. I headed straight for my quarters. Due to the unexpected invitation from Briggs I would need to go through as many applications as I could before my outing.

Briggs ran up to me and had to keep a light jog to maintain my pace. "We're all going to meet at the lobby in the faculty quarters building okay? At 8 o'clock!"

"Affirmative." I did not see why this man was so enthused for me to be present at a social gathering. However this could prove to be a valuable learning experience for me. I still found human interactions to be the most difficult of any species. It was needless to say that the practice would be beneficial.

-Uhura-

We missed the commencement ceremony by three hours. I couldn't even enjoy that fact that we were at the academy because I was so pissed. Everyone exited the craft and stretched to their heart's content. McCoy stumbled out and bent over with his hands on his knees. Kirk slapped him on the back and helped McCoy straighten himself and McCoy seemed to have made fast friends. Kirk seemed like a pleasant enough guy, but his arrogance and that fact that he made us exceptionally late did not help my view on him.

"I for one am thrilled that we missed all that boring talking crap. Aren't you guys?" Kirk announced loudly as we made our way across campus.

I shot him a glare. He stopped talking and swallowed hard. McCoy grabbed Kirk by the arm and drew a line across his own neck with his thumb.

"If you know what's good for you Jim, you'll shut the hell up." McCoy laughed and trailed ahead of Kirk.

Great now the idiot was walking next to me.

"So Uhura, I feel like we got off on the wrong foot. Let's let bygones be bygones and just start a new leaf!" He flashed a flirtatious smile at me.

"Fine. Now hurry up, we still have to pick up our schedules and find our dorms."

"God I hope it's co-ed."

"Gross." I grimaced at his crudeness.

"C'mon it was a joke. A joke Uhura."

I broke into a fast walk and left him in the dust.

"See you when classes start up then!" He shouted obnoxiously.

I turned around to see hi waving furiously at me. What was wrong with him?

A short trip to the student resources center gave me all the information I needed. I was assigned dorm room 316 with an Orion roommate named Gaila K'allos. She was on route to be a computer security personnel. At least I knew we would have one thing in common. The women's dormitories were huge and took quite some time to navigate. By the time I found my room it was already well past 4 o'clock. I knocked on the door before entering to signal my arrival.

I laid my palm upon the door and it automatically slid open. Touch censor doors were pretty handy. As I entered my room, the first thing I noticed about it was the fact that it was pitch black inside. The windows had the blinds closed and all the lights were turned off.

"Hello? I'm your roommate Uhura. Sorry that I'm late." I walked further into the room and no one responded. "Hello?"

Suddenly a green flash appeared before my eyes. A beaming Orion girl's face was within an inch and a half of mine. I screamed and fell to the floor. My heart felt like it was about to burst.

"You must be Nyota! It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Gaila! I hope that we become best friends!" the Orion girl was crouched down next to me. She was wearing just a lace black bra for a top and black hot pants for bottoms. What the hell?

"Where's you uniform?" I stammered.

"Oh that old thing? It was getting stuffy in here so Gary helped me take it off." She giggled and stood up. "Speaking of Gary, I think its best that you are on your way. We can always finish up another time." Using one finger she increased the light settings to 85% on the control pad adjacent to her.

As my eyes focused to the new exposure I saw a sandy haired man desperately getting dressed in the middle of the room. The man halted and stood at attention.

"Gary Mitchell, 1st year cadet. I apologize for the situation; Gaila told me that her roommate would be getting in later tonight.

"Oh did she?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

She looked down at me and shrugged. "I really didn't know when you'd arrive. Sorry!"

The man known as Gary shot Gaila a dirty look and then rushed out of our room. What kind of roommate had I been assigned? I stood up and straightened out my uniform. Gaila plopped down onto her bed and smiled at me. She really was beautiful. Her green skin perfectly complimented her red hair. I found myself a tad bit envious that I didn't look that exotic.

"So now what am I gonna do for the rest of the night?" She pouted and pointed a finger at me.

"I don't know. Sleep maybe?" Why was this girl making it seem like I was ruining her night? I sure wasn't expecting this kind of situation upon entering my room.

"Nyota. Can I call you Ny?"

I nodded, not wanting to cause any more conflict.

"Please Ny. It's barely 5. That's boring… Oh I know! Let's go to a bar! A few of the 2nd year cadets invited me out tonight, let's go together."

She bounced up and grabbed my hands. My eyes widened; she sure was fast. I inhaled a deep breath. She smelled so amazing, unlike anything I have ever smelt before. I felt like I couldn't deny her anything.

"Hey! Stop that! Don't pull any of your Orion pheromone crap on me!" I dropped her hands and took a few steps back from her.

Gaila laughed and took a few steps closer to me. "Okay I won't anymore, but you have to promise to come with me!" She pursed her lips and made her eyes as big as possible.

I sighed and knew that I was going to regret my answer. "Fine. But I don't have anything to wear."

Gaila squealed with delight and gave me quick hug. "That's fine I have plenty of clothes you can borrow. Oh! You have got to let me do your hair and makeup, okay? I bet you'd looked smokin' with a cat's eye."

I already regretted decision to appease her.

-Spock-

The bar that the other faculty members had chosen to go to on this excursion to was entitled Quasar's. Since the bar was not located at the center of a galactic nucleus the title confused me. Also the term bar for this establishment seemed wrong. 85% of the ground space was occupied by a dance floor. The appropriate term would be club.

"So how're you enjoying the club Spock? I can't believe that Briggs got you to come."

The woman addressing me was a command line instructor named Shoshana Harari. She was a great tactician and negotiator. I was surprised that she had not been assigned the task of inviting me to this social gathering.

"It is stimulating." I responded for lack of a better term.

Currently all of the academy faculty under the age of 30 were present at our table. This consisted of 3 men excluding myself and 5 women. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely. Many of them appeared intoxicated. Due to my heightened metabolism the alcohol I consumed did not affect me. This trait allowed me to observe my colleagues to the full extent of my abilities.

"Yeah thanks for coming Spock. You really saved my ass." Briggs replied loudly from across the table.

"Although I do not see how I have assisted your donkey, your ass is most welcome Professor Briggs."

The whole table erupted into laughter. I did not understand why what I said was humorous. So far this outing has only caused me to become even further confused by human behavior. The loud pulsating music that shook the entire building was not helping my concentration either. Professor Harari had been inching towards me in her seat the entire 72 minutes we had been here. This was distracting as well. I had fulfilled my allotted 1 hour time limit but I found it difficult to leave.

"Spock let's dance! I've never seen a Vulcan dance before. Let's dance." Professor Harari slurred as she spoke. This was understandable as she had consumed 6 shots of Andorian ale.

"Vulcans do not dance. I shall have to refuse you request."

Shoshana laughed and moved even closer to me. Her hand grazed mine during the movement and a small bond formed between us. A swarm of her feelings assailed me. Excitement and lust were the predominate ones. It was fascinating that alcohol could allow one to lose their inhibitions so fully; however her feelings towards me made me uncomfortable. I immediately broke the bond and stood up to take my leave.

"I have fulfilled my obligations and have stayed for an hour." I turned to exit the premise. As I turned I felt hand grab onto the fabric of my right sleeve. I turned my head 90 degrees to see who had caught me. It was Briggs.

"Spock wait can I talk to you for a minute?"

I was beginning to feel exasperated. I had already spoken to Briggs 67 times more frequently in one day than I had my entire academy career.

"Fine. Speak." I said shortly.

His eyes shifted towards Professor Harari who now held what I assumed to be a disappointed look on her face.

"Can I speak to you in private?"

"You may speak to me outside for 4 minutes."

Briggs nodded and followed me to the exterior of the building. The outside air felt fresh and cool. The sky was clear and I could clearly identify 2 earth constellations above me.

"Thanks for coming again Spock." Briggs breathed in the night air deeply. "Though I gotta be honest I had ulterior motives for inviting you here. I hope that doesn't offend you."

"There is no offense where none is taken."

"Well you see I have this major crush on Shoshana. I've liked her ever since our days in the academy. I've asked her out to go with all the other faculty on other occasions, but she's always had some kind of excuse. Then one day I made some snide comment that it'd be easier to get you to come out with us then to get her to. Everyone got all excited and made bets with me that I couldn't get you to go. Shoshana even agreed to go if you came along." Briggs contorted his face into some kind of unidentifiable expression.

I was confused as to why Professor Harari would feel more obligated to attend the social gathering if I went.

"I know what you're thinking Spock, 'Why would my presence inspire others to attend a function such as this?' or some logical crap like that. Well I'm sure you don't know but you're pretty much the faculty heart throb." He rolled his eyes.

"I do not understand how I can be compared to heart palpitations Briggs."

"All the female staff like you or something Spock! It's totally unfair! They think you're dark and broody or something and they eat it up." Briggs fell into a bench that was situated in front of the club. I remained standing.

"Fascinating." I thought aloud. I did not unnecessarily mingle with any of the staff, be it male or female. It was strange that they held a fondness for me without any effort input on my part.

"Yeah it sure is fascinating." He ran a hand over his face and regained composure. "Well thanks for listening to me whine for a bit Spock. I had to let you know why I tried so hard to get you to come otherwise my conscious might have killed me. You really should come out with us again sometime."

I pondered Briggs' problem for a moment. "It appears that you conundrum could produce more results by simply informing Professor Harari of your intentions towards her."

His mood appeared to lighten and his posture straightened on the bench. "You really think it would Spock?"

"Logically speaking yes. Now whether or not the results are negative or positive all depend on a multitude of other factors that are out of…"

"Ahp-pahp-pahp! Stop right there Spock." He waved his hands frantically in a drunken stupor. "Drunk me is going to take your advice! I'm going to march back in there and tell Shoshana how I really feel."

"That sounds like a logical course of action."

"Thanks. You know for someone with no emotions you're pretty darn insightful Spock." He stood up and patted my right shoulder. "See you around! I'll tell you if anything good happens."

I nodded and watched Briggs stumble back into the club. It was always odd that humans assumed I had no emotions. Just because I did not openly express them did not mean I was incapable of them. For example at the moment I was feeling mild enragement.

Mild enragement? These emotions were not mine. Due to the club's exceptionally loud music I had had to muffle my bond to be able to focus on what my peers were saying. Now that I was alone and outside I could feel the bond very strongly. Nyota Uhura must be within close proximity of me. It was astounding that I had not noticed her presence earlier. I glanced around with the hopes of possibly viewing her. My efforts were in vain as she was most likely in the club. As I did not wish to renter the building I decided to call for a hover taxi to pick me back up and return me to the academy. Just as I had taken my communicator out of my pocket, the club's double doors burst open.

"Leave me alone alright! I've already shot down all of your dumb pickup lines so just pick a new target." A woman had thrown open the doors and was storming out of the structure. A Star Fleet cadet was trailing after her. The woman stopped walking when she was 2 feet past me. She turned her head and stared at me. I stared back as well.

"It's you." She muttered while standing almost perfectly still, a task at which I marveled at.

Standing before me was Nyota Uhura, the human I had been observing all these years. I wanted to reply to her but my vocal chords would not respond. It felt as if a fourth wall had been broken between us and there was nothing I could think of to say.

-Uhura-

There he was again. Of course he would happen to be standing outside of a club that I was being harassed at. After being decked out in full hair and makeup by Gaila, she insisted that I wear one of her dresses. Being the fool that I am I agreed. Now I was at a loud 'bar' filled with fellow cadets in an orange cocktail dress with geometric cutouts all over it. Since the bar was actually a club the interior was quite dark with bright strobe lights everywhere. The music pulsated so loudly that it made it difficult to walk in the 5 inch heels Gaila had forced me to wear.

"Wasn't this supposed to be a bar?" I yelled at her upon entering the noisy establishment.

"No it's a club! Who said anything about a bar?" she screamed back.

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"C'mon don't be like that Ny! It'll be fun. Right when you walked into our dorm room I could tell that you needed a little fun." She smiled and grabbed onto my hand.

She sounded sincere towards the end. Gaila was right; I did need to have some fun after the partial horror that was my life these past few days. However I felt like our ideas of fun were vastly different. Gaila had led us into the middle of the floor where we were now being jostled around. I felt very uncomfortable dancing in front of so many strangers, so I just ended up standing there. Gaila had already found a group of men who were all clawing at each other for the chance to dance with her. Orion pheromones were really something else. She motioned for me to join her but I shook my head to signal that that was going to be a no. She made a pouty face but I was not swayed. Ten minutes on the dance floor was more than enough for me. I sifted through the crowd until I found the seated bar area. Being able to sit and order a drink seemed like heaven compared to the dance floor.

"Hey, nice shoes. Want to make your parents proud?"

I looked up from my Cardassian sunrise. A juggernaut cadet was now sitting across from me at my table. I kept on drinking and didn't respond.

"Ah the silent treatment. I like your type, playing hard to get." He grinned and began to play footsises with me under the table.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't touch me." I pulled my feet under my own chair. This guy was a creep.

"C'mon girl, it's not my fault that I'm acting this way. It's your fault for being all sexy and shit."

I stood up and left the table. This was getting to be ridiculous. Sorry Gaila, the sentiment for inviting me was nice but I think I'd rather walk home than get hit on by some random loser.

"Hey wait up! This is only making me want you more! I love when chicks play hard to get."

The slimeball was still following me. I weaved through the crowded entrance and shoved my way through the door. I could still feel him there.

"Leave me alone alright! I've already shot down all of your dumb pickup lines so just pick a new target." I shouted back at him in the most menacing voice I could manage. I kept going with the hopes that he'd give up. I would've walked all the way back to the academy without so much as a glance back if it weren't for the person I saw out of the corner of my eye.

"It's you." I said under my breathe. It really was him. Spock, the Vulcan boy who had helped me back at the convention. Tragically I couldn't allow any sentiments to take place. The boy who had helped set the course of my life was now a man that was seeing me in a ridiculous dress in an outlandish situation. Great. We stared at each other in silence. Still as awkward as ever I see.

"So are you guys going to stare at each other any longer or are we gonna make out lady?" the meathead said.

Spock's gaze jerked over to the cadet. He tilted his head ever so slightly. "Cadet I believe you have somewhere else to be."

"No I don't you pointy eared weirdo. I saw her first."

"Cadet do you realize you are speaking to a superior officer? If you do not vacate the premise immediately I will be forced to recommend you for expulsion." Spock said in a surprisingly jagged tone.

"Whatever man you can't do anything." The muscly jerk waved his hands.

Spock turned back towards me. "Do you require his presence?"

I said unsure of how to respond so I just said no. Spock walked over to the bothersome cadet.

"Before I do this apologize to her."

The cadet looked over at me and smirked, "Hell no I won't. and what are you even gonna do to me? Huh?" The cadet began to laugh obnoxiously.

Spock's right hand lashed out and grabbed the man by his shoulder. The cadet screamed and then fell to the floor. Spock had just successfully taken down a man twice his size.

I clapped my hands in appreciation. It was kind of exciting to see a Vulcan nerve pinch up close and personal. "Spock, thank you for helping me but I assure you that I could have handled the situation on my own."

He stared at me for a while, not responding or anything. Just staring. I began to fidget and feel uncomfortable. Spock finally noticed and responded.

"I am quite sure that you would have handled the situation with great tact cadet Uhura. However, this manner of solving the situation seemed to be the most logical and efficient."

I crossed my arms and nodded. "Well thanks anyways…By the way how did you know I was a cadet?"

His mouth hung partially agape. "Based on the fact that you are in San Francisco and you came to a…" he looked back at the club "…Facility that is frequented by cadets and academy staff, it is safe to assume that you are indeed a cadet."

"Really? That's how you knew?" I gave him an incredulous look. His eyes shied away immediately.

"As a commander and professor at Star Flee I was also charged with sorting the cadet applications this semester." he muttered.

So he had seen my form; that made more sense. I checked the watch I was wearing, it was only 10:30 but I was more than exhausted.

"Commander, are you by any chance heading back to the academy?"

"Affirmative."

"Would you like to walk back to the academy with me?"

He raised his left eyebrow as if the request had shocked him. "Will you be able to walk back to the academy while wearing that footwear? The academy is 1.3 miles away from this point. I can order a taxi if it would be more convenient."

I stifled a laugh, I couldn't tell if he was being chivalrous or not. "No it's fine I brought a pair of flats in my purse." I took off Gaila's obscene heels and slipped on my black flats. "Now I'm prepared to walk."

He nodded and began walking a few paces ahead of me. I trotted up next to him and he moved about 2 feet away in response. I guess old habits die hard.

"Thank you for accompanying me commander."

"As it is late it would not be safe for me to allow you to venture home on your own."

He was walking while looking at the ground. I doubted that he would look up once on our mile long walk back to campus.

"I see we have both defied our pre-planned destinies." I said in hopes of lightening the mood. Although I wanted to inform Spock of everything that had happened up to this point and thank him, he was making it extremely difficult to bring up any sort of conversation.

"Being that you are now a cadet and I did not join the Vulcan Science Academy your observation would be correct."

"Did your father take it well when you told him that you weren't joining the academy?"

"Seeing as he has not spoken to me once since my revocation of my invitation to the academy, I believe he did not."

"Now what do you do?" Good, he was starting to open up, no eye contact yet but now I was hopeful.

"I teach advanced Xenolinguistics and foreign diplomacy classes at Star Fleet academy. Along with some supplemental science courses."

"That must be interesting! I may end up in some of your classes then."

"As you are aiming to be a communications specialist you will have to."

My lips formed a hard line; this was going to be harder than I thought. Since we were almost half way there I might as well just blurt out whatever I wanted to say.

"You know I really want to thank you Spock. A few days ago I told my father about my decision to join Star Fleet. It was harsh, but those words you told me all those years ago gave me the strength to do it."

I was smiling and had turned around to walk backwards. To my surprise he was actually looking up at me. I noticed that he was wearing a black Star Fleet issued t-shirt and gray slacks. The shirt was form fitting and showed off his slight but muscular physique well. It just now occurred to me that I wasn't talking to the young Vulcan boy in my memories. Awkward or not he was now a fully grown man. He stopped walking and the aura around him seemed to soften.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." He said softly and looked off to the sky.

For some reason I felt like crying. I was able to tell the man who had given me hope all those years ago how much gratitude I had for him. Spock took a few steps closer to me until he was within arm's reach. His left hand extend over to my shoulder. It hovered maybe an inch off of me. For a moment his eyes were filled with an indescribable emotion. Then it was gone. He retracted his hand and firmly placed it at his side.

"It is getting late cadet, we are only .2 miles away from the academy. It would be best to arrive in a timely manner."

I nodded and watched him as he strode ahead of me. For the rest of the walk we were silent. Even though it was a bit odd I didn't mind it. Once we reached the academy he even accompanied me to my dorm building.

"Well this is my building commander. Thank you for accompanying me."

"It was not a difficult task." He said sternly.

We stood there in the moonlight for a few moments more. I waited for him to say something more; how foolish of me.

"Alright I'm going to go inside." I pointed to the doors leading inside. "I hope to be in one of your classes when the semester starts commander."

He folded his arms behind his back, "That would be most satisfactory cadet Uhura."

I flashed him a small smile and made my way inside. Once I made it to my dorm room I decided to open up my curtains to look at the beautiful clear sky once more before going to sleep in my lovely Gaila-less room. After a few minutes of star gazing I decided it was time to hit the hay. I began to close my curtains and by chance happened to look down at the direction of the dorm lobby. Spock was still there gazing at the entrance. His eyes shot up and locked onto me. I gasped and shut the curtains. What was that?! My left hand pulled open the curtain just enough for me to peek out of the window. Spock was gone. I let out a breath of relief. It appears that the line between being a stalker and being incredibly awkward were much closer than I had previously thought. Hopefully he'll get even a bit less peculiar the more I get to know him…