Chapter 6

Jim remained determined in his mission to keep Spock out of trouble, and it appeared as though the promise that Spock had made to his mother would be possible to fulfil. Kirk even made an effort to be less distracting during class, although he did continue to rest his feet on the back of the Vulcan's chair and flick his ear every so often. Spock, however, had long since grown used to such habitual behaviour. Though occasionally door hinges mysteriously went missing, causing doors to fall on the people who attempted to open them, and a laxative somehow found its way into a stroganoff that was being served in the cafeteria, Spock was always unconnected and unaffected whenever such incidents did occur.

Many weeks passed and everything settled into a comfortable rhythm. Jim would lightly tease and annoy Spock throughout the school day. Afterwards Spock would sometimes study with Nyota under their usual tree, other times he would spend his hours in the school's extensive library, reading intently. When the day drew to a close, he would migrate to the cafeteria where he would consume his dinner at his customary table, which was now permanently occupied by Jim and his friends.

One particularly lethargic Friday afternoon found the group of teenagers sprawled under the maple tree.

Uhura, who had decided she was too tired to study, seemed in a substantially more agreeable mood than was usual. Gaila sat next to her, drawing absently on her lower leg with what appeared to be a permanent marker. Nyota, surprisingly made no motion to stop her. Instead, she had reclined against the tree, her eyes softly closed in relaxation.

Jim was resting his head against Spock's leg, looking towards the sky and pointing out the shapes of clouds, a human practice Spock had never quite grasped. However, as he looked down upon Jim's wide, innocent expression, the one he often wore whenever he felt no one was looking, Spock found himself wishing he could see the world through Jim's eyes. A world full of wonder and laughter and magic. Even Leonard seemed to be in a peaceful mood as he conversed with Jim, he too was lying on his back, regarding the sky. Although Spock noticed that he often would turn his head to glance at Nyota.

Sulu, Scotty and Chekov were sitting aside them in a small circle, immersed in a game of cards. The Russian boy appeared to be liberating the other two of their money. Spock looked down into Jim's wide blue eyes and felt a peacefulness spread through him, an entirely different feeling than the one his meditation brought him. He felt, whole somehow.

"So," said Jim, raising his voice slightly in order to encompass the entire group and breaking the peaceful film that had been placed over them. "There's a party I was invited to in the city tonight. Some guy I know's parents are outta town. You guys up for it?" he asked, his tone leaving no doubt in Spock's mind that every one of them would be attending this party whether they were 'up for it' or otherwise. He looked down at Jim's face, now returned to mischief and laughter, the open wonderment hidden away.

"I presume that we do not have much choice in the matter," he said calmly, no question in his voice.

"That's the spirit, Spock," Jim grinned up at him.

Most of their cohorts seemed genuinely excited for the party and accepted the invitation enthusiastically. Both Nyota and Leonard, however, were extremely reluctant to consent to going, nonetheless they grudgingly agreed. As Spock was Vulcan, he was conditioned to defer to logic when making decisions and therefore did not attempt to decline the invitation, knowing full well such an action would be completely inconsequential to whether or not he would be in attendance.

Jim accompanied Spock back to his room after dinner.

"I still do not understand why this is necessary, Jim," Spock said as he opened his door.

"It's necessary, Spock, because you have no idea how to dress- holy actual fuck you have your own room," Jim said suddenly, staring at the double bed that sat against the wall. "What the fuck? I have to share with Scotty and Bones. How the hell did you get your own room?"

"My father is the Vulcan ambassador to Earth and therefore, my family is somewhat prominent within Starfleet's circles," Spock explained.

"Nice," Jim said, looking around the room, the expression on his face impressed, "Prince Spock."

"I assure you that in no way am I royalty," Spock said, unable to keep his voice from hinting at the exasperation he often felt towards his friend.

"Whatever. You're rich and that's awesome," Jim said, vaulting himself onto the bed where he lay down with his arms extended behind his head in a relaxed manner.

"Now Spock, lets take a look at your clothes."

Spock ended up wearing something of Jim's.

After inspecting every item of clothing that Spock had brought to Earth with him, Jim had simply taken Spock's new green scarf and declared it the only thing that he 'might be caught dead in.' He had then retrieved some of his own jeans and a tight fitting shirt, presenting them to a somewhat reluctant Spock. Unfortunately, they were not of the same shoe size and Jim grudgingly gave Spock permission to wear his dress shoes, after remarking 'hopefully no one will be looking at your feet.'

The group of friends assembled at the school gates, all looking astoundingly different in their efforts to appear aesthetically pleasing for the party. Spock noticed that Nyota looked particularly noteworthy in a golden dress that extended to the middle of her thighs. Her hair was down and she hair curled it. Spock also noticed that McCoy was of a similar opinion and seemed to alternate between staring at Nyota's bared legs and looking determinedly away from them. Gaila, beside her looked particularly striking as well, wearing a low-cut, backless, onyx dress that didn't quite reach her knees. Jim whistled appreciatively as they approached, regarding the two girls in a lascivious manner.

"Stop leering, Jim," Sulu called over to him, "you'll scare them away."

"Uhura's got a strong stomach, Jim," Bones said, "but not that strong." Nyota laughed musically at the comment. Leonard looked surprisingly pleased at her laughter and seemed to warm to the idea of going to the party.

"Well," said Jim, clapping his hands together, "why are we all standing around here? Let's ditch this place. We're walking there. It's not far."

Gaila looked aghast at the thought of walking and glanced down at her excessively high-heeled shoes forlornly, before joining the group as they passed through the gates. Spock did so absent of the guilt that he had experienced the last time. This was on account of Uhura, who, unlike Jim, regarded the rules as guidelines to be followed and had secured the necessary permission for the group to leave the grounds.

They walked for approximately 16.4 minutes before they reached a tall apartment complex. Jim pressed a button that would call to the apartment on the twenty-fifth floor, the exact number of floors that the building was composed of. They were going to the penthouse. A slightly slurred voice answered the intercommunication device and confirmed Jim's identity as someone who had been invited. Spock could hear the loud thrumming of music in the background as the two conversed, Jim announcing himself as James Kirk and his plus one. Even lacking a Vulcan's prowess in math, it was rather clear that more than one person was accompanying Jim. Nevertheless, they were admitted into the building and stepped into an elevator, where Jim pressed the topmost button. They rode in silence for a minute before the doors opened, revealing an enormous, lavish apartment, packed to the brim with people.

Jim beamed his wide, mischievous smile and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Who's ready to fucking PARTY!?"

The call was greeted with cheers from the mass of people in the apartment and James strode purposefully from the elevator. Without a second thought for his companions, he disappeared into the crowd. The rest of their company spilled out after him, joining the party enthusiastically and seeming to be having a good time. Even McCoy and Uhura bonded over their shared sullenness and unwillingness to be there.

Everyone was dancing. As Spock looked about himself, he could see everyone moving their bodies in time with the music and laughing at those who danced out of rhythm, with awkward jerky movements, attempting to appear careless about that fact that they were bad dancers. Many of the females, Spock noticed, were scantily clad and acting without abandon.

Spock's eyes instinctively scanned the mass of people for Jim's familiar blonde hair, to no avail. Spock had not laid eyes on Jim since they had arrived at the party approximately 1.3 hours prior, by Spock's estimation. After a while of lingering near the elevator, not interacting with anyone and feeling extremely out of place, Spock decided to seek out his friends in an endeavour to occupy himself.

He walked into the crowd of moving bodies, searching with his keen Vulcan eyes for a sign of a familiar face. The green of Gaila's skin caught his eye and he made his way over to where she was dancing. There he found her with Sulu, both of them acting rather shamelessly as they danced, their hands moving over each other's bodies in an exploratory manner. Spock, deciding that he did not wish to intervene, moved on, seeking a more quiet section of the room in which he could dwell in solitude for the remainder of the evening.

He was walking down a dim hallway, the music from the party slightly dulled by the partition that the wall created, when he witnessed Uhura standing against the wall conversing with McCoy. As Spock neared the two, he realised that, in actuality, they were not conversing at all; rather, they appeared to be engaged in the action of pressing their mouths together. McCoy seemed to have Nyota pinned to the wall and was trailing her collarbones with his mouth. Spock promptly turned on his heels and started in the opposite direction, not willing to witness any more of their exchange.

As the apartment was equipped with a bar, Spock began towards it, concluding that he would be able to sit down for a portion of the night. When he arrived, he encountered Scotty and Chekov, who were discussing with passion the concept of warp drives and how they could be improved. Spock was aware that both of the boys had specialised in the field of mechanics and engineering and were looking towards future careers manning ships with Starfleet. Scotty appeared to be of the opinion that transwarp beaming technology was a possible notion, while the Russian boy remained adamant in his denial of its feasibility. Spock, not having studied warp theory, did not have anything to contribute to the boys' conversation and found himself, once again, moving away.

He realised at that time that he had never truly been searching for his friends in the crowd, he had been searching only for Jim and, having not found him yet, Spock continued to roam about the apartment, looking around for his blue-eyed companion.

Spock found him when he inadvertently walked into a bathroom. Kirk was standing at the bathroom counter, between the legs of a rather intoxicated red haired female. The girl was giggling as she attempted to pull Jim's shirt over his head, while keeping their lips fixated to one another's mouths. The two of them took a while to notice that the door had been opened and Jim broke the hold of the girl's lips and turned his head in time to see Spock disappear from the doorframe.
Spock, for the first time in his life understood what it was to feel lost. Somewhat discouraged he made his way back to the bar and sat down on one of the stools. It was there that James found him a while later.

"Hey, Spock," Jim said, his usual smile absent from his voice.

"I apologise for intruding on you earlier. I was unaware that the bathroom was occupied," Spock replied, voice monotone.

"Yeah," Jim said with a breathless laugh, extending his arm behind himself to rub the back of his neck. "Should've remembered to lock that," he seemed rather sheepish.

"It is understandable," Spock replied evenly, "you appeared rather busy," Jim didn't seem to know how to respond to that statement. He walked closer and climbed on to the seat adjacent to Spock.

"Vodka," He said to the hired bartender wearily. "Lots of vodka," The man behind the bar appraised the two boys, eyebrows raised.

"And you're twenty-one, are you?" he said sarcastically.

"Yep," Kirk answered easily, without missing a beat. "Twenty-one last May, now where's that vodka?"

The bartender rolled his eyes before muttering "Sure," under his breath. He handed Jim a shot glass. "Not my problem, kid. Just don't tell nobody," He said before walking away to attend to the orders of the other partygoers. Kirk downed the shot in one go. Spock could hear the liquid flow through Jim's throat as he swallowed.

"Ah," Jim gasped and slammed his hand onto the counter, though he didn't gag.

"How many of those have you ingested thus far?" Spock asked, noting Jim's slow movements and slightly slurred words.

"C'mon Spock, don't be a downer. This is only like my… uh," Jim paused and started counting on his fingers, his eyes slightly crossed. He held up his hands to show 5 fingers pointing skyward, "that many."

"James," Spock said, concern in his voice, "that's an extremely high quantity of alcohol."

"Oh, Spock. You worry too much. I can hold my liquor. I'm a very sober drunk you know," Kirk said, one of his eyelids drooping, half closed.

"I can observe that for myself," Spock said grimly, as Jim swallowed another amount of Vodka, which the bartender had just poured him.

"Sarcasm, Spock? Hehe, I'm rubbing off on you," Jim laughed and leaned sideways to look up at Spock in a playful manner. It was when he was sitting in this precarious position that he fell sideways from his chair and hit the ground heavily. From there he proceeded to laugh hysterically.

Spock looked down at him and stood up from his own chair. He bent down and scooped Jim up in his arms, his heightened Vulcan strength allowing him to support the boy with ease. He located Scotty and Chekov and informed them of Jim's condition and that he would be assisting him back to the school, while the others remained at the party. Scotty and Chekov agreed enthusiastically, seeming distracted as they attempted to engage two physically appealing human females in conversation.

Spock carried Jim from the building and up the quiet, sleeping streets, headed in the direction of the school. Soon after they had departed the party, Jim began to struggle and writhe in Spock's arms, demanding to be released. Spock set him on his feet but continued to remain vigilant of his balance, should Spock need to prevent him from falling again. Jim was never more immature than when he was drunk, Spock noticed as the boy shouted and danced through the streets, singing horribly an old Terran nursery rhyme about a girl named Mary and her various flowers.

"That's you Spock," He said when the song had concluded. "You're Mary, quite contrary. You're always correcting me Spock. And see? You've got those plants you like to look at, that's the other part," Jim explained, seemingly impressed by his ingenuity with the comparison.

Kirk began to laugh louder than ever and he stumbled into Spock, face pressed against his chest and feet dragging as Spock supported his weight. Jim began to mumble incoherently into Spock's shirt and Spock decided that it would be unwise to allow Jim to continue walking. Once again he brought the blonde up into his arms and continued carrying him down the street. Jim appeared to be completely unaware of his surroundings as he continued to mutter and chuckle breathlessly.
Once they had reached the school and were crossing the grounds, Jim had started to regain some focus and lucidity.

"Down," He moaned softly, "put me down." He beat his fists weakly against Spock's chest like an impudent child until Spock set him down gently on his unsure feet. He did, however, keep one of Jim's arms extended over his shoulders, so as to keep him upright.

"No," Jim cried, squirming away from Spock. "No!" he yelled, stumbling blindly, attempting to run. "Aliens. No. The aliens are coming," he screamed, trying to get away as Spock looped one of his arms around the drunken boy's waist and dragged him in the direction of the dormitories.

"No. Help me. I'm being abducted. Help!" Jim continued to scream, his voice echoing over the grounds as Spock willed for him to be quiet.

"Jim, be silent. You are not being abducted," Spock implored his screaming friend.

"Aliens! The aliens are invading!"

Lights were beginning to be turned on in some of the windows and Spock looked down at Jim, who was babbling about the end of times. Clapping one of his hands over Jim's mouth, Spock managed to drag him into the dormitory wing and into the stairwell, where Jim sunk his teeth into Spock's restricting hand.

"You bit me, Jim," Spock said incredulously, pulling his hand away from Kirk's mouth, who immediately began to rant again, although this time with less volume.

With a great amount of difficulty, Spock safely transported Jim the remainder of the distance to Spock's room. Not knowing which room number Jim resided in; Spock had no choice but to bring the hysterical boy to his own dorm. He opened the door and tumbled inside, holding Jim upright at an awkward angle as he attempted to manoeuvre him onto the bed. Jim collapsed, face down, onto Spock's mattress and rolled around drunkenly, making it very difficult for Spock to remove his shoes. Once he had, however, Jim seemed to relax and discontinued his attempts to escape or cry for assistance. He rolled onto his back and rested his unfocused eyes on Spock, his breathing slowing to a more peaceful tempo. Slowly, one after the other, Jim's cerulean eyes closed as he drifted to sleep. Spock got up and began to move around the room, removing Jim's jeans from his legs and laying a thick quilt over the sleeping Human, before readying himself for bed also. Spock climbed into the bed beside Jim and lay his head down in a bid to sleep. A task that was slightly difficult by his painful awareness of the blonde, blue-eyed boy that was dreaming deeply next to him. Spock turned on his side and let his eyes fall closed, attempting to relax his body.

He was nearing the cusp of sleep when he heard Jim mutter something. He said it once and then again, louder and more clearly: "Spock."

Spock lifted his head and turned to look at Kirk, assuming that he had awoken, but saw that his eyes remained closed and the slack, peaceful look of sleep was still drawn over his face.

"Spock," Jim said softly once more before rolling over and beginning to drool.

Pondering the implications of what had just transpired, Spock too allowed himself to be drawn under by his weariness, his last thought was of Jim before he sunk into the folds of his dreams.