Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
~:~:~:~:~
I'm so sorry for the delay guys, I have a whole excuse and everything but y'all probably just would like the story, so I'll just go ahead and give it to you ;)
I hope you all love this chapter!
~:~:~:~:
Friday flew by in a tangled mess, I had back-to-back classes all day until 1600 hours when I had a two hour break before my personal study with Spock in his office. I headed straight to my room I shared with a beautiful, quiet, scholarly young human Indian girl named Nina. She, aside from Spock, was the only person who knew of my true heritage.
"Gosh, Maeve, all these classes are going to wear you down!" she exclaimed and I sighed. "Goodness, you never rest, do you? I've never seen anyone work as hard as you. How do you even get all your work done?"
"I spend all my free time working on that which I need to complete. It helps that I have the aid of my professors as well as some previous knowledge on some subjects, and I need less sleep than humans because of my mixed heritage," I told her, falling onto the bed. "However, I suppose a small nap wouldn't be disagreeable."
She giggled from her spot at the desk, "What time would you like me to wake you?"
"You don't mind?" I asked her.
"Of course not, what time?"
"1700 hours please. I'd like to take a shower and grab a bite to eat before I have to go to personal study at 1800 hours."
"Okay, you nap and I'll wake you at 1700 hours exactly," she told me as I drifted into a dreamless sleep.
~:~:~:~:~
"Maeve, wake up, I'm almost done making us your favorite dinner," she told me, excited. I smiled at my friend.
"You'll make a wonderful mother one day, my friend," I told her with a smile as I slowly woke up. She giggled once again, setting her amazing chai tea on the bedside table in the hopes of the caffeine helping me wake up a bit. "Oh, you are lovely."
"Come on, hurry up," she teased, heading back to the small kitchenette. I chuckled, running my hand through my hair, pulling it to one side of my head as I sipped at the wonderful tea my friend had made me. "And you know I'll never forget you're not about meat, so I only made mine with chicken. Yours has peas and mushrooms, and I'm finishing the fruit salsa too."
I groaned in happiness. I loved Nina. She and I had known each other for the past four and a half years. She was also working toward her PhD in both Xenobiology and Xenoanthropology, but she was taking the whole six years to do it. Her and I have done things like this for each other since we first met. We just clicked, really. We became instant friends, both respecting and understanding each other. I threw my hair up into a bun before I grabbed my tea and walked into the kitchen, sitting at the small bar.
"Thank you very much," I told her with a smile.
"You know," she said thoughtfully, setting the pasta in front of me, before heading off to finish up with the fruit. "You act most human-or, well, Betazoid even-when you wake up. I think I like you best that way."
I felt a small pang in my heart before it disappeared. She didn't mean she disliked my slightly Vulcan nature with most things, just that she liked my human-like nature even more.
"Do you?"
"Yeah. I love you the way you are, of course, but I can tell it hurts for you to be so stoic all the time. You're a happy girl under all that. It's just sad that I'm the only person who gets to see it."
I was silent for a while as I moved to help her cut the strawberries-she hadn't gotten to those yet.
"Do you wish for me to express myself in that fashion more?" I asked her, starting to wake up as she tossed the grapes and strawberries into the bowl.
"I wish for you to be more like who you really want to be. I want you to be you and I don't want you to be afraid of it," she told me honestly. "You shouldn't be afraid to go out with your hair tied in a bun that won't cover your ears. You shouldn't be afraid to show who you really are. It's just sad. I don't like it."
I thought about what she said as I washed my hands before I grabbed the bag of cinnamon pita chips and tossed them into a bowl, setting them on the counter next to the salsa.
"I'll see what I can do," I told her honestly. I found I sometimes missed the happy-go-lucky girl that I used to be before I reminded myself that I was stoic to help myself cope. So no one could hurt me. But maybe... just maybe... I was safe here.
"You have to remember, Maeve, you're not the only alien here. And not the only mixed-breed either," she assured me, giving me a look.
I nodded quietly, digging in.
"This is wonderful, Nina," I told her, smiling. "Thank you."
~:~:~:~:~
"Spock? I must ask you something... As a friend," I told him once our Personal Study session had finished. My heart was beating faster, and I knew he could hear it with his Vulcan hearing, the confusion and curiosity was making my nerves go through the roof. "My roommate has brought to my attention that I am what humans consider very stoic. And she has also brought to my attention that when I first wake up, when I'm still too tired to care about propriety and the like, I'm very... human-like. She told me that she felt it was a 'glimpse into who I really was,' per se..." It was quiet for a moment and I dared to look up for a moment only to see Spock's confusion slightly written on his face. "What I was wondering, was... If I were to be that person, the one I used to be before coming to the academy... I would basically be a different person, and... would you still want to be my friend?"
There was a silence for a stretch, and his silence was making me uneasy. It felt like years before he spoke.
"I fail to understand how you being who you really feel you should be makes you a different person altogether," he began. "If you still have the same morals and interests, I do not see why that should affect our relationship in any fashion."
I couldn't stop the grin as it grew upon my face.
"Really?" I asked, ecstatic.
"Vulcans do not lie," he answered needlessly.
"Thank you, Spock, please send a message to me through my Padd when you know where your mother would like to meet tomorrow morning," I told him, and he nodded as I ran from his room, not caring that my hair was still tied into a high ponytail for all to see my ears and the flush of green shining upon my cheeks, letting my happiness shine through.
I was bounding back to my room when suddenly I ran past a corner and skidded to a stop, tumbling over in order to avoid smashing right into-"Amanda?"
"Hello, Maeve," she greeted with a giggle.
"Oh my goodness, are you alright? I'm so sorry, how clumsy of me, I didn't mean to-"
"Don't worry, dear, I was just on my way to see if Spock was finished for the evening... Is everything alright?" I felt the concern rolling off of her in waves.
"I'm wonderful, Amanda," I told her with a grin.
"Good," she chuckled. "You seem to be in very high spirits this evening."
"I am," I agreed. I didn't understand why, but Spock's declaration that he'd be my friend even if I changed made me happy. So happy, in fact, that it gave me not only the motive, but the determination to be who I knew I had been unhappily hiding for years. I am who I am, and if the people closest to me still loved me no matter what, then I was going to be exactly who I wanted to be no matter the obstacles. "Oh! Amanda, would you mind telling me where and at what time you wish to meet tomorrow morning?"
"Perhaps 0800 hours by the fountain?" she asked me, happiness and excitement bursting through her heart.
"Sounds perfect," I said, leaning to kiss her on the cheek quickly before running off. "Thank you! I'll see you in the morning!"
Amanda just stood, grinning widely at the beautiful young woman as she ran away, waving her goodbye. She didn't even realize (like Maeve) that her son was watching the entire exchange from the end of the hallway, where he had been walking to get to his room.
And, of course, neither of them saw the look of intrigue, nor the hidden happiness, upon his face as he stared after the running woman.
~:~:~:~:~
"So that's it, then?" Nina asked me.
"So what's it?" I asked her, unsure.
"You're not concerned about it anymore? At all? You're just going to go out there, ears blazing?"
"Well... I never said I wasn't concerned," I began to explain, my face beginning to heat up. "I know it's going to be difficult, and I know there will be some ridicule and maybe even some friends who get upset that I didn't tell them, but... If they're really my friends, they'll understand, won't they?"
Nina smiled, "You're exactly right. Just know that no matter what, I'll be here for you, okay?"
"Of course."
"Even if one of your friends says or does something stupid or doesn't understand for some stupid reason. Just know I'm proud of you for being who you want to be, and I don't hold anything against you, nor will I ever."
"Thanks, Nina. I'm just glad I won't have to face them until Monday. Maybe it'll help me remember to break out of my shell."
"I think you'll do perfectly. And Amanda seems like just the right person to help guide you. You'll be fine. And remember what I said, I'm not going anywhere!"
I giggled a little again before nodding, "thank you, Nina."
"You're welcome," she said with a smile. It was silent for a moment as Nina looked back down to her textbook. "I want cookies."
I laughed.
"I'll make them," I told her. "You keep making some good grades."
~:~:~:~:~
Thanks a TON for reading all this, guys it really means a lot to me!
And please please PLEASEEEEEE give me some feedback! Let me know what you like and what you think should maybe be adjusted? But please be kind! I need tender love and care! Haha thank you all again for being so lovely!