This is my first story to post on this site, so I'm sorry if I'm doing this wrong somehow. This isn't my first story ever to write, but I wanted to post it for some reason. It's not even my favorite story I've written.

It's gonna be pretty short, only five or six chapters. It expands over two years, and moves pretty fast. I didn't get into too much detail over the two years, just highlighted the main events in Jim and my OC's lives when they knew each other. So yeah, I hope you enjoy it and hope you review! Criticism is accepted, because I'm just posting this to see if anyone likes it more than I do. Because as I said before, this isn't my favorite story I've written, but I hope you guys enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek.

All at Once

Chapter 1

James T. Kirk lay atop the pile of hay, casually gazing at the stars. His unnaturally blue eyes skimmed the sky, and he let a slight sigh escape his lips. His mother was home for once, and only God knows how long she was going to stay.

"You know, you sure do stare at the stars a lot. Plan on joining Starfleet one day?"

Jim nearly fell off the pile of hay in his shock. A light, tinkling laugh filled the air and he glanced down at a girl who was standing there, looking up at him.

The girl looked extremely small from his position on the hay. She was wearing a pair of jean shorts that were extremely short, a red plaid button down shirt, and a leather jacket that seemed entirely too large on her. It practically swallowed her small form and hung lower than her actual shorts did, reaching her knees. The girl had short, dark brown hair with large, coffee brown eyes that were staring curiously up at him. Her skin was lightly tanned from the sun, and she looked all too familiar to Jim.

"You know, this is private property." Jim snapped, upset that she had snuck up on him.

"Funny, my dad said the same thing when he realized someone was stealing his beer from our farm."

Jim stiffened, realizing she must be the daughter of the farmers from the neighboring farm. He had been sneaking over there and stealing beer for a few months now.

It hit Jim then. He knew where he knew this girl from. She had been in most of his classes at the high school that he unhappily attended last year. Hell, she had even sat next to him in English and he hadn't realized until now. What was her name? Tori?

"Jim, right? Jim Kirk." With surprising gracefulness, she bounded up the pile of hay and sat right next to him.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jim asked, watching her lean back casually and avert her gaze to the stars.

"Don't worry, I won't tell my dad that I know." She responded simply, avoiding the question.

Jim relaxed a bit, leaning back to resume staring at the stars. "So, are you planning on joining Starfleet?" The girl asked again.

"I don't know." He responded.

"I think it'd be amazing. To fly with the stars, you know? They're so beautiful from down here, think of what they'd look like up there."

Jim glanced over at her face. She was smiling contentedly up at the stars as if she hadn't a care in the world. He was surprised by how small she really was, she almost looked frail, like he could snap her in half with his fingers.

"So are you gonna say something else, or just sit there?" She asked, giggling at his surprised expression.

"Well, what do you want me to say?"

"Tell me about yourself, Jimmy."

He winced at the nickname. The only person who ever called him Jimmy was his mother, and he didn't even like it when she called him that. "Umm…weren't we in the same classes last year?"

"Sure were. My name's Tori, in case you can't remember. School starts tomorrow, you know. We're gonna be juniors!"

"Yeah," Jim responded simply. She seemed thrilled by the prospect of going to school tomorrow, but he was much less than thrilled. True, it was a good way to escape from his home, but he'd much rather escape by laying out here, gazing at the stars, like he did every summer.

"You aren't being very talkative." She said.

"Well, it's not like you were exactly invited over here."

"I was lonely. Don't you long to talk to someone when you're lonely?"

Jim was never lonely. He embraced being alone. He loved it. Sure, he liked the company of his friends at times, but at others, being alone was preferred. He didn't like being around his mother, because he knew it hurt her. He was the spitting image of his deceased father, and every time she looked into his eyes, she saw his father. She could hardly stare him in the eyes anymore.

So to prevent from hurting her any farther, he stayed away.

"Anyways, I've heard the stories about your dad. That was really brave, what he did."

"Yeah."

"Surely it makes you want to join Starfleet? To be like him, you know."

"No, not really."

Tori propped herself up on one elbow to look over at him. "You really need to work on your people skills, you know."

"You really need to learn not to trespass."

She laughed again, and Jim found himself grinning. "Come on, Jimbo, let's get to know each other. We are neighbors, after all. We could be best friends! I've never had a best friend."

Jim turned to look at her face again. It was bright, her eyes twinkling, a smile gracing her pixielike features. She genuinely looked happy to be alive. "Alright, you go first."

"Umm…alright. Well I was born and raised here in Iowa, boring I know. I think it'd be awesome to join Starfleet one day, but I don't know if my parents will let me. They're a bit overprotective, you know? It gets annoying, but oh well."

"Why are they overprotective?"
Tori shrugged. "I suppose because I'm their only child. I dunno. Ok, your turn."

"Um, born in space, raised in Iowa."

"Born in space?!" Tori laughed. "Did that do something to your head?"

"No!" Jim said indignantly, before he realized she was joking. He laughed it off, and then continued. "Um, I don't really know what I want to do after high school. Maybe Starfleet."

"Well that's cool. Hey, you know what'd be awesome?! If we joined Starfleet together."

Jim laughed at her overexcited expression. "Yeah, I guess."

"Anyways, I better get home. Overprotective parents equals unhappiness when I'm out late. See you tomorrow, Jimmy!"

Before he could even speak, she had bounded off the bale of hay and disappeared over the fence separating their property.

Jim stood up on the bale of hay with a smile on his face. Tori's happiness seemed to be contagious, and for some reason he found himself eager to see her tomorrow. Jim climbed into his window that could be reached from the hay he stood on and slipped into bed.