I Want Crazy

YEAR 1

Tom loved going out. Whether it was to a bar or just sitting outside on the roof of her house, listening to the sounds of the crickets and things all around her. She loved the nightlife and hardly ever went to bed before a new day started. Not when there was so much to do once the sun went down and everyone turned on their lights.

Her parents were probably already snug in their beds by the time she was ready to go out with her roommate, Daisy Mae. The other girl had been fussing over what she was going to wear or how she was going to put her curls. Tom sat on her bed already ready to go, as her eyes followed her roommate running from one end of the room to the other. She didn’t mind waiting. Tom didn’t want to walk into the bar alone and she had actually wanted to become friends with Daisy Mae. Her only friends back at home were those who worked for her dad and the bartender at the bar she had been to the previous night.

Gosh, had that only been last night? Tom thought to herself. She almost couldn’t believe that twenty-four hours ago she had received her acceptance into the Academy and now she was there, sitting in her dormitory. She should have been looking over the course schedule so that she could pick her classes tomorrow at registration with no problem. Seeing as she had to take a lot of beginner classes. Tom planned on taking them all in one semester just to get them out of the way. She had a lot of catching up to do if she wanted to be on the same page as all the others starting at the Academy this year. She didn’t want to be looked at as slow or unintelligent. It was simply that she hadn’t gone to school after she graduating high school.

Tom sighed. “DM, are you almost done? By the time we get there, all the good guys would have found someone.” The blonde groaned looking at her watch. “I know I told you to take your time, but I don’t want to be the only one wallowing by herself over a few beers.”

“DM?!” Daisy Mae asked excitedly. “Is that like some sorta nickname?” her southern drawl was thick as she spoke.

“Uh, I guess. If that’s okay?”

“Of course! I’ve never had a nickname.” The girl turned away from her mirror to talk to Tom to her face. “I mean, other than my parents just calling me Daisy. It makes me wonder. If they didn’t want to always call me Daisy Mae, why didn’t they make Mae my middle name?”

“Mae’s not your middle name?” Tom was confused. Daisy Mae shook her head, turning back to the mirror to continue her finishing touches on her makeup.

“My middle name is Francis. My mom’s name. How lame is that?”

“I’m named after my father. I mean, my middle name. I don’t think it’s that lame, considering that’s the name I go by. I guess, I kinda cherish it. I’ve always got part of my dad with me. Makes me feel better about being so far away from him since he is my best friend.”

Daisy Mae turned to her with a half-pout. “That is so sweet.”

Tom shrugged it off. “I guess. You ready?” Daisy Mae nodded and picked up her clutch purse from her bed. Tom had all of her necessities in her back pocket. She never understood the use for a purse. Tom sighed and pushed herself of off her bed and out of the room following behind Daisy Mae.

~~~~~

Half a drink in and Tom’s nightmares might have already come true. There were hardly any guys worth pursuing in the bar they were in. Of course, those that were worth it, went up to Daisy Mae first. Tom cursed herself thinking that she should have brought her skimpier outfits with her. That’s all these kinds of guys would go for anyway: those who wore the least amount of clothing. Tom was all about showing off her assets instead of showing off skin. She wore clothing that clung to her body, showing of her curves. As Tom heard another guy come up to the table from behind and say ‘Hey’ she quickly downed the rest of her beer. She nearly jumped out of her chair when the guy wrapped his arm around her waist. She turned quickly seeing Ol’ Blue Eyes himself sending a smirk in her direction.

“Jimmy. Did I tell you that I don’t like to be snuck up on?”

Jim shook his head. “No, don’t think you did.” Tom rolled her eyes. “But now I know.” He turned his head at the sound of Daisy Mae clearing her throat obviously. “Hello.” Jim said smoothly. “Who’s your friend, Tommy?” Daisy Mae blushed. Tom was surprised that it showed even after all that makeup she had caked on her face before they left.

Tom sighed. “Right. DM, this is my, uh, friend?” she questioned, unsure of herself. Jim nodded. “Jim Kirk. Jim, this is my roommate, Daisy Mae.” Daisy Mae sat up straight in her chair and reached her hand out to shake Jim’s. Jim took it, but kissed the back of her hand instead of shaking it.

“My, aren’t you a gentleman.” Daisy complimented.

“Nice to meet you, Daisy Mae.” He said.

“You as well.”

“Why are you following me?” Tom asked Jim, disrupting his moment with Daisy Mae. There was no way that she was letting her sweet roommate fall into the dirty clutches of Jim Kirk.

Jim dropping Daisy Mae’s hand lightly back onto the table and turned to face Tom. “I’m not following you. We needed a drink.” He said, pointing at the bar. Tom followed his gaze and saw the man from this morning, McCoy, standing at the bar waiting for a bartender to pay him the slightest bit of attention. The bartenders always seemed to pass him up and help a girl first. Tom could just see the rage boiling up in Leo’s eyes as he was ready to blow up at the tenders. Tom sighed, knowing that it would happen sooner or later. She stood up from her seat and turned to Daisy Mae.

“You watch him.” Tom said, pointing to Jim. “Watch where he puts his hands. That one’s trouble.”

“Oh, come on. You know you like it.” Jim teased. Tom rolled her eyes and walked towards the bar, joining Leo. Jim watched her as she walked, admiring the way that she did. Tom placed a hand on Leo’s forearm, telling him to take a step back.

“Hey, barkeep!” She called down the bar. A couple of the bartenders looked her, but one nodded to the other signaling he’d take this one.

“What can I get you, sweetheart?” he asked, in a raspy tone.

“Can I get four shots of whatever is strongest and two Budweiser Classics?”

The man nodded. “Comin’ up.” Tom looked back at Leo and smirked. His face was dumbstruck that she had just been able to walk up to the bar and get someone to take her order.

“How the hell did you do that?” Leo asked.

“Ah, the joys of being a woman.” Tom praised, leaning back with her elbows on the bar. “I saw you were in trouble. Figured you’d need a little help since you don’t have boobs. They wouldn’t look at you twice without them.”

“Here you go.” The bartender said, behind Tom, sliding two beers behind the four shot glasses in a row.

“Thanks.” Tom said, smiling sweetly. The tender nodded and turned to the next customer. Tom pushed two of the shots and one beer in Leo’s direction. “For you, my friend.” Tom raised a shot glass towards him. Leo picked up one of his and clicked it with hers.

“Thanks.” Leo said gratefully as he quickly downed both shots along with Tom. They both sighed after the shots were gone, pushing the glasses away from them. Tom glanced back at the table where she had left Daisy Mae and Jim only to find that he had disappeared and Daisy Mae was now sitting alone, looking around the bar. Tom picked up her beer and grabbed Leo’s arm, pulling him back to the table. Leo was able to quickly grab the leftover beer glass. “Dammit, woman. You’ve got a grip!” he exclaimed.

Tom quickly loosened her hand from around his arm. “Yeah, sorry about that.” she said as she sat back down at the table. “Doctor Leonard McCoy, this is my roommate, Daisy Mae. She is also going down the medical track.”

“Oh my, gosh. You’re already a doctor?!” Daisy Mae said. Leo raised an eyebrow.

This one’s like an untrained puppy. Tom thought to herself. “DM, slow down.” She told the brunette. Daisy Mae mouthed back a ‘sorry’. Tom looked to Leo. “Sorry, she’s a gets a little excited. We’re working on it.” She turned to Daisy Mae. “Where’d Jim go?”

Daisy Mae shrugged. “Saw some other girl and bolted.”

“What did I tell you? Trouble.”

Daisy Mae nodded, agreeing. “But he’s cute. How do you know him?”

“Met him at a bar back at home last night. Hooked up with him. He decided to follow me.” Tom admitted.

“That’s not how I heard it.” Leo told the blonde.

“Trust me. It’s how it happened. I mean, somewhere in between he got the crap beat outta him by some other cadets, but I thought, at first, that I should leave that part out.” Tom looked around the bar. She couldn’t see Jim, but she saw Uhura walking in with an Orion girl. Tom raised her hand in the air and waved. Uhura waved back and grabbed her friend’s hand pulling her towards them. “Hey, Uhura.” Tom said, as they took a seat at the table. “This is my roommate, Daisy Mae, and my friend, Leonard McCoy.”

“Hey. This is Gaila.”

“Hi!” the redhead said cheerfully.

Tom nodded her head slowly. “Oh, you and DM will get along swimmingly.” Tom said sarcastically. Tom suddenly felt a familiar hand slide around her waist for the second time that night. She didn’t even bother turning to see Jim standing next to her.

“Bones, you should have told me you had a way with the ladies. Four of them here and only one of you.” Tom rolled her eyes at Jim’s statement.

“Bones?” she questioned.

“It stuck.” Jim said, shrugging. Leo rolled his eyes. It was obvious he wasn’t enjoying himself as much as his younger counterparts were. Gaila, though, seemed to be enjoying Jim from afar. He caught her gaze and instantly started flirting with her. Tom groaned internally feeling a pang of (what was that?) jealousy. Tom quickly downed the her entire glass.

“Oh, look!” she said, loudly, purposefully trying to get people’s attention. “Looks like I need another one.” She quickly moved out of her seat at the table and walked to the bathroom by way of the bar, hoping no one would follow her. She stood at the sink looking in the mirror and sighed. She quickly washed her hands and then dabbed some water on her face. The looked to the mirror again. “Just a guy, Tom. You’ve done this before. One guy, one night. Nothing more.” She chanted to herself. She smiled at herself in the mirror when she was satisfied with what she repeated. “You’re not jealous. You don’t get jealous. Leave that for the girls who are too self-conscious about themselves.” She let out a breath and left the bathroom, returning to the table. Jim was gone again, probably trying to chase after some other girl after Uhura gave him enough grief about hooking up with her roommate. Then, noticing it, Uhura and Gaila were gone, too.

“Hey, I thought you were at the bar?” Daisy Mae questioned.

“I decided against another drink. Kinda feel like being sober tonight.”

“Oh, well. I know that I had said we’d have fun tonight, but I’m actually really tired. And we’ve got registration in the morning.”

Tom nodded. “I think I’m gonna meet you back at the room. Hang out with my new friend, Leo, here for a bit.” Daisy Mae nodded and walked off with a wave. Tom looked to Leo, who had a curious look on his face.

“Are you sure you want me to stay here?” he asked

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“You’re too young to be hanging out with an old, depressed divorcee like me. You could be running around with any of these tools.” He said gesturing around the bar.

Tom sighed. “And what about Jimmy? He’s just about the same age as me. You’re sticking to him like glue.” Leo shrugged to this. “And like I said on the ship, you’re kinda hot.” Leo’s eyes widened. Tom laughed. “I mean it, you got that scruffy look, and it’s kinda working for me. you’re ex-wife doesn’t know what she’s missing.”

“You should tell her that.” Leo said, before taking a swig of his beer.

Tom laughed. “Now, don’t tease, ‘cause I just might.” She winked. “What’s she got on you anyway? I mean, how’d she get everything?”

Leo went rigid. Obviously, Tom had hit a sensitive topic for him. “Long story.” He said simply. Tom waved it off.

“No worries. Just trying to find something to talk about.” And the two of them did. Well, Tom did. Leo let her talk about herself as he asked her questions about her life and how she got to be here. She told him about her family and what they did. How she was best friends with her father and wished she didn’t have three sisters sometimes. She told him about Yasmin and how she was also in the Med track. Tom even told him about Jim and how even though they’ve only known each other for twenty-four hours, she felt close to him, in a friendly way, of course. Not that she would ever believe otherwise, but nothing was going to come of her relationship with Jim. They were friends. That was good enough for her.

“Bones,” Jim said, as he walked up to the table. “I’m gone for a few minutes and you’ve started flirting with my girl?” he joked.

Tom laughed, looking to Jim. “First, I’m not your girl. And second, if Leo wanted to flirt with me,” she turned back to Leo, “he has my permission.” She winked. Bones was lost in the moment, glancing back and forth between his Jim and Tom.

“I’m gonna stay out of this one. Thanks, though.” He said with a raise of his glass in Tom’s direction. Tom smirked and turned her attention back to Jim.

“What about you? You have any luck out there?” she asked him.

Jim shook his head. “It’s a shame. But it’s only the first night. I have years here.”

“That’s a very optimistic way of looking at it.”

Jim nodded, and leaned down to Tom’s ear. “You wanna get out of here?” he asked her, making her shiver as she felt his breath on her neck. Tom nodded, with a smirk.

~~~~~

Her hair was a mess. Not that it was put in a perfect place earlier, but now there was no way she was leaving without a ponytail. She rolled over with a smirk on top of Jim and bit in the crook of his neck, making him laugh quietly. She leaned up on her elbows, her hair cascading into his face. She chuckled and pulled it over one of her shoulders.

“What was that for?” Jim asked from under her, as his arms traveled from her shoulders further down.

“Just making sure you’re awake. Wanna go again?” she asked.

“It seems like you’re the one that’s using me. I’m hurt, Tommy.” He showed a fake look of pain. Tom rolled her eyes.

“C’mon now. I think we both know you enjoy it just as much as I do.” Jim shrugged, but gave in. “Besides, this could happen more often.”

“Yeah?” he questioned. Tom rolled back over and landed on her side facing him.

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t want to call this any sorta friends with benefits thing, ‘cause those never work out. But let’s just say we make a deal.”

“I’m listening.” Jim said, actually interested in where she was going.

“Well, let’s say we both go out to a bar with intentions of hooking up with someone. I don’t find anyone worth my time, and you don’t find someone willing enough to lower their standards.”

“Lower their standards? You slept with me.” he pointed out.

“Yeah, I already found you attractive and, in my defense, we had a bet. Anyway, if that does happen, the one of us could always find the other.”

Jim nodded, pursing his lips. “Okay,” he said slowly, “and if I don’t want to go through the hassle of going all the way out in town?”

“You know where my room is.” She said, simply.

Jim laughed. “I am very happy that I met you.”

“I figured as much.” Jim rolled over on top of Tom this time, and leaned down to nip at her neck. “Just remember. No feelings.” Jim mumbled into her neck and continued with what he was doing.