Disclaimer: I do not own Tranformers nor am I affiliated in any way with its creators! Just the story folks! ;)
Prologue to this story is "The Gift" one shot, should definitly read it, it comes into play eventually!
The chapters will end up being longer, and it is rated M for later content (Trust me, the rating will end up being needed!).
And to CherryBlossomKitten, my only answer is to read on!
.:Chapter 1:.
It was quite a beautiful day outside by anyone's standards. The sun was shining bright, there were very few clouds to be seen, the air was lightly breezy and warm, and the trees of the city sidewalks were bright and scented. Quite the contrast to the fourth floor of cubicles at Rodgers & Ericks Accounting Firm.
Leanne Holmes sighed as she pushed the mail cart along the walkway between the cubicles. The one thing she wanted was to be outside. Most days she was fine to do her duties without complaint but today was different. The office almost seemed claustrophobic with all the people, papers, heavy duty printers, walls, chairs, fake cubicle walls, people- Okay, stop right there! No need to go crazy now. Leanne thought to herself as her eyebrow twitched in annoyance.
She looked down at the set of envelopes in her hand and made sure she had the right person. "Here you go, Johnson." she said in quite the bored tone as she tossed them in his box.
"Hey, not so harsh with the paper, there could be something valuable in there you know." Johnson said, picking the envelopes up as if they had actually been damaged.
"Meh." Leanne replied and continued forward.
She continued about the same way around the office, earning snickers and odd glances from several coworkers. Finally, she finished the rounds and headed back for the elevator. She hadn't noticed her coworker following.
"Hey, Leany!" called the young copper haired accountant.
"Oh! Hey Shelby, what's up." Leanne asked amiably.
"Just going on my brake." Shelby said with a smile. She leaned in conspiratorially as the elevator binged. "Officially anyway!" she whispered.
Leanne just looked at her over the frames of her glasses with a raised eyebrow. "Mmmhm."
"Doors open!" Shelby said suddenly and walked in. Leanne followed.
Shelby was silent on the way down, her perky little smile still in place. Leanne stared at her, highly unamused.
When the door finally opened, Leanne walked through as if she was on a mission and couldn't help but be annoyed when Shelby simply tailed behind her. She walked through the lobby and turned the cart towards the Employees Only area. She got to the employee lobby and headed for the mail room... Shelby still following. Leanne pulled out her key-ring and found the mail room key easily. As she unlocked the door, motion caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She saw one of the newer maintenance men exiting the supply closet. Suddenly, he looked her up and down with a smirk, quite unaware that she was watching him. Leanne's eyebrow twitched and she turned the mail room door knob with a jerk.
CRACKSSHH!
Leanne looked to the door knob... The wood around where it was mounted was ripped and splintered. Deeehhhh... Shit. Was all that came to mind.
"OH MY GOODNESS!" Came Shelby's shocked voice.
Leanne sighed and hung her head.
XoXoX
10 minutes later, Leanne and Shelby were outside sitting at one of the employee's break tables.
"You know that door is probably 10 years old, that was bound to happen eventually." Shelby was saying as she sipped on the soda she had gotten out of the vending machine, cigarette between her fingers.
"Mmmhmm." Leanne mumbled as she stared through the light green bottle of her own soda. "I'm sure the bosses will take that into consideration when they add yet another incident to my growing list of office vandalisms." She slouched a little further down on her elbows. She had been breaking a lot of things lately. All by accident, but when one has 23 accidents in a one month period it usually doesn't sit too well with the people having to pay for it.
"Oh, please! Everything you've broken has been old shit around the office. That coffee pot was at LEAST 20 years old, the fridge door had been squeaky for months, the filing cabinet in the printer room was a dented, bent up piece of shit, its no wonder it's doors hadn't come off their hinges sooner!" Shelby counted off each one of the very few incidents with her fingers before putting out her cigarette. "It's all old stuff, it was gonna break down sooner or later." She cocked her head at Leanne like she was stating the obvious.
Leanne stared at her tiredly. "Mmmhm."
"And would you stop 'Mmmhmm-ing' me already, its getting annoying." Shelby said as she opened her pack of cigarettes.
Leanne stared at her. "... Mmmhm."
Shelby leveled her own stare. She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, here." She stretched out a cigarette to Leanne.
Leanne's eyebrows went up. "Shelby, you know I'm trying to quit."
"Leany, you need one." Shelby looked into her eyes with that stonewall resolve that meant she wasn't going to leave the table with that cigarette in her hand.
Leanne just gave her a Meh face. "Fine." She took it and the offered lighter from Shelby. She lit it, took quite a generous puff, and handed the lighter back. "Happy now?"
"Yup!" Shelby said cheerfully as she put the lighter in her pack and pocketed it.
She took another drink of her soda before leveling her eyes at Leanne again. "So. What's wrong?" She asked seriously.
And down to the reason for the puppy dog puppy dogging. Leanne thought with slight annoyance. "Nothing, Hun."
"I don't believe you. You've been walking around in a slump all day, you haven't been near as chatty or happy as usual, and the only thing you can do is stare off into space out the office windows. Something's up." Shelby said concernedly.
Leanne huffed. "Nothing's up, Shelby, I just don't want to work today. For some reason the only thing I want to do is be outside." She took another swig of her cigarette and blew the smoke out hard.
"Well, you're outside." Shelby said in a sarcastic tone. Leanne half glared at her. "Listen, you can't tell me that's the only problem."
"Yes I can, 'cause it is." Leanne said with just the slightest bit of force. "Shelby, this is my seventh day at work. I just need my day off, that's all... Or my period's starting." She said with a sideways glance. She knew that wasn't happening, but if it got Shelby off her back she didn't care.
Shelby looked at her with a measuring expression. Finally, she sighed. "Alright. Are you sure that's it?"
"Yes, Hun, I'm sure." Leanne assured her. "Thank you for asking though."
Shelby smiled. "Alright then. I'd better get back, this is an unofficial smoke break after all."
"Wait, I thought you were actually on your break?" Leanne asked incredulously.
"Nope! Just wanted to get you alone, Sweetcheeks!" Shelby said with a joking wink.
"Brat!"
Shelby giggled. "Anyway, try to cheer up okay? The day won't be that long, its already half over."
"Okaay. I'll cheer up, I promise." Leanne looked at Shelby over her glasses.
"Good!" Shelby said as she stood. "Enjoy!" she said, gesturing to the cigarette as she walked off.
Leanne huffed to herself and leaned her head on her hand. She huffed again and looked out at the trees and bushes lining the employee smoke area. The brunette sat there, watching the breeze rustle the leaves just slightly. She finally started to relax. And not even because of the cigarette. She took a deep breath, and sighed contentedly. Even just a short time and she actually did feel better.
She wasn't sure why, but oftentimes she just got urges to be outside, literally, just outside in the sunshine. It felt great to feel the warm rays on her back and hair. Even when in her long ponytail her hair got warm, almost hot, and it felt really good. She sighed again and felt her eyelids droop slightly.
She sat there at the table, just dozing. She was literally right on the verge of almost falling asleep... When her cell rang.
She jolted just slightly and groaned. "Dammit." she whispered under her breath as she dug it out of her skirt pocket. She groaned again as she caught sight of who it was.
A certain new acquaintance of hers named Anna-Lee Jones kept bugging her. Not that she minded having people to talk to but miss Anna-Lee had a strange habit of always calling her when she actually had TIME. Like on her breaks and lunches. Which was fine, in fact it was crazy good luck, but she didn't always have that MUCH time to just sit and talk about nothing in particular. Not to mention, Anna-Lee seemed to have decided that Leanne was her best friend in the whole entire world and seemed to want nothing more than to talk to her and spend time with her. Which was also fine, it was good to find someone that always wanted her company but... Leanne had only known her for two months. They had met in a pastry shop. In line. And randomly talked about flavorings. She bumped into the young blonde again the very next day and was somehow persuaded to exchange numbers. I really wish I had just given her my home phone. Leanne thought with another groan.
Knowing what the phone call was truly about, her conscience wouldn't let her not answer. Leanne huffed and hit "answer". "Hey, Hun."
"Hey, Leany!" came the sweet voice on the other end. "I really hate to keep bugging you like this, but have you thought any more about it?"
Leanne didn't answer for a second. She briefly ran over the whole thing again in her head. The "I need to tell you something and you're the only one I trust." the "I feel more comfortable talking where no one can possibly hear." the "Please, the warehouse is rented by my parents, I have a key and everything!" Her eyebrow twitched. "Hun, I understand needing to confide in someone you trust, but I just don't get why you want to meet in the warehouse district."
The rebuttal was immediate. "Because I want to talk where no one can possibly, ever, at all, in any way hear what I need to say! I just, I just feel so much better about talking where no one else is garunteed to be." she said almost desperately.
Leanne didn't even bother with asking, again, who could possibly care to hear what she needed to confide. She also didn't bother with reasoning, again, that there are workers in the warehouse district. It was going to be, AGAIN, "Any one who would want to know any secrets, it doesn't matter who they're from!" and "They still won't be able to hear through the warehouse walls and the containers and everything in the way!" Leanne rolled her eyes and suppressed a sigh. "Sweetheart-"
"Please, please, PLEEEEAAASSE! You're the only one I really trust, Leanyyyy!"
Leanne narrowed her eyes. There was a sudden desperateness in Anna-Lee's voice that hadn't quite been there before. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead with her palm, ruffling her bangs as she did so. This is the stuff that happens in forensic shows, Leanne, you just can't do this, it is NOT going to end well!
"... Pleease, Leanne... " Anna-Lee suddenly whispered.
Leanne's eyes shot open. First, it had been the first time Anna-Lee had called her by her actual name since the first week they had met, and second... it almost sounded like she was about to cry; Like she was truly desperate. Leanne squeezed her eyes shut tight and suppressed a groan.
She finally sighed. "Alright, Anna-Lee, I'll meet you in the warehouse district." She heard Anna-Lee heave a truly humongous sigh of relief on the other end.
"Thank you, thank you sooooo much, Leany! Thank you, thank you!"
"Its all good, Sweetheart. Just text me the address, or how to get there, or- you know, and I'll be there. What time, Hun?"
"Um- Saturday at 11 o'clock!"
"This Saturday, at 11 o'clock a.m.?"
"Yes, this Saturday but p.m."
Leanne's eyes shot open again. "P.M.!"
"Yes!" Anna-Lee said spiritedly. "That's when the warehouse workers definitely won't be working!"
Leanne pursed her lips. She exhaled through her nose. "Alright. I'll see you there then."
"Thank you sooo much again, I-"
"Its just fine, Honey, don't even worry about it. I need to get back to work, kay. Try to relax, alright." She just wanted to get off the phone as fast as possible.
"Alright! See you then!" Anna-Lee said with a smile in her voice.
"Yup." Leanne confirmed. She waited for just a second before hanging up.
She sighed heavily and banged her head on the table. "Dammit all." Why the hell had she agreed. It was stupid utterly STUPID! She didn't even really know this girl and she was gonna go to the friggen warehouse district to hear God only knows what come out of her mouth! Or worse, end up on the 5 o'clock news!
Leanne groaned again and raised her head. She looked at the cigarette in her hand and realized it had long burnt up and out. She huffed and tossed the butt in the ashtray. "Time to get back to work I guess." She stood, straightened her clothes and hair, grabbed her soda, and headed for the door. "Me and my big heart." she muttered sullenly.
XoXoX
.:Lord Megatron:.
.:Report, Soldier:.
.:I have succeeded!:.
.:... Goood! Make sure everything is in place.:.
.:Yes, My Lor-:.
.:Remember! Failure will not be tolerated again!:.
.:Understood, my Lord.:.
XxXxX
Soooo, thoughts, comments? This is just the first Chapter, so there isn't much going on, but just wait, it will get more interesting! ;3