Okay, I know this doesn't make up for the EXTREMELY late update for my other story, but I promise you it's coming soon! It will definitely be up by Sunday night for sure. This was just something that kinda popped into my head and wouldn't really go away. It started out as a songfic with the song "Baby I Want You" by Michael Sarver, but it ended up taking on a life of its own. I have an extremely hard time sticking to a plot. That's probably why my updates have slowed down so much because I don't follow any kind of outline. It's basically what comes to me at the point in time I sit down to write...so when nothing comes to me, there's nothing to follow. If I'm stuck, I don't have an idea to build from. Anyway, that's totally irrelevant to this so I'm shutting up now :)

On a positive note, I do have another idea for a one-shot running through my head but I will definitely finish up a chapter before I embark on something new! Who knows-could we see an update and two one shots posted in less than a week? Wait and see...

As always, I own nothing related to the Transformers franchise, just the liberties I take with their world. And of course...please review...'cause Christmas is coming up, I've been good this year, and I totally deserve reviews for presents! :)

There she was; the center of attention amongst a circle of her friends. The girl had such a light about her. Despite the hellish childhood she'd come from, she was still so strong.

They were the best of friends, had been since that fateful day in Mission City. Nobody knew how it started and they wouldn't tell. It went from Sam Witwicky, the geek, and Mikaela Banes, the most popular girl in school, to SamandMikaela. Paths that never crossed before were now one and the same.

In the year and a half since making out on the hood of a robot disguised as a canary yellow Camaro, they'd never dated or so much as kissed again. Mikaela jumped from guy to guy, not whoring around but desperately searching for something she wouldn't get from the boys she dated, and Sam was entirely too shy to make a move. After all, his only kiss had been Molly Jenkins in the second grade and then she'd run off crying because he had cooties.

Girls fell at his feet constantly now. On top of that, she was always trying to set him up with girls she knew but he refused every single time. He only wanted her even if she had no idea.

After she'd continued to date a slew of other guys and never mentioned their kiss again, he resigned himself to the fact that all he could ever be was her friend. It wasn't easy, but he found a way to bury his feelings so deep that half the time he forgot they even existed.

Except over the past summer, they started to creep up little by little until they were in his thoughts all day long. She was his first thought in the morning and the last upon falling asleep.

He'd been her rock every time another jackass screwed her over and he'd been there the day her dad and was released from prison and four months later when he'd gone back for violating his parole.

They were as close as two friends could be; she knew him better than anyone else ever would.

An entire summer spent fighting off these feelings, and he couldn't hold it in any longer.

Monday they would be seniors. Everyone always said it would be the time of their lives. That was why they found themselves partying on the beach. The whole senior class was there. It was the kick start to their best year ever.

The only problem was he couldn't start his senior year without telling her. It couldn't be his "best year ever" if he didn't take this chance.

Sam stood back, watching her laugh and have a good time, knowing everything was about to change. Either they were about to start something amazing or he was going to lose his best friend. He was scared to death because there was absolutely no way to predict how this would turn out, but he knew he couldn't keep this a secret anymore.

Mikaela's eyes met his and saw the troubled look he wore. Her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion and even though people were talking to her, she excused herself from the conversation and made her way over to him.

"Sammy what's wrong?" She asked worriedly and lightly pinched his stomach to get him to smile. "We're about to be seniors! You're supposed to be happy."

"I am happy. I've just got a lot on my mind," He took a deep breath. "There's something I need to tell you."

"You're scaring me Sam," Her eyes searched his.

"I don't really know how you're gonna take it."

"Just tell me."

"You're my best friend, you know that right?" Mikaela nodded and he continued. "But there's something I've been hiding from you for a long time."

"Sam, just tell me already," She laced her fingers through his. "It can't be that bad."

"Promise me you're not gonna hate me," He pleaded softly.

"Oh my God," Her eyes widened and she stepped back. "Tell me you didn't sleep with Brooke Wooten."

Brooke Wooten was the one person Mikaela hated most. The year before they became friends, Brooke had slept with Alex Rogers while Mikaela was dating him. Alex had been Mikaela's one and only serious relationship and Brooke had heartlessly destroyed it out of jealousy. She'd shown no remorse and had immediately started dating Alex after the truth came out.

Sometime during the fall, a rumor had started that Sam went behind her back and had sex with his best friend's biggest enemy. It couldn't have been further from the truth; Sam was, in fact, still a virgin.

"I swear to God I never touched her."

"So what, you've been talking to her? Now you want to date her?" Mikaela's eyes flashed. "I can't stop you, but I'm not gonna be around if you do."

"It's got nothing to do with Brooke freaking Wooten!" Sam raked a hand through his curly hair.

"Then what is it? Did you sleep with Lauren? Brittney? Taylor?" She listed off names of her closest girlfriends. "Are you moving? Are your parents getting divorced? Wait…you're not gonna tell me you're gay are you?"

Mikaela was shooting off questions one right after another without even breathing. His head spun with the rapid inquisition until finally he could take it no longer and he grabbed her by the waist and tilted his head down to kiss her. Beneath his hands, her body froze in surprise but he kept kissing her until her lips responded to his. All Sam could do was smile when she wrapped her arms around his neck and thank God that she didn't slap him.

That is, until she pushed his chest with such a force that he stumbled backwards.

"No, no, no, tell me it's anything but that," Her voice was full of fear. "Tell me you didn't just kiss me."

"The truth is I'm crazy about you. I can't stop thinking about you," None of this was going the way he planned and for the first time, he truly feared losing her for good. Part of him thought for sure she wanted this too. "I've tried to fight it, but I can't just be your friend anymore. I need you."

"Sam I can't—we can't—do this," Tears filled her eyes and all he wanted to do was hold her but she moved back when he reached for her. "You're my best friend in the whole world, the most important person in my life, and I'm not gonna risk that."

"Look me in the eye and tell me you felt nothing."

"You're my best friend," Mikaela said softly and he knew then he wasn't going to win, not when her eyes held the same truth.

"I can't be your friend," He whispered brokenly.

Shoulders sagging in defeat, Sam turned to walk away. Mikaela called out his name frantically, but he didn't turn around. Some of their classmates had seen it all go down but he ignored all of their shocked looks. It had been the right choice to tell her, he knew, but he hadn't been prepared for the hurt he would feel from her rejection.

They would never be the same. In less than 15 minutes, they had gone from SamandMikaela to Sam and Mikaela.

The bonfire had died out and everyone had left to continue the party at someone's house, but Sam remained in his spot on the beach looking out over the calm waters of the ocean. Why he didn't just leave, he didn't know, but he'd not moved since his ill-fated conversations with his best friend hours before.

Ex-best friend, he thought to himself bitterly.

Their kiss and her rejection was sure to be the hottest gossip on the first day of school. It made him sick knowing he would be the butt of everyone's jokes. They would point and laugh entirely at his expense while his heart was shattered into a million little pieces.

Thanks to his soul-baring, he wouldn't even have his best friend to help him get through it. How could he have been so completely wrong about her feelings? Naively, he'd thought as least a small part of her felt the same way. Why would she kiss him back if she felt nothing?

On second thought, how could she not see how good they could be? They told each other everything, understood one another implicitly. They were so much alike and yet totally different. She trusted him with all the sordid details of her home life and what she'd been through; yet very few others knew her dad was in prison. He'd become the first person she went to for anything. There was just too much there for him to simply be her best friend, and either she just didn't see it or she wouldn't admit it.

Maybe I'm just trying too hard to find something so special while we're still in high school, Sam thought as he bent his legs at the knee and leaned back on his hands. What if we are just meant to be friends right now? And I just royally fucked that up. Way to go Witwicky.

A scowl formed on his face and he was so lost in beating himself up that he never heard the approaching footsteps until Mikaela crawled in between his legs and leaned against his chest.

"You hate me now, don't you?" She asked sadly when she felt his muscles tense up much like hers had earlier that night when he'd kissed her.

"Of course not," He sighed. "I just…I don't even know anymore. I don't know what to think."

"You remember the month before my dad got out?" Her slim fingers played with the frayed edges of his shorts. "I was so excited; so convinced that he had changed. I could tell you never really believed it, but you were happy for me anyway."

"That first week, he acted like he had…but then he went back to how he was before. And I can't remember how many times you snuck me in the back door and held me all night long because he got drunk or high and started hitting me like he used to. You never said 'I told you so' even if you thought it; you just promised you'd always be there for me and you'd protect me."

Sam felt a sense of shame knowing he hadn't been able to protect her and subconsciously slid an arm around her waist to pull her tight against his chest. He wanted to say something but his mind was blank and deep down he knew she needed to get this out without him interrupting.

"I know you're thinking you didn't," He smiled at the way she read his mind without looking at him. "But you did. That last night…all you got was a text that said 'help' and you walked out of a dinner with your family to run to me. You had the bat, but I thought we were both going to die. Even after you knocked him out, I was so scared. If you hadn't come when you did, I wouldn't be here. You protected me when I needed you more than ever. Maybe that was when it all changed. I don't really know. Maybe it was always there and I just ignored it."

Mikaela turned her body to look at him and Sam felt her words wash over him, refilling him with hope.

"I told you all the things I'd never tell anyone else and you held my hand when you should've run away," He opened his mouth to argue so she placed her fingers over his lips to keep him silent.

He watched her intently as she laid her forehead against his chest and her body shook beneath his touch. His unexpected revelation terrified her. It forced her to acknowledge how deeply she cared for him and she didn't want to admit it. Knowing his feelings weren't unrequited gave him a power she wasn't sure she wanted to relinquish, but then again this was Sam. And somehow that changed everything—made it okay.

"You are my best friend. You always will be," Her eyes were teary as she whispered the words he was beginning to hate. They always meant something bad for him. "And I'm terrified because I don't think I can just be your friend either. I should've told you that earlier, but I chickened out. I got scared."

"What are you saying?" He asked, cautious not to read too much into her words. His heart couldn't take a second rejection.

"I need you too," Mikaela whispered and for the first time since she'd sat down he really looked into her eyes.

"Mikaela…"

"I need you to be my best friend. My protector. The guy who makes me laugh when I'm upset, who watches stupid movies with me, who holds my hand in public to keep all the creeps away. The guy who helps me with my Chem homework because I can't stay awake in class. I need you to be the guy you've always been, but I want you to be so much more."

"Tell me you're saying what I think you're saying," Sam pleaded.

"And I really need you to kiss me because I know that was technically your first and I totally ruined it and I wanna make your second that much better."

There was no asking twice. She had barely stopped speaking when his lips touched hers in a tender kiss. This time she responded instantly by curling her fingers around the hair at the nape of his neck. The moved together lazily, wanting to savor the moment. Between the electricity that ignited from their kiss and his nervousness, he thought his heart would break his chest bone it was pounding so hard.

Even as the kiss ended, Sam kept his eyes closed. The moment was so amazing he wasn't quite ready to let it go. Her fingers traced the stubble along his jaw and he couldn't resist leaning into her tender touch.

"So help me God if you tell me I'm your best friend one more time," He threatened quietly and looked into her eyes.

"You are my best friend," There was no missing his jaw clenching or his eyes scrunching shut in frustration. "But, you know, I kinda think "boyfriend" sounds way better."

A smile bright enough to light a small country formed on his face and she giggled at his obvious happiness.

They spent the remainder of the night in that exact spot on the beach. It wasn't incredibly different from any other time they spent together. The only real difference was that Sam was able to kiss her and touch her like he couldn't before.

Mikaela talked the whole night long. How she had so much to say he didn't know, but listening to her ramble on about anything and everything filled him with a contentment he'd never known. Although they already told each other everything, she opened up to him in a whole new way. Most of the things she told him weren't serious, didn't really even matter, but she was letting him into her thoughts completely and whole-heartedly and he relished it.

By the time they rose to leave, the sun had already started to come up. Sam stood with his arms around her waist and his chin on her shoulder as they watched the sunrise. A new day had begun, one that signified their new beginning. It was at that point Sam realized Mikaela was right: he was her best friend.

But she was his girlfriend.

And maybe, just maybe, best friends wasn't so bad after all.