While Sari was there from the moment the Autobots came out of Lake Erie, Samantha joined the group a little later, when Sari was already living with the Autobots. The red haired girl was 17 and in her senior year of high school, and she wasn't very popular to say the least. Not that she wanted to be. She viewed most of the other students there to be vapid and cruel, like they didn't have hearts or souls.
But then she met Sari. Samantha was at the playground, riding on a swing when Sari ran over and took the swing next to her. Not seeing any parents in sight, she asked, "Hey, are you here alone?"
"No!" Sari told her, and then pointed at the yellow car with a black stripe parked in one of the metered spaces. "Bumblebee is with me!"
"Bumblebee?" Samantha asked. "You mean one of the Autobots? You're kidding, right?"
"Nope!" Sari chirped.
The car transformed into a giant robot, and started running over to the swings.
"Hey, Sari! Who's your friend?" Bumblebee asked in his eternally energetic voice.
"I don't know! Who are you, friend?" Sari asked.
"I'm Samantha, and I assume you're Sari?" Samantha asked.
"That's right!" Sari said with a thumbs up.
"And I'm Bumblebee!" said the robot.
Samantha giggled. "I knew that!"
Hours passed. The trio conversed until sunset, when Sari asked, "Hey, Samantha, we have the newest edition of Ninja Gladiator back at our place! Wanna play with us?"
Sure enough, Samantha said yes, and the trio went back to the base to play each other in not just Ninja Gladiator, but assorted other fighting games as well. Throughout the night, Samantha became fixated on cute little things about Bumblebee, like his laugh, or his smile, or just… you know what? His entire being.
Sari had fallen asleep halfway through the night, and it was 2 AM when Samantha realized she should probably go home.
"Do you really have to go?" Bumblebee asked.
"Sorry, I do. I have a test tomorrow!" Samantha told him sadly.
"Aw man. Can I at least drive you home?" Bumblebee asked, blushing. "You know, because it's kind of dangerous this late at night, and I don't want you getting hurt."
Samantha blushed as well. "Um… sure! I don't think my parents would want to drive me home this late, so, yeah! Absolutely!"
As Samantha began to walk outside, Bumblebee made sure she couldn't see him and pumped his fist in the air in victory. "Score!" he thought.
On the way back to Samantha's place, Bumblebee made a detour.
"Um, Bee?" Samantha asked. "My house is that way!"
"Oh, it is?" Bumblebee realized. "My bad!" He then proceeded to turn around and drive in another wrong direction.
"Bumblebee. My house is down that road," Samantha calmly told him. "Are you okay?"
"I… I'm sorry," Bumblebee apologized. "It's just… we had such a great time playing video games tonight, and… I don't want it to be over."
Samantha gasped. He enjoyed her company as much as she enjoyed his? "Bumblebee… I'm just going home. I'd love to hang out with you again tomorrow.
"Really?" Bumblebee asked excitedly before clearing his vocalizer and saying, "I mean, of course you do!"
The two remained silent for a few minutes before bursting out laughing at Bumblebee's arrogance.
"Okay, Bee, but seriously, I have to go home. I can't fail this test," Samantha told him.
"Oh, alright…" Bumblebee groaned.
He pulled up to the house and before Samantha got out, she asked. "Is there a way I can talk to you when we're not hanging out?"
Though Samantha couldn't see it, Bumblebee was blushing. "I think you could hook your cell phone up to my commlink like Sari did, and we can talk through there."
So that's what they did. "Okay, Bee. I have to go inside now for real this time!" Samantha said as she patted the hood of his vehicle mode. "See you tomorrow!"
The two parted ways, but before Samantha even got to her front door, she received a text message from Bumblebee. It was a heart emoji. Samantha was going to sleep well tonight.