Okay, this story is a sequel to "Don't Mess With Little Shadow" and is based on a true story that happened with me. I had been invited to go on a double date with someone I knew and she was bringing her date and she told me to bring a date too. Well, I asked a guy that I knew if he'd go with me and he said yes. It was my very first date! But, here's what happened. He stood me up! The guy didn't call or show at where we were supposed to meet. I was so crushed that my very first date is now to be remembered as my date was a no-show. Anyway, this story bloomed from that heartbreak. So enjoy, y'all!

Disclaimer: I only own Rachel. Transformers Animated belongs to Hasbro.

Break Little Shadow's Heart, And You Will Face Steel Swords

It was a few years after Sentinel had been banished to Junkion that Rachel came racing to the Autobot plant in her roller blades to find Jazz, her guardian.

She had been invited to a party by a good friend of hers who was bringing her date and told Rachel to bring a date too. Rachel was thrilled and found a guy that she had worked with at one of her old jobs and asked him if he'd go with her. Now, that took a lot of guts on her part because she hadn't been on a date for a long time. He had said yes and so she was walking on air.

Jazz was talking to Drift when they saw Rachel come in, looking happy. "Hey, Jazz! Hey, Drift!" she said and hugged them, surprising them.

"Well, you're in a happy mood," said Jazz. "What's up?"

"I got invited to a party by a good friend of mine and she told me to bring a date, so I asked a guy I know if he'd go with me and he said yes," she said. "I'm so excited, but also a bit nervous."

Jazz was a bit concerned about this, but Drift looked at Rachel. "I'm sure you'll be fine," he said encouragingly.

Jazz would have said the same, but something just didn't ring right with him, but he didn't want to dash his charge's hopes when he saw how happy she was, so he decided to keep his worries to himself.

He would later regret that.

A couple nights later, Rachel got ready and came out to see the guys before she headed off. The Autobots were surprised and commented on how pretty she looked. She the hugged the three ninja bots and the others, promising to tell them all about it when she got back later on. She then headed out the door to walk to her friend's home, ready for a real date this time.

If she had known what would happen, she would have stayed with the bots.

Rachel arrived and hugged her best friend. "Hey, girl," she said.

"Hey, girl," said her best girl friend. "You bring your date?"

Rachel looked surprised. "He said he'd meet me here," she said. "He hasn't shown up?"

The other girl shook her head. "He may be running a little late," she said. "I'm sure he'll be here."

But as minutes turned into a half-hour, Rachel saw her date hadn't shown and she was now a bit sad, but tried to enjoy the party with her friend and her friend's boyfriend, who suggested she call the guy and ask him if he was coming. She took his suggestion and did so, but he didn't answer his phone, but then, she saw him in his car.

With some other guys and they were playing loud music. "So, that girl Rachel asked you to go with her to a party?" asked one guy.

"Yeah, but I don't have time for that, although I told her yes," said the guy Rachel had asked. "Too bad she won't have a date tonight."

Rachel, hearing those words, was crushed and she backed away, going into her friend's house and grabbing her coat and purse. "I have to go," she said to her friend. "He stood me up."

Her friend was shocked, as was her friend's boyfriend who looked mad, but gave Rachel a sympathetic look as they both watched her walk away.

After a bit, Rachel found herself outside the Autobot base and went in, tears streaming down her face as she sat down and kicked off her shoes, softly crying.

Drift came in from patrol and saw he was the first one back at the plant. The others were probably off looking for criminals and he decided he'd head back out there too.

Until he heard crying.

Curious, he looked in the living area and saw Rachel crying as she was sitting on the couch, her body hunched over. He came over and placed a hand on her shoulder, making her jump, but she saw it was Drift and her shoulders slumped. "Rachel, what happened?" he asked.

She looked at him as he kneeled in front of her, tilting her face up with a hand and wiping away her tears gently with a tissue. She took a shaky breath, trying to calm down.

"I got stood up," she said to him.

"Stood up?" asked Drift, a little confused.

"It means he didn't call or show up."

Okay, now Drift understood and he was now getting angry as he saw more tears fall down Rachel's face. "Who was he?" he asked her.

She told him and he nodded. "I'm going to call Jazz and Prowl to come and stay with you," he said. "I've got some patrol to do."

He left and Jazz and Prowl came five minutes later, immediately going to the upset girl and hugging her as she hugged them back. Jazz cradled his charge in his arms as she cried into his shoulder. Prowl was twirling his shuriken in his hand, wanting to throw it in anger, but he didn't want to make Rachel more upset.

So they all sat down as both ninjas did their best to comfort their friend.

Drift had meanwhile found the guy that had stood Rachel up and scared the guy badly when he brought out his short swords, glaring at the guy angrily. The guy ran, but Drift cornered him with the point of one of his swords coming near the trapped man.

"You better not come near Rachel again, unless you have a very good apology for her," Drift growled. "We'll be watching for you."

Seeing the guy cower, he stood up and put his swords away. "Leave," he said and the guy immediately ran. Oh, Drift wanted to do more, but he felt he had done more than enough and now went back to the base.

Rachel had fallen asleep and Jazz carried her to bed, covering her with a blanket, but sometime during the night she woke up, tears coming down her face again as she changed her clothes for her night clothes and went looking for Drift. For some reason, she wanted comfort from him.

"Drift?" she called out softly as she entered his quarters and headed near his berth where he was sleeping. "Drift?"

Hearing his name, Drift opened his optics and looked to see Rachel standing there, giving him a pleading look. With a gentle smile, he patted the bed and she scrambled close to him, hugging him and he returned her hug.

"You okay?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "Drift, do you think I'm a loser?" she asked him. "Or someone who is just not worth someone else's time?"

Drift stiffened at that. "Is that what that guy told you?" he asked.

"No, but his words were still hurtful all the same."

Drift began rubbing Rachel's back and she rested her head on his chest, listening to his sparkbeat. The lulling sound calmed her down a bit more as Drift continued holding her, rubbing her back soothingly. "Rachel, you're not a loser and you're definitely worth my time. And from what I've seen, Jazz and Prowl think you're worth their time since they are training you in martial arts," he said. "That boy was the loser, because he missed out on enjoying the party with a very beautiful girl."

Rachel smiled at that, feeling a little better with Drift cheering her up. "You said you went on patrol earlier. Did you find him?" she asked.

"I did and he faced my swords for breaking your heart."

That made her giggle as she got a picture of that in her head. "Did you scare him good?" she asked.

"He just about screamed like a little girl."

Both of them laughed lightly at that and Rachel snuggled into Drift's hug as he kept rubbing her back, giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Feeling better, little shadow?" he asked.

After seeing how she had earned that nickname from Jazz, Drift also called her that since she studied with him a bit too. She now nodded. "Thanks, Drift," she said before falling asleep again.

"You're welcome, little shadow. Pleasant dreams," said Drift as he gave her another kiss on her forehead in affection, following her into a deep sleep as the night wore on.

I want to thank my friends EmeraldMoonGreen, Sparkling Lover, and newbienovelistRD who comforted me with their words when I told them what had happened. Thanks so much, Amigas!

Please leave a review, y'all, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418