a/n: Hey again :) i'm glad ya'll like the story so far. if you guys are wondering when this is, it's right before rotf. like a few months before. i know that mission city was only two years before it, but i stretched it out a bit in this. so it was closer to three- three and a half years :D enjoy x3


Chapter 2: Food

After a half an hour of getting lost three times and running into half a dozen people for directions, Harley finally set foot in the Denny's. Compared to some of the diners around town, this one was a lot larger by scale. It attracted the younger crowd and had a lot more people in it. Walking up to the person waiting boredly at the desk, she asked for a table. Following him around the noisy restaurant, the guy stopped short.

"Booth or table?"

"Excuse me?"

"Booth. Or. Table," He asked, annoyed.

"Oh, booth," Harley was a bit flustered. She didn't like in being in a confined space with a lot of other people. Decepticons, she could hold her own against, but people? Lets just say, she ain't the typical social butterfly. Looking at the menu already provided on the table, she began to wonder where to start on her mission. Denny's seemed like a good place to start at the time, but that was probably her hunger talking. Another person came up, a girl who looked about her age, with a bored expression on her face.

"Hello, welcome to Denny's. Can I interest you in todays specials?"

"Uh, no, that's okay," Sometimes Harley hated how quiet she was around other humans compared to her being around the Decepticons.

"Then what would you like to order?"

"Uhh, the Lumberjack special," The girl looked at her, surprised.

"Are you sure? Most people, including men three times your size, haven't even finished half of it."

"Yeah," Harley had a huge appetite, between the harsh training she got from Megatron and the hike to his base she usually had to make when she went into town to buy a small bag of groceries. When Splice had last checked her out, he told her that she required three times the normal calorie count of a normal human in every meal. Then again, he was the Decepticon med bot and a bit crazy. But he still was a medical personell. The girl shrugged and left with her order. Tapping her foot, Harley watched the people pass by outside. She didn't remember when the girl brought the water but she was grateful. Gulping about half of it in one swallow, she continued to watch the people, seeing if any of them were recognizable.

"H-Harley?" She turned at the mention of her name. There was a teenage boy standing there, about a year older than her. He had long-ish brown hair that covered his right eye and had a piercing in his lip. He wore dark clothing (A black band t-shirt and shredded red skinny jeans). His eyes were a deep chocolate brown and he looked a bit nervous, "Is it really you?"

"Yeah, it's me," She quirked an eyebrow, "And who the hell are you?"

The boys jaw dropped a bit. Turning, he waved a few people over. Over came two others, another guy and a girl. The girl looked two years younger where as the other boy looked a few years older than the other one. The girl had mid-back pale blonde hair and several streaks of rainbow colors. Her eyes were blue and her skin was pale and creamy, like a porcaline doll's. The other boy was taller than the other two and had jet black hair that was buzzed. He was tan and his eyes were slanted, like hers. He looked vaguely familiar. He wore a black tank top and cargo pants, just like she was. One look at her and his jaw dropped.

"Harley?" His voice was quiet but she could tell is slightly barotone. Rolling her eyes, she looked at the three.

"How many times are people going to say my name before ya'll get that I'm who you keep asking for?" She sighed exasperatedly. Then something unexpected happened. The girl had catapulted herself at Harley, latching on with a vice-like grip around her waist.

"HARLEY!"

The whole Denny's spared them a glance but then returned to whatever they were doing. They've had much crazier people. Harley looked up at the guys and pointed at the girl.

"What the hell?" The guys just shook their heads.

"She hasn't seen you in nearly four years, let Amelia have her moment," This caught the girls attention. She let go of Harley and sat up in the seat (since her tackle pushed Harley against the window in the booth), glaring at the guy with the buzzed hair.

"You know very well, Greg, to not call me Amelia!" Harley watched them, half amused. Wait, did she just say Greg? Harley listened more intently, "Call me Lia!"

Lia? The name rang a bell in her head somewhere but where she couldn't remember.

"Sorry, Lia. Even Tobias here likes his name," The guy Lia was just yelling at jerked a finger at the boy who quietly slid into the booth while the two were arguing, looking intently at Harley.

"What?" She snapped at him.

Shaking his head, he continued to look at her, "You've changed. Usually you're so bubbly. But then you disappeared. Where did you go?"

Harley had barely had the chance to think of a good lie to tell her uncle when she found him. If she found him would be a better inquiry. Liking her lips a little, a nervous habit she always had, she looked at the boy intently staring at her.

"I-... I don't know honestly. A-A few people took me in a few years ago after the battle and I've been with them ever since," She shrugged. Lia and the guy she was arguing with earlier quieted down and listened to her. The guy slid in next to Tobias and watched her intently just as Lia and Tobias were.

"Do you even remember the battle?" The guy across from her, Tobias, snapped a little. The other guy from earlier, Greg, placed a hand on his shoulder.

"No," Harley shook her head and her forehead creased severely, "I-I don't really remember anything before or during the battle. All I remember is waking up in a strange place and these people telling me that I was safe and that my parents had died during battle."

Her hands clenched slightly. She knew she couldn't tell them about the Decepticons. Megatron had warned her to not talk to anyone about any robot unless they worked for him or NEST, and when she was in NEST, to not tell anyone who she was working for. Greg looked sympathetically at her and reached across the table, grasping her right hand.

"I understand. A lot of soldiers go through that. They get so scared out of their wits that they get amnesia and can't remember anything before the battle and sometimes during the battle. I've lost many comrades to it."

Harley looked up at Greg and it pained her to feel like she knows him but can't remember for the life of her. Tobias and Lia all put their hands on top of Gregs and looked at Harley.

"We're here for you," Lia smiled.

"Yeah, we're your best friends. We've known each other since we were in diapers," Tobias smirked at Harley. A small smile quirked at her lips as she looked at everyone. Nodding slowly, her food arrived.

"One Lumberjack special," The waitress set the platter on the table. Tobias, Greg, and Lia all gasped as Harley pratically droolled. It had 1o flapjacks stacked in one corner, all about the size of a dinner plate, a dozen slabs of bacon, three patty sized sasuages and eggs that covered half the platter. Picking up her fork, she began to dig in. The three people at her booth stared at amazement as a crowd began to form around their booth. The people there had never seen anyone finish the Lumberjack special, let alone a girl as skinny and willowy as her! It took Harley a good 2o minutes, but she finished the platter. Once she set down the fork, the entire restaurant erupted in cheers, scaring the wits out of her. Blinking, she looked at the people at her booth.

"What did I do?"

"You finished the Lumberjack Special!" Lia laughed, amazed.

"No one's ever done that before!" Greg smiled, also amazed. After the crowd had calmed down, Harley looked at the people in her booth very seriously.

"Can you please tell me who you guys are? I feel like I know you but I... I just can't seem to remember!"

They all nodded.

"I'm Amelia Thompson. Call me Lia. We've been buds since third grade when you helped me against a flock of bullies," Lia smiled.

"I'm Tobias Waterson. Our family's have been friends since forever, so it's safe to say that I've known you our entire lives," Tobias nodded.

"And I'm Greg, your uncle," Greg smiled warmly.

'Well, that was easier than I thought...' Harley thought. Smiling at the group, she shrugged.

"I'm sorry that I can't recall any of you."

Lia waved a hand at her.

"Pssh, darling please!" She faked a heavy, drawled out accent. It made Harley laugh a little, "Tobias can't even remember what color underwear he's wearing!"

Tobias flushed a deep red and reached over to smack Lia upside the head, "I don't wear 'underwear', I wear boxers."

Lia laughed boisterously, "Oh yeah, like sayin' that's any better!"

"Crap, you're right!" All three burst into laughter, a smile working it's way onto Harley's face. She rarely smiled, even with Megatron. But with these people, their antics just made her want to smile.

"There's my niece," Greg noticed the smile on her face. Harley flushed and looked down.

"Don't do that!" Lia grabbed her by the chin and lifted her face, "We wanna see that pretty face! We haven't seen it in nearly four years!"

Her face flushed a little and looked up at everyone. Her uncle had a warm smile on his face, Tobias looked a little uncomfortable, and Lia was just beaming.

"So!" Tobias said suddenly, "Do you have a place to stay?"

"Oh! Uh... uhm..." She scratched the back of her head nervously, "Not... not really. Heh."

The three stared at her in shock.

"So these people who took you in just dropped you off? With no means of shelter?" Her uncle asked angrily.

"No, no, no!" She raised her hands, "I... I ran away. I felt like I was a burden on them, so I left with what I could carry in this pack and whatever money I had."

Harley thought it was a viable excuse, and the three people seemed to buy it. Her uncle thought for a moment before standing up.

"If you'll excuse me for a moment," He smiled and pulled out a phone, walking away. Tobias and Lia turned to Harley.

"Dish," Lia propped her elbows up and placed her chin in the net she made with her fingers.

"Excuse me?"

"Tell us about your time with these people who picked you up after the battle," Tobias leaned in, obviously wanting to know.

"I-... I don't know much about them. They live a few hours from here in a rural area. It's mainly a woodland. They weren't home often, usually on business trips and whatnot, but they kept their kitchen stocked and I had the basic needs to survive," She shrugged. It was the complete opposite to the Decepticon base so she figured to go with what you know and do the exact opposite to it. Tobias and Lia nodded slowly. Before they could bombard her with more questions, her uncle walked up with a smile on his face.

"Harley, if you need a place to stay, I could provide one for you," Harley smiled. Her plan was going exactly the way she wanted it to. She heard Tobias gasp and saw Lia pale a little.

"They approved?" Tobias whispered harshly. Greg nodded.

"Since Harley was at the battle, they wanted to ask her some questions. But since her memory is gone, they're going to work on restoring it for now."

She quirked an eyebrow, "They can do that?"

Greg shrugged, "It's a new theory and so far, it's worked. I'm hoping it will work on you. We've all had so many wonderful memories with you and it makes me sad that you can't remember any of them."

A sudden pang hit her heart. It really did sadden her, for the first time in a while, that she couldn't remember her past. Her family. Her friends. Pursing her lips, all three people looked at her eagerly.

"Okay, okay," A small smile quirked her lips, "I'll go."

Lia cheered and her uncle clapped, but Tobias still looked uneasy. Lia slid out of the booth as well as Harley. She noticed that Lia was small. Around 5 feet, 5 foot 1. She was like a pixie. Lia laughed when she saw Harley look down at her.

"You used to call me 'Pixie'. You were the only one allowed to call me that. I always called you dinosaur," Harley quirked an eyebrow.

"Dinosaur?"

"Yep. Because whenever you sang, you always did a little 'Rawr' at the end," Lia did a cute imitation of a dinosaur pose, her elbows folded and her hands in slight fists, one higher than the other.

"I... sang?"

"Yep," Greg came up and slung his arm around her shoulder. She noticed he was a little taller than her. No wrinkles were on his face nor any indications of gray in his hair. He couldn't be any older than 25! "And you were pretty good at it as well."

She nodded thoughtfully. She never really sang around the Decepticons, but she did find herself humming to herself more often than not. Reaching into her pocket as they neared the check-out desk at the front of the Denny's, Harley's uncle's hand stopped her.

"Let me," Her eyebrow quirked up but eventually, she nodded. Lia pulled on her hand and out into the mid-morning air.

"So, you're going to live with me and Tobias!" Now both her eyebrows shot up.

"You live where?" Tobias smacked Lia on the back of the head.

"We live with your uncle on base," Tobias sighed, "Not many people know that people live there so Lia needs to keep her trap shut!"

So they were living on the base as her uncle? Perfect.

"Meanie! That hurt!" Lia stuck out her tongue like a five-year old. Tobias stuck his own tongue out, Harley saw that he had that pierced as well. Greg came out of the Denny's and stopped next to Harley.

"What are they going on about now?" He questioned with a sigh.

"Gre-e-eg!" Lia whined, "Tobias hit me!"

"She deserved it!"

"Nu-uh!"

"Yeah-huh!"

"Nu-uh!"

Harley couldn't stand it any longer. A laugh erupted from her mouth. They were acting so childish! She hadn't had a good laugh in a while, if ever! She didn't know why it was so funny, but she just had the urge to laugh. The three people looked at her and then at each other before bursting into a loud laugh as well. It took a few minutes for them to calm down, Greg clapping a hand on her back.

"It's good to see the old Harley slowly coming back," He smiled and then straightened up. He walked towards a compact sedan. It was a silvery-grey and kind of sleek looking. It was shiny and brand new. Walking around the front, she looked at her uncle who had just opened the drivers side door. Lia and Tobias were conversing quietly a few feet away.

"A 2o1o Chevy Equinox? You can afford one of these?" Her uncle smirked from the open door.

"Still looks like you got your mechanical quirk," Her face flushed. Harley always liked working on mechanical things, so whenever one of the Decepticons got hurt, she'd go up with Splice and he'd slowly explain the part he was working on that day, "The military lets me use it whenever I go into town. Today, I came to pick up these two, but I guess you can squeeze in."

He winked and sat in the driver's seat. Harley climbed into the back of it and waited for Lia and Tobias. The car honked and they jumped, scuttling over to the car. Tobias called shotgun so he sat up with my uncle while Lia sat happily with Harley in the back. They conversed quietly about nothing on the way to the base. It was a good 25 minute drive around mountains, patches of forest, and a small lake. Eventually, the car came up on a check pointe. Harley's uncle got out his card and showed it to the people there. They scanned it and the blocker lifted. Slowly, her uncle passed over it and then sped up. More twists and turns! Harley began to get dizzy.

Finally, after 1o more minutes of babbling from Lia, they turned onto a secluded road and the forest began to thin. Harley gasped as soon as the hangar came into view. It was huge! And there were multiple ones! Definitely a place to hide, say, a thirty-foot robot or two?

There was a landing strip to the far east side and a small building straight across from the three largest hangars. Multiple military cars sped by but her uncle maneuvered through the throngs of them easily. Harley just gaped at the massive-ness of the entire base. It was a lot larger than the one of the Decepticons! When the car stopped, they all hopped out and Lia latched onto her arm.

"Okay, let me show you where we're going to be living!" She squeaked and dragged Harley off. Looking over her shoulder, she barely caught a glimpse of Tobias' worried face as he talked to her uncle. Turning back to the squeaking girl, she poked her in the shoulder.

"Slow down, Speedy Gonzalez! I can't move as fast as you!" She laughed and Lia slowed considerably, her face flushing slightly.

"Heh, sorry. I'm just so-o-o happy that you're finally back and you get to live with me, roomie!" She latched onto Harley's arm. Normally, she hated having anything clinging onto her, but something about Lia made her not mind.

'Let's do this.' She thought and squared her shoulders, following Lia to her new living quarters.


a/n: woot! Chapter 2! :D and don't worry guys, i'm not neglecting my Bee story! i just need a little break from it. my muse is slowly starting to whittle down on that story. after working on this one for a day or two, I promise I'll continue to work on Bee's! :)

How do you think the Autobots will respond to Harley?

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW :D