GOODBYE IS NOT FOREVER

Here it is, chapter two. This came out super-fast, because I knew exactly what would happen. I hope you have some tissues handy, because this chapter is a hard-hitter, and it goes downhill from here.

At the request of one of my readers, I made Blurr's rapid speech more evident here, but I added hyphens between the words so you can still understand what he's saying.


Characters (with exceptions) © Hasbro and Entertainment Rights

Story © unicorn-skydancer08

All rights reserved.


Chapter 2

As Melly was making her way down the bustling street, a bright blue car suddenly swerved out of nowhere and cut directly in front of her, making her jump a mile in surprise. But she quickly got over her surprise when she recognized the car's color and design. Sure enough, a familiar voice said, "Excuse-me-miss-but-might-I-by-any-chance-offer-you-a-lift?"

It all seemed to come out as one word, but Melly just laughed and said heartily, "Hi, Blurr! It's good to see you again."

In the wink of an eye, the car shifted its shape, so that a towering blue-and-black robot now stood before her. Even now, Melly was fascinated to see the whole transformation in motion, how the pieces were shifted around so that one thing became quite another. Once Blurr had resumed his robotic form, he bent down and easily scooped Melly up from the ground. She didn't hesitate to hug his chest plate, and he hugged her just tight enough to not squish her. Melly sensed they were getting a few stares from the public, but she paid it no mind.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, when she was looking up properly into Blurr's bright blue optics.

"I-was-just-cruising-around-keeping-an-eye-out-as-usual-for-any-suspicious-activity-in-the-vicinity-when-I noticed-you-walking. You-seemed-lost-so-I-thought-I'd-swing-by-and-help-you-out." Most of Melly's friends considered Blurr's habit of talking a mile a second quite annoying, and extremely difficult to understand, but Melly only thought of it as cute and funny.

She chuckled again as she answered, "You silly! You know I can find my way to Sumdac Systems, with a blindfold."

She then added, "However, I would appreciate a ride, if that's okay with you. I'll get to work much faster that way." In her mind, she added, And spend at least a few minutes with you.

"Your-wish-is-my-command-Miss-Manchester." Blurr set her back down gently on the pavement, then morphed once more into his car shape. Melly climbed into the driver's seat, even though Blurr didn't need her to steer him, and she made sure to buckle up. Blurr had initially protested at the idea of being equipped with safety belts (being a racer, he considered safety belts to be a rather degrading feature), but in the end he was persuaded, especially when Melly mentioned to him she would be a lot safer when riding with him.

It seemed to the other Autobots that Blurr was willing to do anything for Melly's sake. Some of them half-believed he would jump right off a bridge if she asked him to.

Before he met Melly, Blurr used to have little to no use for other robots, let alone humans. He was known to be a lone ranger, doing solely what he considered to be his duty. No one knew what it was Blurr saw in Melly; Blurr admitted once or twice that he didn't even know himself. After all, Melly was no different from any other human girl. She wasn't the most attractive, nor was she considered among the socially elite. But she was friendly, good-natured, honest, patient, a hard worker, and she certainly knew a thing or two about cars.

Somehow, she managed to break through Blurr's defenses, and soften him up. Once, she'd put her very life on the line to save Blurr, when Blurr was nearly killed at the hands of the Decepticons—the evil robots who were their sworn enemies. Had it not been for the girl, he would have undoubtedly ended up as nothing more than a heap of scrap metal.

Blurr now considered himself in Melly's debt, even though Melly reminded him that he'd already saved her life more than once, and thus she had simply returned the favor.

"Try to not go too fast," Melly said, just before Blurr's engine revved. "I'd hate to have to pay for a speeding ticket—or have your gorgeous paint job scratched and scuffed up."

"That-will-never-happen," Blurr's voice reassured her, and with that, they were off.

As Blurr wove his way expertly through the city, he and Melly enjoyed a little private conversation, about what they were up to these days. They didn't talk about anything very serious or significant, but it made Melly feel a world of good just to talk to him and hear him talk back—even though she did have to ask him to repeat what he'd just said two or three times.

All too soon, they arrived at their destination. "Well, Blurr," Melly said, consulting her watch, "you managed to save me ten minutes."

"And-at-the-rate-you-were-going-you-would-have-had-only-five-seconds-to-spare," he replied.

She gave the car a playful slap as she was climbing out. But she thanked him for his assistance, all the same.

"Blurr's-Cab-at-your-service!"

Melly smiled. "When might I have the privilege of seeing you again?"

"How-about-later-this-evening-when-you-are-through-with-work? I-don't-plan-to-be-heavily-engaged-in-much-else-and-I'll-be-happy-to-drive-you-home-if-you-like."

"Yeah, that sounds good," said Melly. "Maybe we can even stop for a drink along the way."

Of course, Blurr knew she meant stopping for a soda, and high-quality oil for him. Melly was the last person on earth to touch a drop of alcohol; she was always saying it had already given her enough grief, her mother and her ex-boyfriend from college having been badly affected by it, and besides, she found alcohol about as drinkable as crude oil mixed with dog vomit.

"How does six o' clock sound?"

"Great! I'll-see-you-then. Tell-the-rest-of-the-crew-I-say-hello-when-you-see-them."

"Will do. Take care, Blurr."

"You-too-Melly." With that, the blue car backed itself into the road, and zipped away.

Melly waited on the pavement until the car had disappeared from her sight, then she turned and headed into the building, her heart considerably lighter than it had been a moment ago.


It was a very busy day at Sumdac Systems. Melly was kept well on her toes throughout the morning, and it wasn't until she was on her lunch break at noon that she got a chance to see Sari. As the daughter of Isaac Sumdac, Sari was a fairly regular sight around the building, though Melly was the only member of her father's staff whom she got along well with.

Melly remembered when she and Sari met for the first time, how Sari was only seven years old, and a rather small scrap of a kid. Now, she'd grown—or "upgraded", as the Autobots called it—into a tall, attractive teenager. As half-robot, the process through puberty had been much faster for her. But the way she looked this afternoon, you could hardly tell she was anything robotic, save for her eyes, which were an unusually bright, fluorescent blue. "Hey, girlfriend!" Melly greeted her cheerfully, as soon as the two girls met up.

"Hey, Melly." Sari smiled, but somehow it wasn't quite the same bright, effervescent smile.

"How goes it with you today?"

Sari gave a half-hearted shrug. "All right, I suppose."

Melly's smile faded somewhat. "Are you okay, Sari?" she asked worriedly. "Is there something wrong?"

"Wrong?" Sari echoed. She didn't hesitate to shake her head, swishing her red pigtails back and forth, and refute, "Oh, no, no, everything's fine. Everything's cool."

"Are you sure?"

As if to change the subject, Sari asked, "Did you meet with Blurr today?"

"Yeah, I did. He gave me a lift this morning to work, and we're going to hang out a bit later this evening. Why do you ask?"

For some reason, Sari looked glum. "I guess you two are really serious about each other, aren't you?" she murmured, so softly that Melly almost didn't hear her.

"Is there a problem with that?"

Sari said nothing, but her cheeks were faintly pink. Then it slowly dawned on Melly. "Hey," she said softly, "does this have anything to do with Bumblebee?"

Again, Sari said nothing, but Melly got her answer from the look on her friend's face. Melly understood that, since Sari had matured, her feelings toward Bumblebee had changed significantly. She was beginning to view the black-and-yellow bot as more than a friend. "Why don't you just tell him, Sari? Surely, there's no harm in letting him know how you really feel."

Sari hung her head dejectedly. "You know I can't, Melly. If I tell him, he and all the other guys will never let me live it down. They'll think I've gone crazy."

"Oh, come on," Melly chided. "If they support my relationship with Blurr, surely they'll support a relationship between you and Bumblebee. You are part robot, after all."

"How would I even say it, anyway? How would I be able to explain it without sounding like a complete dope?"

"You know Bumblebee. Simply come out, and say it. Be honest with him. There's no need to sugarcoat it, or anything. Just go straight to the point."

"What's going on over here?" a voice cut in unexpectedly. Melly and Sari simultaneously jumped, then realized that Bumblebee himself was standing right there, watching them intently. Somehow, they hadn't even noticed him. Sari's eyes widened considerably, and Melly thought she saw some of the color drain from the girl's face.

Melly, on the other hand, smiled up at the bot and said, "Oh, hi, Bumblebee! Sari and I were just talking."

"Talking about what?"

"Nothing," said Sari hastily, before Melly could answer. "Nothing—just a bunch of girl gossip, that's all. You know how it is with us girls. Right, Melly? With us, it's always a bunch of jabber-jabber-jabber-jabber, yak-yak-yak-yak-yak-yak." As she backed away from her companions, she went on, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think it's time to change Sparkplug's food—er, I mean, batteries. I'll catch you guys later!" With that, she whirled around and was out of there as if the place was on fire. Bumblebee and Melly watched her leave, then they looked at one another.

"What was that all about?" said Bee bewilderedly.

Melly shook her head, and all she said was, "The typical adolescent angst." To herself, she thought, Poor Sari.

She knew and understood exactly what the girl was going through, having gone through it herself. Love was certainly a strange and funny thing.

Just then, Sari's father appeared. "Miss Manchester?" he called to Melly.

"Yes, sir?" Melly promptly acknowledged.

"Come with me." Mr. Sumdac looked and sounded quite grave.

Melly peered up at Bee. "Would you excuse me for a minute, please, Bumblebee?"

"Yeah, sure, no problem."

So Melly followed her boss out of the room, and down the numerous corridors until they reached the elevator. "Have…I done something wrong, sir?" Melly was half-afraid to ask, while they were waiting for the doors to open. She could tell this was serious business. She tried to think of what she could have done to land herself in trouble, but nothing specific came to mind.

"No, no," Mr. Sumdac reassured her, as the doors finally opened with a swoosh, and they stepped inside the compartment together. "It is nothing against you, Miss Manchester. There is someone here to see you. They are waiting in my office." He spoke in an unusually soft, gentle tone, and as they were slowly mounting the floors, one by one, his eyes regarded Melly with pity and concern. It was the same look her own father used to give her when she came home in tears, having endured another terrible bullying at school or in the neighborhood.

It was the look Blurr, Sari, Bumblebee, and the rest of the Autobot gang would give her whenever they saw her upset.

For some reason, such an expression from her supervisor caused Melly's stomach to twist into a hard, sickening knot.

When at last they reached the appropriate level in the building, Mr. Sumdac guided Melly to his office, staying close to her the whole time. He even put a hand on the girl's shoulder as they walked, which made Melly even more apprehensive. Melly's legs were like soggy noodles, and her heartbeat started to accelerate. The door to Mr. Sumdac's office was already open when they got there, and inside, Melly saw two unfamiliar men, along with Matthew, her own brother. While the other two men stood around, calmly sipping coffee, Matthew sat rigidly in Mr. Sumdac's chair, his face the color of paste. "Matthew?" said Melly, stunned to see him here, of all places. "What are you doing here?"

At the sight of her brother's stricken face, she felt her apprehension blossom into panic, though she fought hard to not lose her composure. "What—what is it? What's wrong?"

There was a long moment of silence before Matthew was able to speak.

"It's Dad, Melly," he said, in a low, croaky voice. "Dad's been in a terrible accident."