Author's Note
Hello everyone! The first chapter had an amazing turn out. My phone was going off every few minutes during those first few hours of posting telling me I had a favorite/follow/review. Thank you all so much for your love and support so early on in the creation of this story. It makes me so happy that you all like it already and you don't even know a whole lot about what's going to happen yet. As a reward, you get the next chapter extremely early!
Anyway, now I think I shall do something that I didn't do for Snowfall and that's take the time to respond to your reviews! So here we go:
FourHorses: I know right? Sam is just...ugh. I'm glad that they're starting fresh with someone new for the next movie that's coming out. He just doesn't deserve it anymore.
Cloud-Dancer103: Yeah, I was kind of nervous about if people would like it or not, but you're right. Writing for me is what's really important, because I have fun.
Skyress98: Thanks and don't worry. Not stopping anytime soon.
ChemicalEquinox: Lol. Yes, I know. With the terror twins as her guardians things are going to get interesting. Eventually, she shall learn the ways of pranking. (Sorry Ratchet and Ironhide). And if you have no life, then I don't either.
Bee4ever: Don't worry, he'll be there.
TigerLilly1995: I'm glad I made it to your top three so early on. Hopefully I can move up in the ranks.
oblivion-blade-princess: I know, I'm so horrible to Ari, but Sides and Sunny are there for her. They will be there when she needs them.
lilbit of libit: Yeah, I like Sides and Sunny a lot too. Always have, always will.
Guest: Lol I'm glad you love it. ^_^
SunnySides: Don't worry, obviously I'll probably be able to update more often than that. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't making any promises I couldn't keep.
MusicCheerLove: Hopefully this chapter holds up to your expectations. :)
Dragon of Yin and Yang: Yeah, I have a lot of ideas written out for this, all the way through the first movie so far. It's going to be one wild ride.
Ms. Tony Stark: Why thank you. ^_^
Alright, enough chitchat. Onward!
Unwanted
Ari's eyes are bleary and bloodshot when she wakes to the beeping of her alarm on Monday morning. She glances at the red digital numbers of the clock sitting on her desk. 5 am. School starts at 7:30. She has to check on her new wounds to make sure they are healing properly and without infection. Then she has to apply new bandages, get ready for school, most likely skip breakfast yet again because the first part of her morning is going to take forever, and make it to the bus stop by 6:30.
Wait…I don't have to ride the bus. I have a car now.
A smile graces her lips, small and barely there, but still a large difference from her mood last night when she cried herself to sleep.
Getting out of bed proves to be a grueling task as Ari's new, extensive array of bruises and cuts cause her body to tense up in pain. Once she is upright she stands still for a few moments waiting for the pain to fade. When it is bearable she hobbles over to her dresser, chooses from her limited wardrobe of long-sleeved shirts and tattered jeans, and creeps down the hall to the bathroom. With the door securely locked she strips out of her tank top and shorts, nighttime being, sadly, the only time she is able to wear clothes that aren't warm, and starts to peel off her many bandages.
Ari looks at herself in the mirror. She has many, many more bruises from when Ron punched and kicked her. He never hits her face, thankfully, since it would be harder to hide, but every other inch of her is free reign that he took full advantage of. She already had six scars in various places on her arms and legs. Now, about a dozen more cuts have joined them. Her father really favored the kitchen knife this time. He usually only cuts her when he is really angry. What caused such anger this time she is unsure of, but suspects something may have happened at work recently.
With a deep breath Ari lowers her eyes to her stomach, recalling how her father lifted up her shirt to expose the flat plain of flesh. It's the first time he's ever removed her clothes in anyway, although he went no further than her stomach. Still, the memory of how his grubbing fingers caressed her smooth skin feels too real even now, twisting her stomach into knots.
Then he picked up the knife again and in small, neat letters gouged the word "unwanted" into her body just a few inches above her belly button. Ari can already tell it is going to scar.
She still remembers the words he whispered into her ear as he restrained her wrists and ankles to the posts of his bed with belts so tight they left red marks.
"You are unwanted," he said. "Unwanted by everyone. We all know it. Your mother knows it. That's why she left. I know it. That's why I beat you every day. I make sure to beat it into you. Now, now I will carve it into you so that you won't ever forget."
Ari is unwanted. She doesn't need to be reminded; she knows that well enough already.
Her entire body is tense and aching so she decides to take a shower, the warm water flowing over her skin, her wounds, her memories, and washing everything down the drain. When the faucet finally has no more warm water to give she gets out, gingerly towels herself dry, redresses all of her wounds, and pulls on undergarments, a red long-sleeved shirt, bootcut jeans, and her favorite black Converses.
Ari's mind keeps telling her that she's running late, but she knows she has plenty of time what with having a car now. She even has enough time to grab some breakfast for once.
With a couple of S'mores Pop-tarts filling her up and her messenger bag on her shoulder Ari walks out to her car, excited to be driving it to school for the first time. All of the bad gets shoved to the back of her mind. Right now, behind the wheel of the Hatchback, Ari can pretend for at least a little while that things are okay. She can pretend the road she is driving down isn't the one heading towards school, but out of town. Away from her father and all of the abuse she faces. She can pretend that, somewhere out there, she will find a place where she really will be wanted.
Sideswipe finds someone else dictating where he drives to be the strangest feeling he has ever experienced. He can't take over the controls and drive for Ari himself, no matter how much he wants to. Optimus told him and Sunny that they are to keep watch over her and not to reveal themselves before he and the others arrive unless absolutely necessary. And that doesn't include the slight discomfort of not being the mech behind the wheel.
Oh how he wishes a 'Con would show up right now.
Ari turns the wheel to move them around a corner and she inhales sharply, wincing. Sides instantly focuses on his charge. Her face is contorted in pain and she's holding an arm across her stomach. He scans her and finds that, although his scans are not as thorough as Ratchet the Hatchet's, he is still able to tell that she has been injured recently. Now that he's thinking about it she had been limping when she came out of the house.
First she's afraid of her parental unit and now this? Just what is going on with this human girl?
"Sunny, something's wrong," Sides says to his brother.
"If it's not a 'Con I don't care, Sides," is Sunstreaker's half-sparked reply.
"Sunny, we're supposed to be protecting this girl and she's hurt and I have no idea why."
A sigh sounds through the bond. "Hurt how? Are we talking paper cut, bruised knee, severed limb?"
"Severed limb? What the frag, Sunny? I mean she's limping and she's obviously in pain but I don't have a fragging clue why. I don't see anything wrong but it's not like I can tell because of those clothes things humans insist on wearing."
"Did you hear anything last night?"
"No, I didn't. That's what I don't understand. She can barely move without hurting. Something must have happened, but she didn't cry out or call for help."
"Sides, just don't worry about it. It's not like you can do anything anyway. Unless she's in immediate danger we're not supposed to interfere."
"I know!" Sideswipes shouts, waves of anger being sent across the bond. Subconsciously, he starts to drive faster, not noticing until he feels Ari repeatedly pressing on his brake pedal with growing anxiety. Slowly he forces himself to calm down and gives full control back to the human in his interior. "I know," he says much quieter this time. "It's just…I feel so useless. I want to protect her and not just from the Decepticons. She's hurting, Sunny, and it's more than just on the outside. She's hurting inside, too. I can see it in her optics, er, eyes. Something else is going on with her and we just don't know it."
Ari arrives at school with fifteen minutes to spare before the first bell rings. The student parking lot is pretty packed but she manages to find an open spot towards the back. Once parked she gets out of the car and admires the Hatchback. It was such a sweet ride, the only problem she noticed was the gas pedal sometimes being a tad too sensitive, but other than that Ari is very happy with her purchase. Giving the hood one final pat she heads towards the three-story building that is Tranquility High School, the white stone making it look more like a prison than a place for learning.
She doesn't make it five steps before a large body is suddenly in front of her blocking her path. Her muscles automatically tense up from the close proximity and she takes a step back. Looking up she sees the cocky face of Trent DeMarco with his large arms crossed in front of his equally large chest.
"What's up, Short Stuff?" he says haughtily, his eyes roaming up and down her body.
Ari's hands tightly grasp the strap of her messenger bag crossed across her chest. "Leave me alone, Trent," she says in a quiet voice.
"Aw, come on, Short Stuff, I just wanna talk." He takes a step closer to her, causing Ari to take another step back.
"Well, I don't want to talk. I just want to get to class. Don't you have a girlfriend you should be talking to instead anyway?"
Trent moves his weight from one foot to the other in discomfort and tries to cover it up with an arrogant smile. "Nah, I, um, dumped her. She couldn't keep up with the likes of me."
Ari rolls her eyes. She decides to state the obvious, "You mean she broke up with you."
Trent stutters at her calling him out, trying to come up with a clever way to deny it but Ari cuts him off.
"And now you want to get into some other girl's pants to get back at her. Sorry, but I'm really not interested in helping you with your revenge sex, so please, go ask someone else and leave me alone. I'm sure there are plenty of other girls who would be more than happy to help you."
Two of Trent's friends, Mark and Daniel, who had walked up with him snicker behind him while Trent just stands there with a deep blush on his face. Ari takes that as her cue and goes to move around him.
When she takes a step Trent's humiliation turns to anger. He reaches a hand out to tightly grasp her wrist causing Ari to hiss in pain. His fingers are right around one of her fresh cuts.
He yanks her closer, towering over her five-foot-two frame, taking full advantage of the reason he calls her "Short Stuff" to glare down at her menacingly.
Ari cringes, trying to pull away, but he is so much stronger than her. He's even stronger than Ron and she can almost never get away from her father when her safety depends on it.
"Don't think for one second," he grounds out darkly, "that you can embarrass me like that and get away with."
A car suddenly revs loudly right next to them causing everyone to jump and turn, thinking they are about to get run over since they are still standing in the middle of the school parking lot.
What they see is Ari's Hatchback still sitting stationary in its spot with its engine roaring almost angrily, headlights flashing as if a warning light, despite the car keys being in Ari's front pocket.
Trent scowls at the car then at Ari before shoving her into the hood of her car. Ari barely manages to catch herself before she falls to the asphalt.
"Looks like the ugly retard needs to get her retarded car fixed," Trent calls out patronizingly and he and his friends laugh at her before turning to leave.
The Hatchback growls again, almost in answer, and then all is silent. Ari sighs in relief.
That could have been bad. Why didn't I just keep my big mouth shut? And then there's my car. She looks the Hatchback questioningly. How in the world did you just turn on by yourself like that? Faulty wiring maybe?
She contemplates the possibility that her car is alive, like Herbie, but that's just a silly thought.
The first bell rings and Ari curses under her breath, the only thoughts left in her mind getting to her locker then to her first period class on time before the five minutes between bells is up.
The rest of the school day is uneventful, mostly just teachers going over what to expect on their exams and the finalizing of schedules for fall semester. Ari signed up for mostly AP courses to help her as much as possible to get into a good college.
After school is work at Hal's Diner with the normal fifteen minute walk amounting to only a two minute drive thanks to the Hatchback.
Ari loves her car. Even if it decides to freak out on her every once in a while.
Once at Hal's, however, things aren't so cheery again.
It is an extremely busy afternoon, more so than usual, leaving Ari with barely enough time to breathe. Every time she even thinks about sitting down for just a second more customers come in that she has to get the orders from or more people leave and she has to bus the tables. Suffice to say, by the time seven rolls around Ari is ready to go home. All of her muscles, which were already aching from her bruises, now ache even more and several of her cuts are stinging again including the ones on her stomach. She hopes they haven't reopened and are bleeding again.
But the worst thing about her day happens just when she is about to get off work. One of the other waitresses, a woman in her early fifties by the name of Lois, is getting swamped and falling behind. She asks Ari to help her out real quick and take the check over to a booth in the back, more secluded area of the diner usually inhabited by couples who are on dates and want some more privacy. Ari agrees with a small smile but once she sees who's at the table her smile fades and she freezes in her tracks.
A bleach blonde girl is sitting in the booth with a skirt far too short than what is publicly appropriate and a lot of makeup on.
And she's sitting with Trent DeMarco.
Ari gulps, remembering his threat from earlier.
"Don't think for one second you can embarrass me like that and get away with it."
With great effort she forces her smile back on her face and goes up to the couple.
"Here is your check, sir," she says with a slight tremble in her voice. "Is there anything else I can get you?"
"No, we're good here," Trent says absentmindedly and Ari thinks she might be able to get away without him noticing. But as she begins to turn away he looks up. His eyes widen then gleam evilly. "Why, hello there, Short Stuff. I didn't know you worked here."
Ari wipes her sweaty palms on her jeans. "Yep. I work here."
He doesn't say anything else, just pulls out his wallet and hands her a credit card, probably something he took off of his dad.
All the while with a mischievous smile.
Well, she thinks to herself, this can't be good.
As Ari goes to the register to pay Trent's bill with his card her mind tries to think up all of the things he could do to get back at her for that morning. But there really isn't anything he can do in front of all these people, right?
She drags her feet back to Trent's table and hands him back his card and receipt.
She smiles at him but it come out as more of a grimace. "Thank you and have a nice day."
"No," he says as he and his date rise from the booth, "you have a nice day." Trent lifts up his half-empty glass of soda and ice. Before Ari even realizes what he's doing, Trent dumps the contents over her head, soaking her hair, her work shirt, and the long-sleeved shirt she still wears underneath. Ari stands there with her mouth gaping open from the cold, shock, and utter disbelief.
The entire diner is quiet, all eyes staring right at her.
Trent penetrates the silence by dropping his plastic cup back onto the table, grabs the hand of his date, and walks out, both of them laughing all the way.
Ari wants to stop him, to grab him by the arm and give him and his bimbo Barbie doll a piece of her mind. She wants to thrash him out good so he will leave her alone once and for all.
But she can't. Talking back, standing up for herself, all it ever leads to is more pain. She's learned that plenty of times from her father. And this morning she didn't stop herself from using her voice again. Look where it got her? It just goes to show that all talking ever does is make her life even more miserable.
"Oh my goodness, Ari, are you alright?" Lois exclaims, pulling everyone out of their stupor. Customers go back to their meals and Lois and Hal rush to Ari's side. Lois grabs a bunch of napkins and starts wiping at Ari's damp hair.
As soon as Lois touches her Ari snaps out of it as well. She jerks back, slapping the helping hand away, and yells "Don't touch me!"
"Whoa, easy now," Hal raises his hands in front of him, palms out, as if he's trying to calm a spooked horse. "It's alright, Ari, no one here is gonna hurt ya."
He takes a few steps forward and Ari's breathing accelerates. She knows he won't hurt her, she really does, but her body just doesn't want to listen. Not after what just happened. She's in fight or flight mode now and she's leaning very heavily towards the flight part.
"Ari, you're soaked," Hal says softly. "How about you come with me to the back and we get you some dry clothes to change into. How does that sound?"
He barely touches her arm with his fingertip and Ari snaps. "No!" she cries. "Just leave me alone!" As fast as she can Ari moves around Hal and Lois, throws her apron off, it landing somewhere on the floor in the general area of the wall hook it's supposed to hang on, grabs her bag, and dashes out the door. She doesn't slow down for a second, giving no one time to talk her down, to touch her, to push her into a corner. All Ari wants right now is to be alone.
Why? Why me?
She practically throws herself into the Hatchback, jams the key in the ignition, and blindly takes off down the road. She doesn't know where she's going. She's barely even registering the cars driving beside her. All Ari knows is that she wants to get away.
Why do these things always happen to me?
Tears blur her eyes making it almost impossible to see.
Am I really that useless?
She hears horns honking at her angrily but at this point she doesn't really care.
Am I really that unwanted?
She just doesn't care.
Would it be better if I just wasn't here anymore?
Ari starts to drift into oncoming traffic. Right towards a semi.
The steering wheel jerks to the right uncontrollably forcing her back into the right lane. Ari blinks a few times in confusion and tries to move the wheel to the left again but it won't budge.
The semi passes by harmlessly.
Ari tries to turn the wheel again and nothing happens. With an angry huff she pulls harder. It still won't move an inch.
"What the crap is going on here?" she says aloud, her previous misery being replaced with anger.
And then replaced with fear as the Hatchback speeds up exponentially and starts to weave in and out of traffic. The seatbelt that she forgot put on when she got in the car moves on its own across her body and buckles tightly into place.
Ari's eyes widen. She lets go of the steering wheel and watches as it moves on its own.
The car is driving on its own.
Ari's not quite sure how to feel about this.
Author's Note
And that's a wrap for that chapter. I had a hard time holding in giggles as I was writing that ending. I kept trying to imagine what I would do if I had just been having suicidal thoughts and then all of a sudden my car takes on a life of it's own. And what did I realize: I wouldn't have a fragging clue what to do. I can already imagine the blank look on her face. And you will get Ari's reaction next chapter. Sideswipe won't come out with the whole "I'm an alien robot" thing right away just from this incident but it will certainly get them closer. By the end of next chapter they'll be there for sure though.
Alrighty, hope you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW (as you can see, reviews make me write faster), and see you all next time!