Author's Note: It's Quickslinger's first day of school. She's not so nervous about it...until she finds out that it's Smokescreen taking her. How will she act around this guy who's too cute for his own good?


Chapter 2: Beginnings

"Get up Quickslinger."

"…Mmrrgh…"

"I said get up. You have to go to school." Ratchet commanded.

Quickslinger rolled over in bed and buried her face into her pillow. "…Don't wanna…"

The elder man was just about ready to lose his nerve; and here he thought people like Wheeljack were difficult. Honestly…how did Rung put up with her? "I'll give you to the count of three to get up…and if you don't, I'll have Bulkhead come and sit on your head!"

At the thought of Bulkhead's large butt resting on her skull, the blonde groaned and muttered to Ratchet, "All right, I'm up…"

Ratchet didn't even crack a smile as Quickslinger groggily sat up in bed and glared at him. He cleared his throat and made his way to leave the room. "Bulkhead, Arcee, and Bumblebee are getting ready to leave and take Miko, Jack, and Rafael to school…so we've arranged to have Smokescreen drop you off on his way to work."

Now at the thought of riding in the same vehicle with the redhead, the blonde's heart started to beat faster than normal. Why did she feel like that around him? Well…she had to admit that he was pretty cute. Pushing that out of her mind for now, she got up and trudged her way downstairs to breakfast. However, Ratchet held his hand out and stopped her.

"Get cleaned up and dressed first; you are not going to the table looking like you slept in a barn."

"I may sleep hard, but I'm not that dirty…"

Quickslinger came down to the table freshly washed and dressed, a lilac backpack slung over her shoulder. She looked to see Optimus, Ratchet, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen already seated and eating. Hawkeye, of course, was by herself in the living room watching television. The blonde awkwardly took a seat…right next to Smokescreen. She looked down and saw a plate of bacon and eggs staring back at her; how did they afford to feed everyone anyway?

"Good morning Quickslinger." Optimus greeted with a small smile as he held a newspaper. "Did you sleep well?"

"Uh…like a rock."

"Wow, you must be immune to Bulkhead's snoring; I could hear it all the way across the hall." Smokescreen joked, earning a discrete snicker from Hawkeye. "Just eat up and we'll be ready to go."

"Where do you work anyway?"

"Sporting goods store. Nothing special, really."

The blonde blinked her violet eyes. "Huh…"

"What, did you think I worked as a corporate executive? I don't see that anywhere in my future."

Quickslinger didn't answer; she just silently wolfed down her breakfast so she could get this day over with. She wondered what those kids Jack, Miko, and Rafael were like. Maybe she could be friends with them if she tried… After all…she basically had no friends back home…because all the kids from the city were complete jerks. Everyone here seemed nice…though the only ones that were being complete jerks with her were Ratchet and that Arcee chick. Bumblebee didn't speak, Bulkhead was too busy trying to get Hawkeye's attention, Optimus seemed okay, and then there was Smokescreen…

Smokescreen was different, but it wasn't in a bad way as far as she could tell. She immediately knew that he hadn't been here long either, but he was still more comfortable here than she was right now. But he just had to be so…friendly…and he had to act so freaking cute that she had to keep what she was really feeling to herself in order to avoid embarrassment.

Smokescreen never used to think driving to work was awkward…but now that he also had the task of dropping Quickslinger off at school before he got to work…well, now he just felt awkward. He didn't mind doing it, but it was just that he never had a girl in his car before…and that kind of made him nervous. It didn't help that Quickslinger was a YOUNGER girl, one still in high school. Speaking of which…he decided to break the awkward silence between them as they came upon a stop light.

"So…what's the high school in the city like?"

The blonde shrugged. "Not very exciting, and there wasn't anybody really worth making friends with. I guess I could give those kids you guys are friends with a try."

"Jack, Miko, and Raf are really nice…but just watch out for Miko. She kinda gets herself into trouble. Other than that, you're good!"

"Sounds like you know this from experience."

"Just ask Bulkhead. He's already getting stress lines." Smokescreen paused and pressed his foot on the gas pedal once the light turned green. "Do you have any favorite school subjects? Play any sports?"

"…I guess my favorite subject is math…it's the only one I'm really good at. Sports are more of my thing; I hope Jasper has a baseball team."

The redhead laughed. "You don't have to worry about that. Jasper High's baseball team is struggling a little bit, so if you're really good, then you could give them a hand."

Quickslinger laughed and leaned back in the passenger's seat. "They're THAT bad, huh? Then they'll be lucky to have me; I whipped everyone's butts back home when it came to baseball."

"In that case…if you make the team, I'll come to your baseball games."

The blonde shot her eyes, which were wider than saucers, at Smokescreen. "Y-You'd really do that? You'd really come to my games?"

"Well…yeah. And I can convince the others to come too. What do you say?"

Quickslinger thought hard about it. The only one who ever came to see her at baseball games was her dad…and now that she was separated from him, there wouldn't be anyone. But now…she only knew Smokescreen for a day, and he was already promising to come to her baseball games; he was the first one to bring up the issue. Either he was doing this because he like her…or he was just being too freaking nice as usual. However…that niceness weaseled its way into her, causing a bright-red blush to form on her cheeks.

"Y-Yeah…you can come to my games."

A grin appeared on Smokescreen's face. "All right, sounds like a done deal!" He stopped for a moment to apply the brakes right in front of the Jasper High School. "Here's your stop."

The blonde stared at all of the kids exiting the buses to get ready for their day of school. They seemed all right…for small-town people, she supposed. But she wanted to find the kids that already hung out with the others. Jack Darby, Rafael Esquivel, Miko Nakadai…she had to find them and try to become friends with them. Breathing out a sigh, Quickslinger grabbed her backpack and opened the passenger's door. Smokescreen offered her a smile and a wave.

"Have a great day!"

"Uh…thanks…"

Once Smokescreen's car was gone, the blonde gulped and proceeded to the front doors. Honestly…why did she suddenly feel like she was going to the penitentiary? Well…it probably had something to do with the experience back in the city…and she didn't want a repeat of that. As she was about to push open one of the front doors, a voice called out to her.

"Are you the new kid living with Optimus?"

Quickslinger turned to the side and saw a Japanese girl with black and pink hair run up to her. The strange girl was followed by two boys, a black haired one and a brown haired one wearing glasses. The Japanese girl grinned and greeted, "I'm Miko! You must be Quickslinger!"

The blonde shook hands with Miko. "Oh…you're the kid that hangs with Bulkhead. And you guys must be Jack and Raf. It's nice to meet you."

"Welcome to Jasper!" Rafael greeted. "I hope you like small towns compared to the city."

"I'd actually like to know what's in the city." Jack wondered. "So, do you intend to stay all year?"

"Yeah…I just got tired of the city; it's not as great as you think."

"So, who'd you get paired up with? Bulk's already with me, Bee's with Raf, and Arcee practically owns Jack!" Miko stated.

The blonde blushed and turned her head away before she demurely muttered, "…Smokescreen…"