Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or any of their human character friends…I only wish to pay tribute to their greatness

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or any of their human character friends…I only wish to pay tribute to their greatness

A/N: Just a series of short chapters telling of a few young suitors who try to get sweet with Annabelle Lennox and Ironhide's method of dealing with them.

Boys, Meet my Truck

"Age 18 ½: Paul"

By Leah Wood

Annabelle laughed, smiling at the dark haired boy on the motorcycle after his joke. His name was Paul, a young man of eighteen who lived south of town. Paul had dark short hair, green eyes, a tall strong build, and had a mischievous smile. He worked at the mechanic shop on the edge of town, played second string football running back, and was one of the active stage hands of Annabelle's theater troupe.

Across the school parking lot, Ironhide watched the two, his engine gears grinding. He knew that human boy, not by name but by action.

Earlier that year at Annabelle's school…

Ironhide waited out in the school parking lot, listening to the performance inside. Though he understood little of the humans need to perform in theater, pretending to be something or someone else, he wanted to see Annabelle in her chosen venue of activity. He of course sent his hologram "Uncle Hide" in with Sara and Will to attend the event and watch the performance. Keeping a constant focus on his hologram, making sure it didn't flicker or falter to give away its fallacy was a constant challenge. For some mechs it was an easy feat. Ironhide had to put a lot of focus into his projections to keep them stable and believable. Short interactions were easy enough but maintaining a hologram's reactions for over an hour was difficult for him—especially when there were distractions.

When the play finally ended with the dropping the curtain, the assembly of humans dispersed. He, like the Lennoxes, waited for Annabelle to emerge from the dressing room. Will was engaged in a conversation with Annabelle's principal who seemed to shower the girl's performance with praise. Ironhide remained quiet, making sure to keep his hologram's breathing and blinking movements at believable intervals.

Suddenly, out the parking lot he felt a presence next to his driver's side door. Normally humans passed him or stopped to take a brief look at his truck form but this particular boy was hanging around a little too long. Ironhide's sensors tried to remain on the suspicious young man but suddenly his hologram needed his attention.

"Hide…Hide!" Will nudged Ironhide's hologram inside the theater.

"Huh?" the hologram resumed movement.

The man made a gesture toward Annabelle's principal, Mrs. Dewalt; a medium statured woman with high set hair and a friendly smile, "This is Mrs. Dewalt, Annabelle's principal."

Ironhide extended his hologram's hand slowly to shake the woman's hand, "A pleasure."

The woman stared from Will to Mr. Hide then from Mr. Hide to Sara, "Are you Will's brother?"

"Um…no, no. Just a close friend of the family." Ironhide offered.

"I've seen you on the rarest occasion driving that big black truck to pick up Annabelle." the woman mentioned, "You must be great friends to let Annabelle drive the truck to school."

Ironhide seemed put on the spot but he replied, "Yes. Yes. She's like a niece to me." His expression suddenly changed to suspicion as he glanced toward the back door.

Outside the young man had climbed up into the Topkick's bed and whipped out a small plastic device. A weapon? Was this boy trying to break into him? Ironhide readied his transformation but halted immediately, noting the excessive amount of humans milling about the parking lot. He couldn't transform, not with so many witnesses. He also couldn't produce a second hologram to scare the boy away since his was stuck inside the theater.

Slag.

"So Mr. Hide, where do you hail from?" Principal Dewalt inquired inside.

Grudgingly Ironhide returned his focus to the hologram while trying to maintain an active sensor on the boy in his truck bed. "Umm. Uh. North Nevada."

"And what is your occupation?" the woman continued the conversation.

The hologram suddenly grimaced his eyes narrowing as he almost shouted, "PAINT?!"

Will and Sara exchanged incredulous looks while Principal Dewalt quirked a brow, "Your occupation is paint?"

Flustered, the large dark haired man rubbed the tops of his forearms, "Uh. Yes. Yes. I paint trucks."

"Oh how interesting!" the woman smiled.

Uncle Hide faked a smile but his blue eyes were pleading at Will to save him. Taking the nonverbal cue the man smiled back at the woman and tapped Uncle Hide's shoulder.

"Well…um…come on Hide. Let's go pull the truck around." the man insisted following the hologram to the exit.

When they were out of earshot, Will whispered, "What is WRONG with you Hide?"

Uncle Hide gripped Will's arm, "There's a BOY in my truck bed." His eyes flashed with anger, "He's PAINTING my back window!"

Will stopped, "Painting your back window?"

The hologram's brow furrowed, irritation mounting, "And now he's putting something under my windshield wiper!" Uncle Hide suddenly made a break for the door, "The little Retro-rat is getting away!"

Will chased after the irate hologram of Ironhide as he flung the doors open to catch the miscreant. Uncle Hide halted outside the auditorium, sensors scanning the parking lot. He caught a "glimpse" of him running into the side door of the auditorium.

"Oh, you'd BETTER run you little vandal!" Ironhide growled under his vocalizer and sent his hologram after him.

"Hide! Wait! Don't hurt the boy!" Will pleaded, chasing as well.

It didn't take long for Uncle Hide to reach the door, fling it open, and bump right into Annabelle.

She staggered back with surprise, "Uncle Hide! What are you doing back here?"

"Oh. Uh. Hello Annabelle." he greeted though distracted, "Did you see a human boy come running through here?"

The young woman stared back down the hallway that led backstage, "I saw Paul, one of our stagehands. Why?"

Uncle Hide tried to move forward but Annabelle put a hand on his chest noting the expression of resentment on her "uncle's" face.

"Why, Uncle Hide?" her voice got serious as Will came up behind them both.

Slitting his scarred eye menacingly, Uncle Hide pointed down the hall, "That BOY vandalized me!"

"Vandalized you?"

"YES! He painted my back window and stuck some kind of flower under my windshield wiper!" the hologram ranted, still trying to go after the boy.

Annabelle boldly kept pushing him back, "Can I see first before your temper goes flying off half-cocked?"

The big man gave a deadly glance down the hall, "OH…if I catch him my cannons will be FULLY cocked!"

"Easy, Hide." Will helped pull the steamed hologram back out of the building. "Let's go check the damage. THEN we'll act."

Though Ironhide could redirect his hologram away from both of them and place it anywhere in the building he complied with Annabelle and Will's request.

He growled, "Fine."

Quickly he shut off his hologram as the two humans made their way out to the parking lot to see the damages. When they arrived they circled around and climbed up on the high set bumper. Ironhide just knew they'd be as outraged as he was for the inexcusable act.

He was wrong.

Annabelle was smiling and so was Will.

"What in the blue frag are you smiling about?" Ironhide muttered in a quiet yet furious voice. "You think this is funny?"

"No." Annabelle gushed, "It's so sweet."

"SWEET?! My windows have been vandalized and you think it's sweet?" Ironhide tried to keep his voice quiet but was finding his outrage difficult to contain.

"Shh!" Annabelle was still smiling, "It's just car window paint Ironhide. It washes off with water."

Will read the writing aloud, "Encore Fair Belle."

Quickly, Annabelle moved over to the front of the Topkick and stood on the metal step to look at the windshield. She gasped.

"SEE! See what else that glitch…" Ironhide quietly defended his case.

"He gave me a rose! How beautiful!" the girl exclaimed with joy.

"…did." the truck finished, realizing he'd lost this battle for vengeance.

Annabelle held up the yellow rose. Her face flushed as she smelled the flower, her smile broadening. Will, meanwhile, leaned against Ironhide's side panel and patted it.

"Seems Annabelle's got an admirer."

Ironhide was still torqued and kept quiet, muttering silent threats in Cybertronian.

"That was SO nice of Paul. He's such a sweet friend." Annabelle mentioned, still doting on the flower present.

The Topkick continued to stew. A flower and a painted note. What was he, a billboard? Well…at least it was washable.

"I expect this paint to be off by the time we reach home." the Topkick groused.

The young woman smirked, "Yes of course, Uncle Hide."

Ironhide submitted to the fact that there would be no revenge on the boy…at least not for now.

…….

Present…

Ironhide continued his unwavering sensor "stare" in the boy's direction. Ever since the night of the "painting" Ironhide had kept a careful watch on this "Paul" boy. The boy seemed quite enamored with young Annabelle…something he didn't like.

"So…you want to go see a movie tonight?" the boy asked nervously. "I hear the drive-in is playing some old horror films for cheap."

Annabelle shifted on her feet, smiling, "What time?"

"Oh, I'll still be in town. I guess we can just meet there at 6:45 for the 7:00 shows." he offered.

"Ok. I'd love to." the young blonde smiled.

Paul smiled, "You don't mind if we used your truck? My motorcycle wouldn't be the most comfortable."

Annabelle seemed to develop a worried expression, her eyes leaning to the right.

"Well…it's all right if you can't. I just thought we could see better from that big truck." the young man offered, noticing her look.

After a moment she flipped her hand, "No, it's all right. We'd probably fall over trying to sit on your motorcycle anyway."

"Meet you there at 6:45 then?" the boy seemed excited.

"Count on it."

Putting on his helmet, Paul revved his bike's engine to show off, popped a wheelie, and drove off. Annabelle shook her head with a laugh as she made her way to Ironhide.

When she got in she tapped his steering wheel, "I suppose you heard all that Mr. Sensitive Audio Sensors?"

"Yes." he grunted curtly.

Tapping her hands thoughtfully against his seat she asked, "If I take you tonight will you PROMISE to behave?"

There was a long pause before Ironhide replied, "I'll wait to see how HE behaves before I promise anything."

"Hey! You be nice to Paul! He's not like those other boys." Annabelle protested.

"I don't see any difference." the truck grumbled.

Rolling her eyes, Annabelle buckled herself in, "Are you STILL mad about the window paint?"

Ironhide's silence spoke volumes.

"Let it go you stubborn tank." Annabelle sighed with frustration. "He didn't hurt you."

"He insulted me." the mech's deep voice vibrated through the vents.

Annabelle groaned, "He didn't KNOW you weren't JUST a truck. I'm sure if he knew he wouldn't have done it. We paint messages on each other's windows. It's no big deal."

"I don't like him." came the short reply.

"Well I do." the young woman snipped. "And I'm going on a date with him tonight whether you like it or not."

…….

Later that night…

With heavy prompting from Annabelle, Ironhide took her to the drive-in movie to meet Paul. On his motorcycle the boy followed the truck closely, paid for the parking space, and together they found a suitable spot to watch the movie.

Annabelle leaned out the driver's side window and joked, "Come on in. I've got some 'balcony' seats for us."

Paul parked his motorcycle and marched around to the passenger side. He reached up for the door but it wouldn't budge.

He smirked, "Ha, ha Belle. Very funny."

Again he tried but still the truck door refused to open. Annabelle tapped the steering wheel harshly.

"Ironhide, let him in." she whispered.

The Autobot waited a moment. Paul tried pulling the door again and without warning it flung open, sending him falling to the ground on his back.

Annabelle gasped, "Paul! Are you ok?"

"Geez!" Paul groaned brushing himself off, "That's one stubborn door."

Ironhide smirked to himself as Paul climbed up inside and shut the door.

He shifted in his seat and commented, "These seats are really comfy."

Annabelle seemed to be glaring at the dashboard but she quickly turned with a smile, "Yeah, they are."

"Wow. Your uncle must trust you A LOT to drive this bruiser around. I'll bet it cost a fortune!" Paul stated, glancing around the more than spacious interior.

The girl shrugged, playing along with Paul's idea that the truck was JUST a truck, "Daddy and Uncle Hide share it. So I get to drive it whenever."

"Isn't your dad in the military?" Paul asked a bit nervous.

Annabelle nodded, "Yeah. But he's not all gung ho like you might think. He's really nice. You'll have to meet him when he gets back from Drill."

The dark haired boy nodded, visibly nervous at the prospect. Dads in the military or the police force were always the most intimidating to deal with when meeting new girls—not that he'd dated too many.

Ironhide immediately sensed the fear and his internal smirk deepened. If this boy was scared of Will he had little hope of surviving a meeting with him.

Soon the movie started; "The Shining" as the title read. Ironhide paid little mind to the screen, but kept close tabs on the couple inside his cab. On the screen, Jack Nicholson was beginning to lose his mind, contorting his face into some terrifying grimaces as the madness consumed him. Annabelle cringed, her heart beginning to race. Apparently the movie was making her anxiety rise. Paul saw her reaction and reached across the middle console where her hand rested.

HEY.

Suddenly, Paul's seat bucked backward until it was tilted all the way back.

"WOAH!" he cried out, legs in the air.

Annabelle jumped, hand to her chest. The movement coupled with the movie startled her.

"Are you ok?" she asked with concern.

Floundering in his awkward position, Paul groped for the seat release. When he lightly touched the small lever he was instantly catapulted forward, almost hitting the dashboard.

"Geez! That was crazy. Maybe the spring is broken in this seat?" Paul surmised, glancing around the base.

Oh I'll show you broken if you try to grope Annabelle, boy.

"No. No. It just does that sometimes. Too much grease." Annabelle lied, knowing full well the cause. "Hey, why don't we sit on the hood together? The view would probably be better."

What?

Paul shrugged, "Ok." he started to climb out and noticed Annabelle glaring at the dashboard again. "Something wrong Belle?"

"Oh, no. No. I…I thought I saw a smudge. My Uncle is a real stickler about keeping his truck clean." the girl lied again.

Seeming satisfied with her answer the young man jumped out, closing the door.

"That was mean, Ironhide!" Annabelle angrily hissed at the dashboard.

He didn't respond, still focusing on Paul outside.

"You behave yourself or I'll NEVER take you to one of my dates again!" she threatened, jumping out herself.

I'd like to see you keep me away.

Paul waited for Annabelle to come to the tailgate. Gentlemanly he held out a hand, bowing dramatically with a smirk, "Me lady."

Curtseying in equal dramatic fashion Annabelle laughed as he took her hand and helped her up into the tall truck bed. Together the two climbed over the cab top and slid down onto the windshield and hood. Ironhide grumbled to himself, not enjoying the treatment so much. Annabelle promptly clasped Paul's hand and they leaned together, watching the movie. Ironhide let it slide. It was Annabelle who made the move, not the boy. He trusted her. But…that boy better not try anything.

Soon the key moment of the movie rolled, Jack Nicholson bashing in the door with and axe and dementedly announcing, "Here's Johnny!" Annabelle snickered quietly and wiggled in closer to Paul.

"Man, he's scary!" she whispered.

Paul just smirked and draped an arm around her shoulder. Quite suddenly, the windshield wiper on the right whipped over and smacked the boy's hand.

"OW! OW!" he yelped, withdrawing his hand.

Annabelle leaned forward with concern, "What happened?"

Paul shook his head not knowing what to think, "The crazy windshield wiper hit me!"

Mortification filled Annabelle but she tried to mask it with disbelief, "I'm sorry. That's just weird."

"I get the funny feeling your truck doesn't like me." Paul laughed jokingly.

Oh you have no idea boy.

Annabelle smiled falsely, eyeing the hood secretly, "Oh, don't be silly." Gently, she took his red hand and gave it a light kiss, "There. Feel better?"

"Sure." he smiled. "Thanks."

Taking his arm, Annabelle curtly draped it around her shoulder and snuggled in closer to him. When the movie finally ended the pair slid off the hood, Paul catching Annabelle about the waist. A minor movement under the hood triggered Annabelle to strategically place her body between Paul and the looming grill, not trusting Ironhide not to try something else.

Lucky boy.

"That was fun Paul. I had a really nice time with you tonight." Annabelle mentioned softly.

"Me too Belle. Maybe we can do it again sometime?"

The young lady nodded, giving him a hug which he returned. They pulled apart, waved, Paul got on his motorcycle, and he drove away. Annabelle kept her smiled until he left. Promptly her smile turned into a dangerous glare at the Topkick's grill. Gritting her teeth, she moved around to the driver's side and climbed in. She crossed her arms and leaned hard into the seat, refusing to look at anything except out the window.

"Glad that's over with." Ironhide mentioned.

Annabelle expelled angry air from her nose, "I can't BELIEVE you!"

"What?" the disbelieving voice rumbled.

"Don't you DARE ask me 'what?'! You were nothing but a big bully to poor Paul the whole night!" Annabelle all but shouted at the dashboard.

"He deserved it."

The young blonde venomously glared at the window, "NO he didn't! You were just being mean!" she shook her head, "I'd be surprised if we ever go out on a date again."

"And that's a bad thing?"

Annabelle made a fist and hit the dashboard hard, "You are such a jerk!"

Without much warning, she thrust open the door and hopped out, storming through the rows of cars that were slowly trickling out of the drive-in. Ironhide was still boxed in and couldn't move. He wanted to shout out at her but knew he couldn't in such company. Thinking quickly he activated her cell phone which rang its tune. She looked at the screen instinctually as she marched off.

The text read, Where are you going? –Iron H

Not caring if she looked crazy she turned around and shouted back at the truck, "HOME!"

Her phone scrolled more text, I can take you home! Why are you walking?

She ignored the text and kept walking until she was completely out of the drive-in and on the long walk home. Her phone rang again and again, but she ignored the constant texts.

Ironhide was about to start a demolition derby, watching Annabelle walking farther and farther away from him and having no way of reaching her without revealing himself or hurting someone. Why was she so mad at him? He was just protecting her. Why did she even like this Paul boy? He wasn't any different than any other boy. Didn't she realize she was too good for him?

……

About an hour later…

Annabelle kept walking with fierce spite radiating off her skin. It took Ironhide nearly fifteen minutes to make his way out of the drive-in and less than a minute to catch up with her. But she kept walking for well over forty minutes, refusing to look at the big black truck rolling quietly behind her like a heart-stung puppy.

Finally she shouted over her shoulder, "Go home, Ironhide!"

"I'm not going to leave you out here." he replied.

She walked faster, swinging her arms at a faster pace. Shifting right the black truck sped up and moved in front of her to bar her path.

"Hey! I was just protecting you." he protested.

The girl stopped a frustrated smile creased her face as she flung up her arms, "From what? From Paul holding my hand? From having simple human contact?"

Ironhide was silent.

"I mean, don't you trust me at ALL?" her eyes moistened.

"With all my Spark, Annabelle."

She wiped the corners of her eyes briefly, "Well then TRUST me. If Paul did something I wasn't comfortable with I would stop him MYSELF. I don't need this iron bubble around me!" she made a wide round gesture with both her hands.

There was a long silence.

The Topkick seemed to sink down a bit on its shocks, "I… Sigh Forgive me Annabelle. I shouldn't have doubted your own ability to look out for yourself."

After a moment Annabelle expelled some air and lightly patted the front of the truck, "I forgive you." She smirked, "Believe me, if I need your help I'll let you know."

"And I'll be there." he affirmed, opening his door.

Submitting, the girl climbed in and buckled herself.

Ironhide began driving and Annabelle thoughtfully tapped his steering wheel, "I don't suppose you like Paul anymore than before?"

The grating voice grumbled, "Nope."

A/N: And thus the rivalry of Ironhide vs. Paul begins!

I've been asked how long this story is going to be…well I don't know. But I can bet it won't exceed 10 chapters. It just depends on how many wild, charged up situations I can throw at this poor boy.