The Christmas party had been a bad idea. William would tell you that without hesitation, as would Sam or Mikaela, or Epps, or any other solider that had stayed throughout the entire thing. Optimus had warned them against it, but had they listened? No. Of course they didn't. The Autobot leader had sighed and told them that as much as it was a bad idea, he had stepped aside and let them do as they wanted. And so the Christmas party was planned. They would regret it afterwards, along with Sideswipe, Ratchet, and Ironhide. At least Optimus had escaped while he could.
The party was going as planned. There was music playing lightly, drinks were served, laughs were shared, lights were aglow, and no one was fighting. Sideswipe and Ironhide had provided High Grade, though Ironhide lost his to the party because of a bet with Ratchet, and the Autobots had been enjoying themselves.
Throughout the entire thing, Optimus had stayed to the side, not allowing anyone to drag him into the chaos that would surely unfold. He stood away from the speakers where the music was loudest. He stood away from the table holding the High Grade where somebot would try to get him to drink. He also stood away from Ratchet and Ironhide who were happily drinking away. In fact, Optimus had chosen to stand by the door. Will and Epps had both joined him briefly, trying to get him to join in. Optimus had only given them a knowing smile and shook his head and replied that the night was not going to end well for them. Even then, they hadn't heeded Optimus' words of wisdom.
The first sign of trouble had been when Ratchet and Ironhide had started to show the signs of being over energized. Ratchet nearly fell over giggling like a schoolgirl, while Ironhide told jokes through bellows of laughter. At that point, Optimus left the party claiming to have a headache from the noise when he was asked by a few of the soldiers present.
Sideswipe followed in the footsteps of the two 'drunken' Autobots not long after. Partway through the party, he joined Ratchet and Ironhide at their table along with Bumblebee, though the yellow Autobot had hardly touched the High Grade.
Their conversations grew louder, and louder, and louder… until someone, and no one knew exactly who, suggested to Bumblebee that he should play some Christmas for them because the sound system was hardly able to cut through the noise of the room. So Bumblebee played the music; extremely loud. Ironhide and Ratchet actually seemed to enjoy it, while the humans scattered, and even started to sing along with the words. Sideswipe quickly joined in.
It led to the four Autobots creating the strangest quartet in existence as they stood on a table, which creaked and groaned under their weight despite being designed for the Autobots, belting the lyrics as loud as possible. The humans clamped their hands over their ears to block out the painful noise and backed away. No one wanted to be nearby for when the table gave out. Getting crushed at a Christmas party by Autobots that were drunk wasn't something that anyone wanted to have something happen to them.
The only warning anyone had was a long moan of metal before the table snapped, dumping the four to the ground. About ten seconds later, Optimus walked back in as if on cue, ready to help move the four Autobots to their quarters, wearing a smile that screamed 'I told you so'. The NEST soldiers agreed that night. Listening to Optimus was the best possible option.