Chapter 4
Clara had had a hug for Ironhide, but nothing more than a muttered greeting for Optimus, her voice cold. Ironhide was surprised to find that the two knew each other, but the only explanation they gave him was that they'd met through their fathers and made to spend the summer together two years ago.
Now she had gone with her sister back to the Rogue school, and Sentinel had the whole school in the assembly hall to explain to them that there had been a Decepticon attack and they were all going to take refuge in the Rogue school.
It took an hour for them all to file down the tunnel that led to the Rogue school, even longer than it should have because the students were so surprised and wanted to stop and mess around. Most of the femmes were making disgusted sounds as they walked through the sewer, but the Rogue headmaster had been told what was happening, and sent Clara and a boy to help out. The boy seemed uncertain, but Clara was perfectly at ease, unphased by the sewer water that flowed up her legs. She walked with the three boys, and they exchanged anxious mutterings.
"Who was that Megatron took?" Bumblebee asked her curiously.
"Kaitlynn." Clara replied. "My little sister. Annalease saw her leaving and followed her."
"You said Kaitlynn wouldn't dare come anywhere near the Autobot school." Ironhide remembered, "Why did she go?"
Clara hmphed.
"She was running away from me." She admitted. "Little shit stole my medallion. I was trying to get it back. Cornered her in the basement and she ran through the tunnel."
Her bad language shocked Ironhide, even though he'd known that Clara and her sister hated each other. But a look at the femme showed him that she was deeply upset about the whole thing.
"Surely your father would be eager to keep you away from here though." Optimus said suddenly, "He wouldn't want another daughter taken."
Clara smirked.
"I think he was hoping that Megatron would see me and realise that he'd taken the wrong sibling." Clara replied, "He was hoping he'd let Kaitlynn go and take me instead."
"Surely your father isn't that heartless." Ironhide commented as they came to the ladder into the Rogue school. The going was slow here as they waited for people to climb up it.
"He is." Clara and Optimus replied at the same time.
"Clara?" Sentinel called from up ahead where he was seeing the students up the ladder, "Could you go ahead and direct the students to wherever it is your father wants them please?"
Clara nodded and ran up ahead, leaving the three Autobots waiting in line.
"What was all that about?" Ironhide asked out loud.
"Hm?" Optimus was distracted, "Oh, her father's the headmaster of the Rogue school." He told him.
"He is?" Ironhide was surprised by this piece of information, "Oh, not that, all that about Megatron taking the wrong sibling."
Optimus's expression darkened.
"It's not my place to say." He replied, "You'll have to ask her about it."
Ironhide gave him a questioning look, tilting his head.
"How do you know so much about her?" He asked him curiously.
Optimus hesitated.
"We spent the whole summer together, just the two of us." He reminded him, "You tend to learn a lot about each other."
Ironhide looked him up and down suspiciously.
"A lot of things can happen when two mechs spend the whole summer alone together." He pointed out, his voice full of dread. "How far did you go?"
"Who said we went anywhere?" Optimus asked him.
"Don't avoid the question, Prime." Ironhide said angrily. Bumblebee was looking between the two fearfully. "Just tell me."
Optimus watched his friend for a minute, taking a step backwards to keep up with the line, his blue optics searching his face.
"We went the whole way." He admitted finally.
Ironhide sighed, closing his optics and putting his head in his hands.
Bumblebee took a step away and dashed up the ladder. Optimus followed and it was a few minutes before Ironhide had recovered enough to follow after him.
"It was a long time ago, Hide." Optimus reminded him as they carried on walking. "As you can tell, we've both moved on."
Ironhide shook his head.
"Why didn't she tell me?" He asked himself quietly.
Optimus snorted.
"A femme's not just gonna tell you her whole sex life on the first date." He pointed out.
Ironhide turned on him angrily as they left the basement.
"And you?" He demanded, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Optimus frowned at him.
"I didn't know you were dating the same Clara." He reminded him, "It wasn't gonna be relevant if you were dating a completely different femme."
Ironhide hmphed.
"Why did you do it?" He hissed at him as they filed into the assembly hall.
Optimus sighed and shook his head.
"I told you, Hide, it was a long time ago."
"Just tell me!"
He gave him a surprised look.
"Like I said, it was just the two of us all summer." He said, "We came from similar backgrounds and families, we could sympathise with each others situations." He took on a lighter tone, "True she spent the summer going out of her way to annoy me." He remembered. He glanced at Ironhide and sighed again when he saw his tactic wasn't working. "What does it matter, Hide?" He asked him, "It's passed, we've both moved on, she's with you now."
Ironhide caught the slight resentment in his friend's voice and gave him a suspicious look. Bumblebee was sat a little apart from the three of them.
"Optimus!" A small voice cried out suddenly, and they looked up to see Clara's youngest sister, Annalease, running towards them.
"Hey!" Optimus greeted her warmly, pulling her into his arms and sitting her down on his lap. Ironhide looked away as he spoke to her, and caught Clara's eye at the edge of the hall, where she was watching the pair uncertainly. She noticed him looking at her and gave him a smile before slipping out the door as her father walked in, his glare showing his resentment at the brother-sister relationship his youngest daughter held with Optimus. Ironhide remembered what Clara had told him about Annalease always wanting a big brother and his hands clenched to fists on his lap.
He should've known it was too good to be true.
The headmaster of the Rogue school gave them a speech and told them to pair up, or make a group with, one of the students from the Rogue school before the day was over. Someone they would share a dorm and lessons with.
It was a unanimous agreement between the three friends that they would be staying with Clara and Annalease in the dorm they shared.
When the assembly was over Optimus asked Annalease to show them the way. She took his hand excitedly and pulled him towards the door, bouncing along the whole way.
With Annalease dragging Optimus on up ahead and Bumblebee hurrying to follow them, Ironhide couldn't really afford to fall behind. But in the crowds he quickly lost the others. He stopped walking and calmed his breathing. He couldn't panic, that would be the worst thing to do. He was just lost and alone in the Rogue school, and chances were Optimus and Bumblebee hadn't even realised he was no longer following them.
"Hey." Ironhide jumped as he felt a hand close around his arm and turned to see Clara. "You okay?"
Ironhide breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.
"Yeah." He assured her, "Annalease was leading Optimus and Bumblebee to your dorm, and we got split up."
For some reason, Clara's optics widened at his words.
"They're going to my dorm?" She asked, shocked.
Ironhide nodded cautiously.
Clara took off down the corridor the way the others had disappeared, and Ironhide hurried after her. They got upstairs and found themselves at the end of the corridor leading to her dorm just as the others reached the door.
"Hold up!" Clara called to them.
Optimus and Annalease stopped and turned to them as Bumblebee opened the door. He let out a yelp and slammed the door shut again just as Clara and Ironhide got there.
"Watch what you're doing." Clara scolded him, opening the door again and going in.
The others crowded inside the large dorm as Clara picked up the small infant from the ground. The sparkling in her arms was only about two years old. She was clutching a teddy bear to her chest, her bright blue optics watching the newcomers curiously. Optimus sat down heavily on one of the beds, shaking, as Annalease joined her sister and reached up to touch the sparkling's hand. It took only a moment for Ironhide to realise what was happening.
"Oh, no." He whispered, leaning back against the door frame for support. "It's his?" He asked, nodding to Optimus.
"I think that much is obvious, Hide." Optimus said quietly, raising his head to look at Clara. "Your father lets you keep her in here?" He asked, surprised.
Clara shook her head.
"He and Kaitlynn don't even know she exists." She replied, gently handing her to him. "I thought it would be safer that way."
Optimus nodded as he took his daughter off of her uncertainly, cradling her carefully in his arms. The infant looked at him with shocked blue optics as he looked up at her mother again.
"What's her name?" He asked her curiously, but there was something else in his voice, beside the uncertainty and the seriousness.
Clara managed a small smile.
"Kodi."
