Part 7: An Instant To Change

Prowl stood outside one of the classrooms, patiently waiting for Jazz's class to end. There were a few other bots in the hallway, some reading from datapads, others softly chatting or just daydreaming as they waited for the room of their next class to empty so they could go in. Prowl stood with a datapad in his hand attempting to read one of the assigned chapters for his homework, but caught himself more than once loosing focus on the words and instead thinking about other things. He finally gave up trying to take in the information and subspaced the pad, just as the class was finally dismissed.

"Hey Prowler!" Jazz greeted him with his signature grin. Prowl still wasn't fond of the nickname, but had long since given up trying to convince Jazz to drop it, since it was a losing battle anyway. "You ready?" Jazz's voice, as well as his facial expression, conveyed his excitement for the event to come tonight.

Prowl gave a nod. "Are you sure about this?" The two started walking down the hallway together. "I mean, what if you get hurt? I've heard stories about bots who-"

"Yes, I am sure," Jazz cut in and grinned some more before Prowl could voice his concerns. "It'll be fun! Are you sure you want to stay on the sidelines? You could join us ya know."

"Yeah, but racing isn't really my thing. I'll watch you though."

The Academy was holding races for the first-year bots. It was an idea the Student Social Organization came up with to give the bots more opportunities to meet their peers. Races would go on for the entire weekend, and Jazz, along with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, were all enthusiastic about it. Prowl was excited too - it would give them all an opportunity to hang out and have fun together, outside of a party scene - but he didn't plan on joining any of the races. He didn't see what the big deal was about who was the fastest, and there was at least a little risk of getting injured, even though the Academy was doing all it possibly could to make the races safe. Students who participated had to sign wavers stating they wouldn't pursue monetary compensation if they did get hurt, and that was enough to make Prowl decide against joining.

Prowled increased his pace a bit to keep up with Jazz, who was obviously even more excited than he had initially led on. It was afternoon, and the races didn't begin until later in the evening, but Jazz was in a hurry to get things done before then so they wouldn't be late.

Sunstreaker and Sidewipe were already in Jazz's and Prowl's shared room, waiting for them. They usually ended up in this room since their own was much more of a mess, and hence wasn't a great place for the four of them to meet. The three racers wanted to look their best for the event, and had agreed to give each other a new coat of wax that afternoon.

The twins were seated in the desk chairs. Sideswipe was in the middle of applying wax to Sunstreaker's back, and Sunstreaker was complaining.

"You're going too fast; you're going to miss a spot! I don't want to be humiliated after I win a race because of an obvious dull spot." He crossed his arms in irritation.

Sideswipe rolled his optics and greeted Jazz and Prowl. "Hey guys. Ready to join the fun?"

Jazz grinned. "Sure am! I'm next right?"

Sunstreaker sighed, "Actually, we've just started, so Sideswipe's next. Afthead here lost my wax earlier, and it took us forever to find it. Lucky for him he did find it..."

Sideswipe playfully swung the waxing rag at the back of Sunstreaker's head, and then continued waxing.

Prowl came into the room and sat quietly on his bunk as they spoke, and Jazz leaned on the doorway.

"Aw, seriously?" Jazz asked.

"Yeah, that's why I can't afford to slow down Sunny."

Sunstreaker glared behind him. "Don't call me that!"

Jazz looked thoughtful for a moment, then hopped over to where Prowl was sitting on his bunk and joined him.

"Proowwwwl, I have a favor to ask you..." He crooned and leaned up close to Prowl, grinning widely.

Prowl was sure he could feel his optics widen at Jazz's sudden request. "Wh-What would that be?"

Jazz backed off a bit, becoming a bit more serious. At least, as serious as a jovial mech like Jazz could get. "Could you wax me?" He mock pouted.

Prowl wasn't sure what to say. He looked back at Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, who were lost in their own conversational bickering, and then back to Jazz. Waxing, of course, was a perfectly normal social engagement to practice with friends, but the truth was Prowl had never waxed anybot before. He had always gone to parlors to get his own paint waxed, once he was old enough that he no longer wanted his creators performing the job. He'd never really been close enough to anybot for them to ask such a favor.

He knew this was something he shouldn't be nervous about, but he was.

"Uhh..."

Jazz got up and grabbed another clean waxing rag and his own can of wax, then set the things down next to Prowl and sat down with his back to him. "Pease? I really don't want to risk being late to the races!"

Prowl ex-vented in a slow sigh and gave in. "I guess so."

Jazz looked back and grinned at him again. "Thanks buddy! Knew I could count on ya!"

He knew how to wax another bot, of course - in theory. Actually performing the action was going to be much more tasking than watching someone else do it, and the fact that Prowl wasn't used to touching other bots quite like this made him tense. He only hoped he wouldn't screw it up somehow, or make it an awkward situation due to his uneasiness.

Prowl opened the container of wax and set it down beside him, moving closer to Jazz. Dipping the soft rag in the pleasantly fresh smelling wax, he hesitated before deciding to start up near Jazz's left shoulder. Using small circles to spread the wax, he covered a small portion and dipped the rag again, repeating the procedure. He then used the other side of the rag to gently clean the wax off, leaving the paint shiny. Despite how routine the procedure should be, Prowl was still nervous, becoming more so the farther down he was forced to go once the upper portion of Jazz's back was finished. He hoped his nervousness wasn't showing. He was down to the small of Jazz's back now, applying the wax in cautious circles.

"Mmm, right there," Jazz said in a sultry voice and arched lightly into the touch.

Prowl quickly withdrew the rag and froze immediately, and the twins, who had been watching from the corners of their optics, burst out laughing, Jazz joining in as well.

"Relax Prowler, just a joke!" He turned toward Prowl and apologized, "Sorry, I just couldn't resist. You're so tense! Relax, I'm not gonna bite ya."

Prowl initially gritted his denta in frustration at the joke, but found a smile creeping up on his face. Once he started waxing again, it seemed easier after Jazz had made light of the situation.

He finished his back; thankfully Jazz didn't have doorwings, which would have made the task even more difficult; and Jazz turned around to face him - which made Prowl nervous again. Now Jazz could watch his every move, and Prowl felt intimidated once more. But Jazz just casually sat, tapping his fingers lightly against his knees to the beat of the upbeat music Sideswipe had put on for them to help pass the time.

Prowl started with Jazz's shoulders, then his arms. He moved onto his chest and had to focus on the fact that every section he did got him a bit closer to being done – not that he wasn't enjoying this to a certain extent. He recalled times in his past when he was feeling quite lonely and had longed for simple companionship such as this. But he couldn't help but feel Jazz had intended to get a waxing from him all along, and Prowl wasn't sure what his reasons for this were.

Before he knew it he was finished with the rest of the painted areas; arms, legs, and chest. Sideswipe had also finished waxing Sunstreaker, and they switched positions.

"Your turn Prowler!" Jazz smiled as he took the rag and polish and moved them closer to his side of the bed for easier access.

Prowl shook his helm. "Thanks Jazz, but I'm not racing. I don't need another waxing for a while yet," He turned and looked at his doorwings and glanced down at his arms to emphasize his point, but realized that in fact he was in need of a waxing after all. All his time spent studying and working on class projects had led him to neglect his paint – something that wasn't new to Prowl.

"Nonsense," Jazz insisted with a smile, "Turn around and let me shine you up."

With a sigh of defeat Prowl followed Jazz's instructions, and Jazz started applying the wax. "Besides, I can't head off to the races until Sideswipe is done anyway. Might as well spiff you up to return the favor."


Prowl enjoyed the new coat of wax that brought his paint to a brilliant sheen. He felt confident as they walked down the pathway towards the location of the races. He was a little suspicious that Jazz spent more time gently rubbing his doorwings that was necessary, but he never rubbed harder than was pleasant, and it was rather relaxing after a while. Jazz was probably just making sure he did a good job. Prowl had been relieved when he finally stopped though – the soft circular motions on his doorwings were beginning to send pleasant little chills throughout his frame.

The area was crowded, to say the least. There had been a huge turnout, probably more than the committee had planned for. There were seven long lines to register for a race, and beyond the lines were bleachers for spectators to watch. The first race was starting, and everyone in the lines and the bleachers hollered and cheered when the engines of the racers revved as they sped off. The main road through campus had been blocked off specifically for the race with yellow barricades, and traffic was detoured to the smaller roads. By the time Jazz, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe had registered and had their racing numbers, it was late in the evening. Another hour and the sun would sink below the horizon, and the large white lights that were scattered throughout campus would illuminate the events. The racing would continue late into the night, only ceasing for the few mandated quiet hours, then would resume early in the morning.

The group of four made their way over to the rows of bleachers and found a place to sit together. Prowl didn't remember ever having so much fun in his life. Even though they sometimes had trouble hearing each other over the racers and the crowd, it was fun just being together in a setting that didn't make him uncomfortable. Prowl learned a few names of the racers too – whenever Jazz or the twins spotted somebot they knew, they would point them out and chatter about how they thought they would place in the race, and compared acceleration times to the competitors.

Periodically, the racers and their respective numbers were called out over a megaphone so they could get gathered in the starting area. Since Jazz and the twins all registered at the same time, and since the order of racers was on a first-come first-serve basis, they got called to the same race. It would be the last race of the night. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe immediately jumped up and made their way down the bleachers when they were called, but Jazz lingered for a moment.

"Be sure to cheer for me, Prowler!" Jazz said over the noise of the crowd, resting an arm across Prowl's shoulders.

"I will. Have fun!" Prowl replied. He didn't mind being left alone in the crowd for one race; he was rather excited to see his friends participate. He expected it would be quite an entertaining race, given that those three were in it.

What he didn't expect was when Jazz leaned close to him and brushed his lips across his cheek in a quick kiss before unwrapping his arm from Prowl's shoulders and turning to head to the starting area.

Prowl was left in a slightly dazed state, not really sure if that had just happened, while watching Jazz recede into the crowd.