Author's note: Once again, I want to thank all of you for the reviews. If you guys didn't review, I wouldn't keep writing it. *sniffles* I hope you enjoy this chapter! Keep the reviews coming in!

Love is a Lake

(A 'TFA' fan fic romance)

Chapter 7 Confronting Reality

(Sunday 11:00pm – Blitzwing)

Blitzwing sat alone in the meadow for the third night in a row. It had been the longest three days he had in a very long time. The last time he saw Cynthia was in the early morning hours of Thursday. He noticed it had been a week since he had discovered her poetry and her name. With every day that passed in this seemingly casual and insignificant week, things got more and more interesting for him.

His partner in crime, Lugnut, noticed he was slightly more off than usual and he confronted him about it. Blitzwing assured his friend he was alright and that there was nothing wrong with him. Well, there wasn't anything further wrong with him. Megatron preferred to ignore him in his quirks as he simply wasn't interested in delving into his minion's twisted processor. He knew he was insane and that's all he wanted to know about Blitzwing's issues.

The spring evenings were becoming warmer and more beautiful as the month of May encroached. In one hour, at midnight, it was going to be May 1st. He was going be alone. Normally, it didn't bother him but he was so used to her presence, he felt somewhat hollow.

"I svear, she is a vitch of some kind!" Hothead said. "Vhy can't I stop zhinking about her? I hate to admit it but I zhink she's pretty decent."

"I'm usually always happy but vhen I zhink about her, I feel like dancing and singing in zhis meadow until zhe sun comes up!" giggled the pumpkin face. "She certainly is much nicer zhan zhe Spider Lady! Yet she von't let me kiss her…" His smile faded. "And zhat makes me feel sad."

The gentlemanly side didn't want to say anything about this mystery at all. He looked out over the landscapes around him, trying to forget about her. In the distance, he could see the lights of Detroit. Somewhere in that sea of light, there was Cynthia's apartment. Blitzwing was half-tempted to fly to her residence and see her not just for her poetry. He began to agree with his angrier self on the suggestion that the girl must be some kind of witch or sorceress.

"She has zhis charisma of some sort," he said at last. "She's not just a pretty face. Zhe girl has depth, intelligence and a pleasant personality. Personally, I don't understand vhy zhat Ves boy broke her heart. Are Humans really zhat pathetic vhere zhey only care about physical aesthetics?"

Blitzwing began to wonder if she was some kind of unfortunate reject. His thoughts turned back to 'Fear'. He just couldn't understand why she would feel calm in his presence. The curiosity was something that further perplexed him. Yes, she must be a misfit if she enjoyed his company. He was also a reject in a certain way: he was insane. And he did enjoy her company too.

"I zhink I may like Cynthia a bit more zhan I zhought," Random said. "I zhink I am in love vith her!"

The other two personalities refused to acknowledge this possibility at all.

"Zhat is completely ludicrous," Icy scoffed. "Zhou said a lot of crazy zhings but zhat is almost too much. She's a Human! She's of a completely different species!"

"I vould strangle zhou if I could!" Hothead roared. "Ve are not in love. Get zhat silly zhought out of zhour processor now!"

While Hothead and Icy were fiercely set in denying such a thing, they realized they couldn't fully dismiss it. On the second night in particular, his optics frequently wandered from the poems and often focused on her. He remembered how he felt ashamed at looking at her when Cyndi caught him. Cynthia was the jewel of the female Humans to him. Again, he couldn't believe Wes laughed at her and shoved her aside. Also, the reason why he had to leave that one night without saying anything else to her was because he felt something unusual in his spark chamber. His spark flickered with a warm sensation that moved throughout his frame that he never really felt before. When he thought about her, it insulated and soothed him to his core.

"Ve cannot come to such an outlandish conclusion so swiftly," judged Icy. "I vill not believe zhis is love until later vhen ve zhink more about zhis."

"I refuse to believe zhis at all," Hothead remained steadfast. "Ve have no time or need for zhis nonsense. Ve must remain above such feelings. Ve are Decepticons!"

"It'll be our little secret," Random said softly. "No one vill know. I promise! I have an idea: vhy don't ve pay her a visit and ask her vhat she feels about us!"

"Don't be stupid! Vhy vould a Human fall for us?"

"Patience. Ve vill see vhat time vill reveal. If zhis varmth in my spark chamber persists…" Blitzwing dreaded what he was about to say. "I vill accept zhe truth nobly. And zhen I vill ask her vhat she zhinks about me."

(Sunday 11:00pm – Cynthia)

Cyndi was convinced she said or did something very wrong now. With every minute that slipped by, she grew more and more concerned. She hadn't seen Blitzwing since the early hours of Thursday. Her conscious gnawed on her like a dog with a bone. The way he left bothered her and he never did say when he was going to come back. Whenever the sun began to set and the stars began to appear in the sky, she went into her room. She lay on her bed and stared out the window, waiting for him to return and reassure her everything was alright.

Since the last time she saw him, her performance in her classes didn't improve at all in the least bit. Her attention span to the material was either extremely limited or nonexistent at best. Mr. Rax even confronted her after class on Friday, questioning her on the origin of such of unusual behavior he had been witness to since the beginning of the week. Cyndi's excuses consisted of stress and sleep issues which she claimed were the causes of her troubles. Her teacher did believe her claims and he urged her to shape up or ending flunking miserably on the final examinations. Natalie pushed her buttons again and Cynthia was extremely tempted to turn around in her seat and clobber her until she was unconscious.

Amanda inquired of what weighted on her mind even though she knew it was about Blitzwing. Her sister denied anything was wrong and came up with the explanation that she was starting to get stressed out from the inevitable exams coming up in two weeks. Yet Mandy had her suspicions. Cynthia knew she didn't buy them fully but she didn't want to discuss the true matter at all.

Her blue eyes looked at the world beyond her window. On the other side of Detroit, there was the meadow she had visited with her new friend. She wondered if he was there and she had the urge to get into her car and drive out there just to see if that truly was the case or not.

"I can't believe myself," she thought. "I actually miss him. Why do I miss him? I've only had three encounters with him."

She sighed and ran her fingers through her chestnut hair. She couldn't believe what a crazy and unexpected week it had been. It was definitely the strangest she had in awhile. It wasn't routine like she preferred but it was interesting and different. And Cynthia liked it.

"I don't hate him. I don't dislike him. I like him. He likes my poetry and he does seem interested in me. I've never known another Decepticon before him but I know a little about them. I either must be seeing a nicer side he must want me to see or maybe he is a bit different." She bit her lower lip, fighting back a smile that was beginning to manifest on her face. "Something is wrong with me…"

On the other side of the apartment, she could hear Amanda play her techno dance music. Often times, Cyndi didn't mind it but now it was getting on her nerves. She pounded her fist against the wall.

"Mandy!" she screamed. "Turn it down! I'm trying to go to bed! Tomorrow's Monday, remember?"

A few seconds later, the music was turned down to the point where she couldn't hear it anymore. At last, Cynthia turned over on her side, looking away from her window. She was beginning to believe he wasn't going to arrive tonight. To her greatest horror and surprise, she saw that she was mildly disappointed with this realization.

"This can't be right…" Cynthia said silently within her mind. "I must be insane! I don't know what to think though. I'm smiling and blushing like a fool when he talks to me and I caught myself thinking he was rather cute…" The impossible became known to her. "Could I possibly be in love with Blitzwing?"

No. It simply wasn't possible or acceptable. When Wes rejected her, Cynthia swore she would never allow herself to fall so blindly in love with anyone again. Not only that, she resolved to not get involved with any kind of romance until she got her bachelor's degree. There was no time for love in her life and unyielding and beloved routine. She refused to believe all that she felt and thought was enough proof that she was attracted to the quirky Decepticon.

"I can't… Yet I miss him. I enjoy his company. I feel happy and safe when I sit by him. I don't have any fear of him anymore. I think about him all the time and I can't get him out of my head."

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach and she felt a warmth form an insulating mold around her heart. It felt so good and she genuinely felt happy. The smile she tried to snuff out earlier made a triumphant victory.

"I pray this is some weird little crush that'll just disappear by tomorrow. Maybe all of this will get better if I get a good night's sleep. Yeah. That's it. I'll see what my heart and head says… Blitzwing, where are you?"

(Tuesday 5:30pm – Cynthia)

"Mandy."

The sisters sat at their kitchen table, eating their dinner. Their meal consisted of French fries, salad and some roasted chicken breasts. It wasn't too trashy or classy but both Cynthia and Amanda were perfectly content to have that meal. Mom always made better meals too.

"Yes?" Mandy stuffed a few French fries into her mouth.

Cynthia didn't know where to begin. It was getting worse and worse by the day. She did get plenty of sleep Sunday night but when she woke up the following day, Blitzwing was still all she could think of. Now it had a more diabolical twist: she began to grin when she thought about him. Because of that, everyone noticed Cyndi was acting much happier and optimistic than usual.

Amanda studied her sister's face. Her cheeks were bright red and her eyes glistened with a healthy and blissful glow. The younger's curiosity piqued and she wanted to know why Cyndi seemed so cheerful.

"Yeah?" she asked. "What's up?"

The eldest Preston girl was flustered and could barely speak. Her emotions were as tumultuous as a stormy sea. She hadn't felt this giddy in years and it was wonderful to Cynthia.

"I can't even collect myself to tell you how I feel!" she half-laughed.

"There's something up with you if you're acting so out of nature!" Mandy stated. "Tell me the truth! You can't hide what's inside."

"Mandy, I think I'm in love!"

She dropped the fork that was in her hand onto the plate with a loud clang. Amanda nearly choked on the fries she had swallowed. Her eyes widened in disbelief. A smirk appeared and she knew who the object of Cyndi's desire was. At the back of her mind, she had suspected it was him.

"You're in love with Blitzwing!" Amanda said happily. "I knew it! You can't lie to me!"

"But I don't know for sure!" Cynthia's mood then fell. "I don't know what it is, Mandy! It just came out of the blue!"

"And you said earlier you wouldn't let such a thing happen to you… I beg to differ. Looks like the tables have turned now, eh?"

"Don't give me any of that crap, Mandy. Fine, you proved me wrong. I'm not such a cold, unfeeling and distant person after all."

"Oh, come on, I never said that about you. Some of my coworkers said that about you though. But that's because they don't actually know you."

"I feel like I'm slowly losing my mind! I can't stop thinking about him and I can't believe it when I say I miss him! Mandy, I don't know what's happening to me… I'm really getting freaked out. We've known of him for a week and I feel like I trust him and I admire him as if I knew him for years."

Amanda was a tiny bit startled at the discovery her sister could very well be in love with him. He was a robot and she was a Human. But at the same time, she was relieved Cynthia was finally experiencing love again since she was fourteen. Ever since the incident with Wes, she thought she was never going to fall in love again.

"He's very polite with me," the cheerier Cyndi made a comeback and went on. "And dare I say it but I like him more than a lot of the people I'm forced to come into contact with on a daily basis. I already see him as something of a friend to me. Yet as these days are going by, I'm beginning to believe otherwise. I love those three personalities and I think they're all cute. His accent is really nice too…"

"Yep, you're in love," Amanda leaned back into her chair, folding her hands across her stomach. "I told you. Love is unpredictable and it comes in many forms. Do we need to watch Beauty and the Beast again? I think you can use it now that you're acting differently."

"No. I still refuse to believe it. There's a part of me that's ecstatic at this discovery but there's this other half that is appalled and disbelieving. I…" She sighed. "I'll know for sure when I see him again. The problem is: will I ever see Blitzwing again?"

"The question is: does he feel the same way about you? A word of advice, Sis… Don't wear your heart on your sleeve when you see him. If you do and if I he sees you love him, he'll break your heart."

"I don't know! I mean, he's friendly with me but it could be that he just likes my poetry and that's all."

"When he does come back, wait and see. I have a feeling he will."

"What makes you so sure?"

Mandy grinned at Cynthia. She sat up, leaning in closer to her.

"Because, when a guy gets to know you, I'm sure you'd be simply irresistible to him," she disclosed. "You're not easy and you're quite the tough cookie in love. But when he gets to you, I'm sure you'll be as sweet as honey."

(Wednesday 2:00am – Blitzwing)

He wanted to destroy Cynthia. The strange feeling in his spark invaded him every single time he thought about her. The sensation grew more powerful with each thought that occurred. His condition worsened as the days dragged by and as he didn't visit her. In front of his fellow Decepticons, he was able to control himself but when he was alone he was utterly enslaved to her image in his mind. Blitzwing tried to forget about her but he could not.

He wallowed in his confusion and fury in the same meadow he had been frequenting for the past week. The memories of the two nights they spent together were made there but the seeker couldn't completely avoid it. It repelled yet attracted him simultaneously.

"I cannot believe zhis…" Hothead said. "Vhat is vrong vith me? Am I going insane?"

"All I know is zhat I am in love vith zhe stunning Cynthia Preston!" sighed Random. "She played tough vith me and I like zhat too! And she's in for it because I alvays get vhat I vant in zhe end…"

"Zhis is foolishness," condemned Icy. "I cannot be in love. She's an organic! Zhat sensation vithin my spark chamber… I can't deny it."

A large smile occupied his face and one would've deemed it rather corny if they've seen it. Although the warmth in his spark chamber startled him, it felt exhilarating at the same time. Blitzwing stared out at Detroit once more, wondering if it was appropriate to go visit Cyndi. He was aware of this region's time and then decided it was a bad idea since it was so late. She was sleeping now and he didn't want to disturb her if that was the case.

"Perhaps I vill be even more insane now zhat I am in love," said Random. "I don't care if she is avake or not! I vant to see her now! Maybe if I confess my feelings to her, she vill understand and feel zhe same way… Better yet, if I sing to her, she vill be mine!"

"Absolutely not!" said the brutish face. "I still refuse to believe zhis is vhat is happening! Ve vill not do zhat!"

"Yes, to confess vhat ve think is daft," Icy defended. "Besides, if zhis love I feel is real, vill she feel zhe same? I doubt it. Ve are too different. It vould never vork out."

"Oh, ve can't be too miserable!" Random said happily. "If she doesn't love us, ve vill make her! I've got a few tricks to vin her over!"

"Don't be a fool. Ve must handle zhis matter delicately. She is sophisticated and gracious enough to understand. I just hope zhis doesn't turn out to be a huge disaster. Perhaps I vill know how I really feel once I see her."

"I say suck it up and pretend nozhing has happened," Hothead advised. "Ve cannot let an organic voman play vith our spark… However pretty and likable she is…"

Blitzwing sighed. It was against the natures of all three of his personalities to cower at something as seemingly pathetic as an infatuation. It was an even bigger outrage and embarrassment to allow it to continue any longer. He couldn't try to put it off any longer. He needed to get to the bottom of this mystery. He needed to see Cynthia as soon as possible and figure out what to do from there.

"Ve vill meet her at midnight on Zhursday," Icy announced. "In Earth time, ve have twenty two hours to meet her. It vill seemingly be zhe same as zhe past two nights vith her. Ve vill vatch her carefully and decide vhat to do from zhere…"

Deep within, all three faces hoped Cynthia felt the same way.