Just got back from Florida, which was pretty cool! I'm super happy because I'm getting a new phone, and I got a microphone so it will be easier to record which I am super psyched about!

The Whispering Sage: Lol, you're welcome! It's a very amusing thought ;)

MysticFire101: Yeah, I agree. I wouldn't say Noe's completely oblivious, she does have her suspicions, especially about Dr. Ratchet and Optimus Prime. About T5...it's kinda hard to tell because the trailer was only a teaser, but I think it would at least be entertaining, even if the plot is bad. And yeah, I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds that annoying. I swear Bay's forte is explosions and unnecessary deaths. Hmmm, now Nemesis Prime would be a good theory, but I don't know because he seemed sincere in his apology to Bumblebee before he tried to stab him. I think it's the dark energon, because his optics were purple. *sighs* yeah, Mikaela was my favorite as well, probably because she was tomboy-ish, which I am.

DimensionJumperAlpha: Yes, they are! And you'll just have to see when that happens...I would probably be upset too tbh.

Alice Gone Madd: She will soon :)

BIackrose13: Thanks, can't wait for you to read this one!

jgoss: Yes, they will! Oh yes, I adore Bumblebee. I loved him since T-Prime. I wouldn't say feelings as in a romantic ones (yet lol). But does Noelle definitely trusts and feels close to Octavian? Yes!

RewindandDomey4ever: Okay, thanks!

Khalthar: Thank you for finding an interest in this fic. That is definitely something that will come to light, but later on, because I did plan on writing about that! And oh yeah, Mikaela will be even more pissed.

CastielLunaWinchester: Lol. Thank you very much!

QueenOfTheSilver98: Lol, thanks! I do love writing them together, and yes, that would be cute :)

Chapter 10:

A Moment of Peace

"V, you're putting it on too thick."

"Just sit still, damnit." Vanessa huffed, wiping the top of Mikaela's eyelid with her thumb, before going back over it with another thin coat of eyeliner. Her green eyes were narrowed behind her glasses, her gaze focused intently on doing Mikaela's makeup. "And there," She breathed out, taking a step back to admire her work, before revealing the other brunette's appearance in the large mirror behind her.

Currently, all three of us were in Vanessa's room, getting ready for the anticipated Winter Ball. Vanessa and Mikaela haven't stopped talking about it since the Mikaela had arrived, and had been eagerly planning the event for about three days.

I was sitting quietly on V's bed, watching with amusement while Mikaela and her fussed over her makeup. They were definitely a charming pair.

When Mikaela saw herself in the mirror, her eyes widened, before her red-coated lips pulled up into a small smile.

"See? I told you I was good at this." Vanessa said, stepping away to put the eyeliner down.

"What do you think, Noe?" Mikaela asked, turning to face me.

I smiled softly, "You look really pretty." She didn't even need makeup to be pretty, but the eyeliner certainly made her vivid green eyes even more compelling. Her hair had been curled, and she had brought with her a long, elegant silver dress that flowed to her ankles.

Vanessa, on the other hand, opted for a short red dress that was tight to her chest and flowed outward past her torso in velvety heaps. Her dress, oddly reminded me of a rose, just in season to bloom out. Her hair had been straightened so that it fell down her shoulders, and I never would've guessed her hair was that long because she usually kept it tied up in a bun at the top of her head. She looked beautiful too, with soft pink lipstick, and gleaming necklace wrapped around her neck.

I, on the other hand, wasn't prepared for the ball, and had to borrow a dress from Vanessa, which she didn't mind. I was shorter than both of them so she had given me her smallest dress, which was still a bit loose but fitted me well enough. It was a deep ultramarine dress, with laced long sleeves, and in a similar pattern as Vanessa's, tight at the top but puffy towards the bottom.

It had a deep swoop in the back, exposing my bare, beige skin all the way to mid-back, which was a bit more than I was comfortable with. The lace had covered the swoop with decorative, tiny roses, but it wouldn't do much for warmth. Luckily, the event was taking place inside the Main Hangar. Everything had been moved out, and decorated. I would know, because I was there, helping Vanessa and Mikaela decorate everything.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little excited. I hadn't gotten to go to any high school dances before because I was too shy, and was never asked to go. With was a stark contrast to Noah, who always had a crowd of girls adoring him, and was asked multiple times every year. This would be my first time at something formal like this, and the excitement and eagerness from the two girls seemed to seep into me, because my fingers were tapping ardently on my knees.

"Aw, thanks Noe." Mikaela said, grinning widely before getting up from the chair she was in.

"Now, it's your turn."

My eyes widened, "Pardon?"

"You heard right," Vanessa retorted, placing a hand on her hip, before gesturing to the chair beside her, "There's no way I'm letting you go to the formal without some. And besides, tonight's a good night. We should all look our best."

"Um, okay." I mumbled sheepishly as I stood up, smoothening out the dress before sitting down cautiously in the chair.

"Hmm, I'm definitely thinking some darker tones to match with the dress," Vanessa mused as she walked around me, tilting my head ever so slightly, and running a hand through my hair, "Maybe we should switch it up with the hair too, you think we should straighten it?" She asked, directing her question to Mikaela, who was putting on her heels.

Mikaela glanced at me thoughtfully, and I could feel myself flush at the attention. "I think it would be pretty cute."

"Yeah," Vanessa agreed, "Gives you an edgy, more sexy look."

Mikaela snorted, "Calm down V, she's only nineteen."

"I know, I know." Vanessa protested, turning on the flat iron, "But I want her to look really pretty tonight."

Oh boy. I thought jokingly, before looking at myself in the mirror. My appearance has improved since the last time I had stared at myself. My skin still a bit pale, but was slowly starting to come back to it's natural caramel tone. The bruises and scrapes from the escape had healed, and thankfully to Ratchet, didn't leave behind gruesome scars. My heart sunk a little, as my eyes roved over the scar on my cheekbone. I had gotten that scar the night I was captured. Dr. Ratchet had given me creams to apply and try to help heal, but I knew it wouldn't. Not all the way, at least.

The lightning flashed brightly, almost blindingly as the rain poured down from the heavens. The bleak skies was what came into focus when I opened my eyes, wiping the water out of my eyelashes. I was soaking wet, and cold. Everything around me was dimmed, and dark figures surrounded me...they were trees.

I was being carried somewhere, far away from my home. I could tell we were deep into a forest by now, and far away from any civilization. Far from any hope of escape. Far from my old, comfortable life, and into a dark, dreary future.

The metal claws that were holding me tightened, and I flinched instinctively, my heading snapping up to meet the frightening crimson gaze of my kidnapper. He chuckled darkly, but didn't say a word.

Noah, I thought to myself frantically, where's Noah?

"Noah?!" I screamed, momentarily ignoring the large robot as I looked around me, "Noah, where are you?!"

"Shut up, fleshbag!" The robot hissed, it's deep, monotone voice shaking me to my core. I shivered, my lips trembling with fear.

But that didn't stop me. No matter how the fear made my blood run cold, and the thunder crackled in my ears, I couldn't help myself. I wanted my brother, I wanted reassurance that he was here, by my side.

"NOAH!" I screamed, even louder than before. A hysteric feeling bubbled up inside me, and I suddenly began to thrash wildly in the robot's grip. My hands pounded furiously on the warm metal, and my legs kicked out frantically as I screamed incoherent words.

The robot had snarled lowly, and I didn't see the blow coming until a sharp feeling sliced into my cheek, leaving a stinging sensation of pain in its wake. I gave a low moan of pain, stopping my frantic jerking, as one hand came up to clutch my cheek.

My hand was stained red.

The rain had streamed the blood down my hand, and onto my arm, and all i could do was bite my lip to keep from screaming out again, this time in pain. My vision blurred a bit, the agony creeping into every fibre of my body, and caused my head to feel heavy.

"Noelle!" A voice shouted with worry, "Noelle, are you okay?"

"Shut up, before you get hit too." The robot hissed, but my brother barely gave them mind.

"Noah…" I mumbled weakly, even in the rain, I could still feel the tears fall down my cheek, "Where are you?"

"I'm here Noe." I heard his voice, even through the resounding thunder, and radiant lightning. I heard him say softly, "I'm here with you. I'll always be here."

I could feel the relief pouring into me, and I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding in. And then, I let the pain send me into numbing darkness.

My eyes snapped open again, and my body involuntarily twitched in the chair. My heart rate had rose, and I had to remind myself that I wasn't out in that dreadful storm. I wasn't in the clutches of one of those nefarious creatures. I was here, in Vanessa's room. I was not cold and wet, I was warm and cared for.

I was safe.

"Noelle?" Vanessa's worried voice cut through my frantic thoughts, and my eyes darted to her. Her eyes had clouded with that knowing concern, "Are you okay? Do we need to get Ratchet?"

I took another breath to reorient myself, before shaking my head, "I...I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Mikaela asked, looking just as worried.

I nodded, "Yes. I was just...thinking about something."

"Well, don't scare us like that," Vanessa said, chuckling uneasily, "I thought you were going to have another-um, nevermind. Anyway, I straightened your hair for you. How do you like it?"

I glanced at myself in the mirror again, and felt my jaw slacken. My dark hair, normally so tightly curled to my head, was soft and fell just above my shoulders. I hadn't straighten my hair in such a long time, that it almost seemed foreign. I raked my hands down my hair gingerly, admiring the softness of it.

Slowly, I smiled, "I love it."

"Good, because you look totally adorable with it!" Vanessa gushed, her previous anxiousness erased as she fluffed my hair.

"Thank you Vanessa." I said softly, and she smiled.

"Now, for the makeup."

Oh no. I sighed, I was hoping I would've zoned out and missed that part. Vanessa was smirking, as she came around with the palette, and I closed my eyes reluctantly.

"So when are out dates coming to get us?" I heard Mikeala asked.

"They should be here soon. I told them seven-thirty." Vanessa answered, and I could feel her brushing the powder onto my eyelids. I could also hear the cheekiness in her voice as she asked, "Why? So eager for Sam to see you, huh?"

"Shut up, V." Despite herself, Mikaela chuckled, "You can't say anything. What's the deal with Mark, anyway?"

Vanessa snorted, "He's just a friend. He's pretty cool, though, and has nice tatts." Mikaela snorted again, and I found myself grinning at their conversation.

"Oh, and by the way Noe, I asked Octavian to be your date."

My grin dropped, and my eyes snapped open, "What?!"

Mikaela laughed in the corner, and all Vanessa did was shoot me a teasing grin, "Oh come on, it'll be fun. And besides, I thought you liked him anyway."

"I like him because he's comfortable to be around," I protested sheepishly, feeling my face heating up profusely. "I never said I liked him like that!"

"You keep telling yourself that." Vanessa muttered.

I groaned, but it was cut short by the sharp knock at the door. Mikaela had volunteered to open it, and when I heard Octavian's voice, my heart skipped a beat. Now, I was anxious for a completely different reason...thanks to Vanessa.

Mikaela had open the door wider, taking a step back to invite them in, and I let out an undignified squeak, hiding behind Vanessa's frilly red dress. I heard their footsteps as the men entered, and Sam's familiar voice as he complimented Mikaela. They began to chat comfortably, and for a moment, I had thought they all forgot about me until Octavian's voice rose above the crowd.

"Where is Noelle?"

I bit my lip.

"Oh, right hiding behind me." Vanessa answered casually, and I sighed resignedly, before hesitantly crawling from my hiding place.

Octavian, of course, happened to be standing near Vanessa. His bright blue gaze had widened comically, the easy smile on his face fading slightly. I felt the apprehensiveness rise again, and shyly tucked a strand of straightened hair behind my ear. I always hated it when the attention was centered on myself.

"Noelle…" He said softly, seeming to lose his train of thought, and shook his head gently, "You look…"

"Hot?" Vanessa cheekily supplied, and Mikaela, rolled her eyes, swatting at the other brunette. "What? She does!"

"Marvelous," Octavian said, as if the word has just came to him, before he repeated in a more firmer tone, "You look marvelous."

"You can thank me for that." Vanessa commented.

Embarrassment flooded into me again at the intent gaze of his bright blue eyes. I found myself unable to look him in the eyes, and resorted to staring at the ground, the long heels Vanessa had encouraged me to put on digging into the soft-carpeted floor of her room.

"Thanks," I mumbled sheepishly, "You um...don't look too bad yourself."

And he didn't. Octavian already stood out because he was easily the tallest man in the room, but with his dark gray suit, red tie, and gelled down raven black hair, he looked more like an extremely wealthy businessman attending an elegant gala than a man dressed up for a dance.

In fact, it felt like everyone was dressed like that.

"Thank you." He said politely.

"Okay you two, let's hurry up and take pictures so we can make it to the dance on time." Vanessa said, gathering us all together, and pulling out her phone. She handed it over to Octavian for obvious reasons, and Octavian grinned before extending his arm further out so that everyone was in view of the screen. We all smiled brightly, as the shutter went off.

Even though I had been present during the re-arranging for the Ball, I couldn't help but suck in a breath as I gazed around the room in wonder. Vanessa and Mikaela had really outdone themselves. Bright, white lights had been put up around the spacious room, and hung from the ceiling to resemble glittering snowflakes. Long tables had lined both sides of the room, with sumptuous white tablecloth spread over them, and covered with all kinds of foods and beverages.

Laser lights had been put up around the room, filling the purposely dimmed room with beams of purple, yellow, red, and green. There had been a DJ stand, eloquently decorated as well, which was currently deserted. Large structures made out of glitter and styrofoam had been cut carefully into snowmen, reindeers, and other winter creatures. The room was already filled with people, milling about and dancing to the thrilling music blaring from the large speakers.

"Holy frag." Vanessa exclaimed, and I turned to shoot her a confused glance. Octavian on the other hand, looked exasperated and shook his head.

"Vanessa."

"Sorry." Was their short exchange, but I was still confused.

"What is a frag?" I asked.

Octavian grimaced again, and Mikaela and Vanessa giggled loudly from the back.

"You're too cute." Was all Mikaela said, in regards to my earlier question. All Octavian did was sigh.

But I let the thought go as we entered the electrifying atmosphere. The music had become louder as everyone around us danced happily. Will had made his way up to us, and I smiled at him. He looked very handsome in his sharp, black suit.

"Hey Lennox!" Mikaela called out, and he smiled warmly at all of us. Until he gaze landed on me.

"Noelle?" He questioned, shock lacing his tone.

I paused for a moment, feeling myself nervously smoothen out my dress again. "Hi, Will."

"You look…" Will shook his head, "You look really pretty."

Will didn't gaze at me in the same way the others did. He looked at me, with a look of a proud father, admiring his teenage daughter. I didn't feel self-conscious at that look surprisingly, I felt better. Vanessa and Mikaela had pulled me into their circle of doom, as they began cheering and bouncing around happily. There wasn't much room to do anything else.

When the song was over, everyone stopped to clap and cheer wildly. And suddenly, another figure walked onto the makeshift stage. He looked strangely familiar, and I squinted to get a better look at him, but the room was too dim. He lifted his hands, demanding more applause, which the crowd eagerly gave him before he had grabbed the microphone.

"Welcome to NEST's 3rd annual Winter Ball!" The man shouted, and I knew immediately who it was;

Robert.

I smiled, as the crowd cheered even louder.

"Are y'all ready?" He asked, and they cheered even more, "I can't hear you...I said are you ready?"

I glanced at Vanessa and Mikaela, who were already cheering and clapping wildly. The music began again, as well as another intricate light show, and the crowd began to dance. Vanessa and Mikaela were suddenly swept away by their dates, caught up in the invigorating atmosphere and all I could do was scoot away so that I wouldn't be accidentally ran into.

"So this is what a dance is like." I said lowly to myself, gazing around the entire scene. The amount of fun and excitement in the air was contagious, and I found myself liking it. It was something new and different, now I could understand why Noah liked to go to these things, and also found myself regretting to never go when he asked me to.

"Enjoying yourself?" Octavian asked, his voice tinged with amusement as he looked down on me. He had to shout just to be heard over the rambunctious crowd and blaring music.

I turned to look at him and nodded, "It's nice."

"A bit too wild for my taste." He replied, sidestepping a man who had almost hit him while dancing.

I chuckled softly, "Yeah, well it's...a good thing. For a night, there's no worries, no Decepticons, no tragedies. Just...fun."

"Fun?" He echoed.

I nodded, smiling, "Yeah, fun. I think that's why I like it so much." And I did. It was nice to feel free, and just forget about the apprehension and fear, even if it was just for one night.

"I am glad to hear." Octavian said, once again having to dodge another wild dancer.

I laughed at that, and froze for a second. I haven't laughed, really laughed like that in a while. Not ever since everything had happened. It felt good to laugh like that again.

And I laughed even more, enjoying myself as I danced with Mikaela and Vanessa. More nicely dressed young men had joined the circle. They all looked different and distinguished, except for the fact that they all had uniquely bright blue eyes. But I didn't question much of it, I was too busy having fun for the first time in a long time, and their personalities were friendly. At one point, the crowd had even opened up to a circle, and Robert had been dancing in the middle, everyone cheering him on excitedly.

But then, the everything had winded down. A slow, soft serene song had began to play over the speakers, and everyone started to partner up, slow dancing the the tranquil tune. Vanessa and Mikaela had already found their dates, and since I had been with them, I just quietly prowled through the crowd until I found the long tables again.

I admire the calm, peacefulness as everyone danced gently among the glittering lights. This really was a fun night.

"Care to dance?" A voice had asked from behind, and I turned around to meet the gaze that had matched my dress.

I bit my lip, feeling bashful again, "Um...I can't really dance."

"I thought you wanted to see how well I could dance." His eyes glittered with amusement, and I rolled my eyes playfully.

"Okay." I said reluctantly, and he gently grabbed my hand. Thankfully, he didn't try to integrate us into the crowd of swaying people, I would've been too nervous. Instead, he gently placed his hands on my waist, and I awkwardly wrapped my hands around his neck. Our height differences didn't really help; my fingers could barely touch each other from around his neck.

I had stumbled a bit as he moved, and felt my cheeks burn with bright heat. Now I was just embarrassing myself. But Octavian didn't seem to mind, his head was tilted and his eyes were close. I was close enough that I could smell his scent which was an odd one; I don't know why, but he reminded me of firewood. I stumbled again, and heard his chest reverberate with a soft chuckle.

I scoffed, lightly hitting him, "Now you're just doing it on purpose!"

"My apologies." He wasn't even trying to deny it.

I sighed exasperatedly, trying to focus on the movements.

"Easy," he said softly, "Relax yourself, and you'll fall into step."

"I…" I didn't have much of a reply, so instead I chose to follow his advice.

I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes. I had gripped the cloth of his suit a bit tighter, as we moved gently, but loosened my grip when it started to feel more easier...more natural. I was surprised when he suddenly spun me around, but caught on quickly, as we resumed our normal pace.

"They look like stars," I muttered into his shoulder, opening my eyes to watch the lights, "I don't know why, but they just look like stars now."

Octavian chuckled again, "You really like stars."

I shrugged, and then smiled, as a new feeling came over me. Not only did I laugh tonight, but for the first time in a long while, I actually felt at peace. Just for the moment, my mind wasn't constantly circling on my twin brother's death, or the heartache from it. For the moment, I wasn't in paranoia that the Decepticons would come back for me.

For the moment, I felt calm. And I wished that I could have that feeling forever.

Yay, Noelle is starting to slowly go through the healing process! I really loved writing about the ball, I love going to those! Anyway, thank you guys so much for reading, and I hope to read your wonderful reviews!

-SeaKissed140.