Zora stared at her bed. Her own bed, the bed she hadn't slept on in almost two months. Even her room looked the same, which was a surprise because she would have thought that her parents would have packed up her things and sold them. Not one scrap of clothing had been taken from her closet.

Her parents weren't home. They were out visiting their relatives, probably trying to live a normal life and forget that alien robots existed. It was like having her own house, finally. Living with her parents had been a serious downside. She couldn't wait to pack up her stuff and move out, which would have been soon, if she hadn't gotten involved in an alien civil war.

"I can't believe you agreed to let me spend some time at home," Zora said, walking over to her window. Optimus stood just outside, concealed by the thick palm trees. Zora reached out and touched the side of his face, feeling the smooth metal. She had gotten used to it. In fact, she loved it.

"I will be right outside, if you are in need of my assistance," he rumbled. Zora grinned a devilish grin.

"Nah…you can come inside. In fact, do come inside. I might need some company," Zora grinned again, making sure Optimus got the idea. The Autobot's optics widened, and he stepped away from the window.

Zora smirked. He would come back, that was for sure.

A shower felt nice. Very nice. The warm water eased the dull ache in her muscles. It was hard to believe that only a few months ago she had been going through the same routine every day, totally blind to what was really going on in the world around her.

Where would she be if she had never met the Autobots? If she had never met Sam or Mikaela or Bumblebee?

If she hadn't had her body invaded by a Prime?

Nemesis.

Zora practically dropped the towel as she stepped out of the shower. The voice. It was back. She had almost forgotten about it. Almost forgotten….

She let out a breath and pulled the towel around her. No doubt Optimus was in her room, waiting for her.

Nemesis

The voice was back. Louder, this time, whispering in her head, its voice like millions drumbeats pounding and pounding and pounding. So loud that, with a cry, she dropped to the floor with her hands clamped over her ears.

Get out of my head, she silently urged, but she knew that it would do her no good. The sheer amount, the sheer dominance of the ancient species was inexorable. Unstoppable.

But through the dull echoes of an ancient language she would never understand came a voice. A deep, lust filled cackle that reminded her of a demon. Or even the devil himself. It suddenly overcame her defenses, pushing the voices of the Prime's away, biting at the very edge of her skull like a termite trying to escape.

It was Drake.

I want you.

Zora cried out again, eyes squeezed so tight, tears streaking down her cheeks. Her hands quested all around her for something, something to beat her head with just to get the voices to stop….just to get them to go away and never return…..

Or a knife. She would slice apart her skull, if she had to.

I want you, Zora, and you will be mine.

Optimus was suddenly in the room, shouting, his words turning into leaden thuds against the background, unable to penetrate her horror-stricken haze. She heard a scream, and a part of her mind wondered if it had been her.

She bit her tongue so hard that she tasted salty, coppery blood.

Mine.

"…..Look at me, Zora."

She returned to reality, consciousness returning in an explosion of light. She gasped, the taste of blood, the sensation of wet tears streaking down her face nothing compared to the sight of Optimus, sheer dread having washed over his features, holding her head in his hands.

She had never seen such a terrible expression on a holoform. Especially his. But it portrayed what he was feeling well enough, and Zora found herself holding back more tears.

"Look at me and be calm…." He breathed, his lips barely grazing hers. "Dear Primus…."

Zora's throat went dry, even through there was enough moisture in the air. The back of her throat felt like sandpaper and robbed her of the ability to speak, to form any recognizable words.

So, instead of speaking, she gave a slight whimper.

Optimus held her gaze, his own blue eyes filled with worry and remorse and sadness and….a little bit of pity. Zora closed her eyes, steadied her breathing.

The voices had faded. Disappeared as quickly as they had come, and Zora felt herself pressed against Optimus, her curves fitting perfectly against his body.

He kissed her forehead, then her nose, and then, when she was ready, her lips.

"Primus…you don't know how horrifying that was."

She gulped and didn't respond.

"I'm going to let go of you now," Optimus said slowly. "Do you need to lie down?"

Zora didn't hesitate to nod.

She stumbled away from Prime, onto her bed, slipping on her bathrobe and letting her towel fall onto the floor beside her bed. She didn't care that Optimus had seen the entire transition, the way she carelessly tied the robe together speaking volumes about how little she cared. She fell back onto her bed, hair wet, the water and sweat mixing together.

Optimus came and sat beside her, resting a hand against her bare leg. His touch was warm and inviting, and she smiled.

She closed her eyes.

A few minutes later, she felt the bed dip. She said softly, "Optimus?"

"I'm right here. Sleep."

"I can't."

"If the voices return….I will be right here," his thumb brushed against her lips. "Besides, I like watching you sleep."

"Stalker."

Optimus gave a deep, baritone chuckle. Zora opened her eyes and saw him lying on his back next to her, staring up at the ceiling fan, his eyes following it as it tilted back and forth.

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that," she said. "I'm sorry I'm like that."

"There are some things that we cannot change. I will be of little assistance in this department," Optimus tilted his head and looked at her. "And for that, I am sorry."

"This would have never happened if I had been smarter. Drake left because of me, and he'll probably die cursing my name."

Optimus didn't reply at first. Then, "He loved you. I can't stress that enough."

Zora's lips trembled. She could barely hold it in, the guilt. She wanted to tell him so badly….

"Did you love him?"

"Yes," she said quietly. "But I love you more."

Optimus smiled. "I know."

Zora leaned into his kiss as if it were her first time, lips moving against his own. Her head was still throbbing, the voices a distant whisper.

She ignored the feeling. Right now, there were only them in the world. No Drake, no Decepticon's….

His hands touched her bare thigh and drew her down, her head falling against the pillow, Zora's lips refusing to part from his.

It was like someone had shot fire into her veins. His fingers dug into her flesh and drew her legs up to wrap around his waist, the action so effortless, as if he had been practicing. His lips trailed down her neck, one hand coming up to shove the robe away.

The other hand ran along the soft flesh of her stomach, finding ever dip and curve. His hand felt her breasts, her throat, everywhere.

His lips were on her throat, massaging the smooth, supple skin. His other hand, it was as if it were under some sort of spell, struggling to remove his shirt and the rest of his attire, seemingly distracted by the way Zora ran her fingers through his dark hair and showered his lips with kisses. His hips moved and she hissed.

"Primus..." he growled. Zora's fingers deftly began to tug at his pants, sliding them past his knees. Peppering kisses against his stomach, Zora slipped her robe from her shoulders. No use for it now - Optimus was reveling at her body, his hands twitching as they felt her soft, naked flesh.

"Let me," Zora murmured, on her hands and knee's, ducking her head and pressing tender kisses against Prime's stomach and up towards his chest.

Once again, his hands found her uncovered breasts. Zora'S limbs felt like molasses - but Optimus was moving even farther, towards her back...

Zora yelled. It was a cry - she rolled from atop Optimus, grasping her bathrobe.

"We shouldn't…." she said breathlessly, leaning over and kissing him quickly. "We need to wait…."

Even as he found her lips again, tongue brushing against her own, his self-control was still in play. He pulled away, looking as equally disappointed as Zora felt.

"I w

"I know that you won't," Zora said. "But that's not what I'm worried about."

What was she worried about? Drake? His face, coming to her mind, even as they made love? Many, many men had come and gone through her life, all the same. Wanting something and giving nothing in return.

She knew that Optimus wasn't like that, and she loved him more than anything else in the world. He was strong and regal and honest and brave and loving….

She just couldn't sin again. Her list of transgressions went on and on, and sleeping with Optimus wouldn't help. She would feel guilty, afterwards. Like she had betrayed….her friend.

Drake was not her friend anymore, she reminded herself. He had chosen his own path, and she had done the same.

"I love you," she whispered against his mouth, placing a lingering kiss against his lips. "But I just…can't."

Optimus gulped and nodded, lying back on the bed.

Zora rested her head against his chest, and soon, sleep got the better of her.

"Hold still! You have to quit moving for me too do…oh, God, Optimus. Why are you being so difficult?"

Optimus kept revving his engine and backing up, making in near impossible for Zora to scrub him with the sponge. The hose was off, draped over her shoulder. A sponge was in one hand. And, of course, she was wearing a tank top and shorts. Optimus had actually picked it out for her.

Hm, she thought, I wonder why.

Stepping forward, she began to use the sponge to clean him off. She was surprised he hadn't told her to leave certain parts alone; she had heard Ratchet explaining some of the more complex Cybertronian anomaly to Sam and Mikaela, and knew that there were some very

Maybe he liked it?

She gripped the hose and sprayed him, just for fun, giggling when he revved his engine and backed up, just a little.

"Cold?" she inquired, tilting her head and laughing when his voice came out a tad shaky.

"Yes. A little," he paused. "But it is quite refreshing."

"Duh. We're in Florida. Its, like and hundred and something degrees down here…" she said, exasperated. Reached up and patted his hood. "No wonder it feels so good."

Optimus chuckled. "I guess so."

"And after this…..we can go and have some quality time together."

"I…thought this counted as quality time?"

Zora laughed as she hosed him off. "I guess."

"Zora Parker? Are you talking to a truck?"

Zora yelped and scrambled away from Optimus, tossing the hose to the side.

It was Astrid, her smart-aleck, popular neighbor. The one who had led her posse of girls to harass her during high school. And here she was, standing in Zora's driveway, hands on her hips, blond hair pulled in a ponytail. Her green eyes narrowed as she eyes Optimus with uncertainty.

"Um…..no."

"Well?"

"Well, what?" Zora spat, eyeing the hose. However, for some reason, she could imagine Optimus staring at her with that disapproving look of his.

"Is it yours?"

"No, he's not mine."

"He?"

"I mean….it. It belongs to my dad."

"Your dad got a job?"

"…..yes."

Astrid snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. She then shoved a lock of blond hair out of her eyes and walked up Optimus, analyzing the red and blue design. She turned to Zora.

"It's ugly," Astrid sneered. "No wonder your dad picked it out. Its just like him."

"Shut up, Astrid, and stop spewing your crap to me. Go harass someone else."

"Nah. Your just so easy to pick on."

Zora's eyebrows rose, and for the second time, she eyed the hose. It was just out of arms reach. She could grab it if she wanted to….

Optimus revved his engine. Astrid leaped back.

"Yeah. This truck has some problems…" Zora said slowly, shooing Astrid back. "You might not want to get to close to it."

Astrid scoffed and walked back down the driveway, turning her head to look back.

"Freak!" She called back.

"Nice talking to you, too!" Zora replied, giving Astrid the middle-finger salute, watching as she rolled her eyes and disappeared down the street. She couldn't believe Astrid had the nerve to even talk to her. She hadn't even asked where she had been the past seven weeks. Not that Astrid would really care, but Zora knew that she was Astrid's main target when it came to harassment. She had even been in league with Quinn and Sledge when they had tried to mug Drake.

Even though she had been sitting back at the base, she had gotten caught. But her nice father had bailed her out of jail.

Zora remembered what Mikaela had told her about her own history. It was somewhat similar to Zora's, without all the mugging and violence.

"You handled that quite well," Optimus finally said. "Very convincing."

Zora had to pause for a moment as she finished washing Optimus, mostly to figure out if it was an actual compliment, or sarcasm.

She went with compliment and started hosing Optimus off.