In which Alison goes to prom

I was not expecting immediate results from Klonowski in regards to the fuel cell. For starters, it would take time to convince the government to even admit that they had secrets from the Soviet Union to reveal. Then there were Soundwave's agents, like Voskhod, who would likely be covering things up even more. But, it was a start, and that was the important thing.

Once more, the week went by quietly on the COTA front. No 'Con attacks, no government drama, all was good. Instead, excitement revved up in school as prom got closer. Some of the last minute promposals were enjoyable to watch, and it was great fun to chat with other girls about dresses and jewelry. Miles commented he was the only sane one left as, since he was still cast bound, he decided to opt out of going. He even cited he'd just be a fourth wheel, cause there was no way Barricade would be able to go as his date, and if he really wanted a prom, there was always the next year.

On Saturday afternoon, Dad got kicked out to the garden and garage while Mom and Starry helped Mikaela and I get ready. Starry was a salon stylist, so she did our hair, while Mom did our makeup for us. After that was getting into our dresses and shoes, then the reveal, for Mom and Starry had us put up in different rooms so we'd be as stunned as Bee was going to be.

My dress was a strapless ballgown with a yellow brocade bodice that stopped just before hitting my hips, with a pattern of flowers woven in the fabric. The flower theme continued as a print on the skirt, a collection of red, blue and yellow wildflowers hanging down from my waist to halfway down the skirt. At my waist was a wide blue silk ribbon that made a bow with long trails down the back, and on my right hip was a large broach of yellow and red flowers. My hair, being that it did not curl well with an iron, had been braided wet Friday morning and left like that. After a quick hit with a blow drier to make sure it was dry and set, Starry had teased it free, so I had soft waves flowing down my back. Two locks on the front were drawn back and braided to make a crown. My makeup was light, blue eyeshadow with very lightly tinted gloss and faint blush, but the effect made me glow. Mom convinced me to not wear my tags around my neck, so I wrapped them around my right ankle instead, just above my blue, low-heeled sandals, and put on a blue sapphire drop necklace and earrings.

"Oh, look at you!" Mom said as we looking in the mirror when the finishing touches were done. "Oh, it seems like just yesterday, you were clinging to me and your dad on the first day of Kindergarten, and now look at you. Prom tonight, and a big Celebration tomorrow, oh!" Her eyes started tearing up.

"Mom, are you crying on me?" I asked teasingly, turning to face her.

"Oh, just you wait 'til your daughter's going to her first prom, see how you feel," Mom said, then gave me a big hug. "Oh, I love you so much, sweetie."

I hugged her back. "I love you too, Mom."

She pulled back and wiped her eyes. "Well, let's not keep Mikaela waiting, you'll knock her socks off."

"I think it'll be my socks that come off." And when Mikaela stepped out of Mom and Dad's room and I saw her, we both were right.

Her dress was also a strapless ballgown with flower patterns, but that's where the similarities ended. Her dress was mostly white, with a pattern of bunches of red roses. Draped on one half of the bodice was a large piece of red tulle, which wrapped around the top half of the skirt and was cinched in at the waist by a silver ribbon. The back of the ribbon had a bow like mine, and a bunch of yellow and blue roses were on the left side of her waist. Her hair was easier to style than mine, so Starry went all out for her. The top part of her hair except for one curled lock on the left side of her face, was drawn back into a very fancy bun, with the rest hanging down in waves around her shoulders. Her makeup consisted of a smokey eye, red lipstick, and light blush, her jewelry was a red rose pendant and earrings, and she had red pumps with a peep toe and a rhinestone broach above it.

"Wow!" I said when I got my breath back and stepped up to meet her in the middle of the hall. "You look gorgeous, Mikaela!"

Mikaela beamed and we linked hands. "You do too. Yellow's a great color for you." She reached up as if brushing an errant hair from my face (there weren't any) and I leaned into her palm. Her smile turned a little mischievous. "Bee won't know what hit him."

I laughed. "Well, my socks are off, and I think yours are, so let's get him and be a matched set."

Mikaela laughed and we walked down the stairs to find Bee facing away from us, talking with Dad. When Dad smiled on seeing us, Bee turned around. He was wearing a black tux with a yellow vest and tie with a silver autobot tiepin, and his boutonniere had two roses, one red and one blue. When he saw us, his jaw dropped and his eyes widened.

I smiled as I stepped off the landing, Mikaela right behind me. "What do you think, Bee?"

"Beautiful." He stepped forward and slipped the corgages he was holding, matching our flower broaches, on our wrists. Then he took both our hands, bowed and kissed them. "I am the luckiest mech in the whole world right now."

"Well, I say socks have officially been knocked off," Mikaela said, leaning forward to kiss Bee's cheek. "And you look really good too."

"Thank you." His smile grew, and slipped between us, offering his arms. "Might I have the honor of escorting you ladies outside for pictures?"

Mikaela and I giggled and took them. Bee had pulled out of the garage, and he and Dad had detailed his alt mode so he gleamed, so our first several photos were us posing in front of or on him, then a couple of others around the back garden. Once the photo session was done, we went to the dining room to eat. We decided to have dinner at home, partly so it wouldn't look weird when Mikaela and I put on aprons to make sure we didn't spill anything on ourselves, and partly so we wouldn't be restricted in conversation. Mom made us her famous spaghetti and meat sauce, while Starry added her personal recipe for garlic bread rolls, and steamed vegetables. Mom even said she'd let me and Mikaela have one glass of wine if we wanted, and we accepted. Bee, being designated driver, did not even get the offer.

When we finished eating, Arcee showed up from her patrol, wearing a black pantsuit with a magenta blouse. She had agreed to act as a chaperone for the dance, once again going by Sadie Tennison. "Ready to go, you three?"

"I think so." I hugged Mom and kissed her cheek when I handed her the apron, then did the same for Dad while Mikaela hugged Starry. "We'll see you tomorrow at base."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Dad promised. "Now have fun, but not too much fun." He gave Bee a fatherly glare, which he nodded to.

"We'll be good," he promised. "Besides, we've got Arcee, and she's able to break up Elita and Optimus when she wants to."

"And don't think I won't, now come on. The doors open in twenty minutes." Arcee shooed us out of the house and we headed off to the high school.

When we got there, a couple people noticed, but I think it was mainly cause of how glammed out our dresses were compared to most of the others. I mean, most of the girls had dresses for only a couple hundred dollars, Mikaela's and mine together were almost four-thousand all told, bought with Ella and tailored to fit us. A couple might also have been wondering who Bee was, but others had seen him around town with us, so it wasn't as big a deal. The doors opened shortly after we got there, and we all went inside.

The school had the gym, two classrooms, and the inner courtyard open for the dance, and they did their best to turn it into a Parisian venue. Plastic wall hangings of buildings, several lawn ornaments models of famous landmarks, an Eiffel Tower of balloons over the dance floor, and the courtyard was done up in fairy lights. To get the night started, the DJ played "Circus" by Britney Spears, and it did a good job of pumping us up. Mikaela, Bee and I danced on the edge of the crowd, sometimes with some of Mikaela's friends, other times just us. When the first slow song came on, Mikaela and I danced together, then we decided to get some snacks and explore the rest of the place.

One of the classrooms was set up as a snack buffet, and so was fairly crowded. Two rows of tables were set up with cookies, pieces of cake, trays of crackers, cheese, fruit, veggies and deli meats, and even wings and a chocolate fountain. Soda and punch were on another table, and so far it seemed no one had spiked it yet, so we each took a cup with us. The other classroom was a photobooth, with a couple different backdrops, and even props to use. We spent a good half hour in there, playing with props while waiting for our turn, then getting some silly and some sweet pictures. I think my favorite of them was us standing in front of a fake Eiffel Tower, my arms around Mikaela and Bee's waists, hers mirroring mine while his was around my shoulders. Mikalea's left hand was resting on mine, and our heads were tilted together, while Bee leaned in best he could. My second favorite was the three of us doing the "Charlie's Angels" pose, but with the speech bubbles on sticks.

Once we filled out the form that would let us get copies of the photos sent to us, we headed back into the gym just in time for a new slow song to start. Bee turned to Mikaela and held his hand out. "May I have this dance?"

Mikaela smiled and took his hand. "Of course." She passed me her cup and let him take her onto the dancefloor, while I leaned against the wall. After a minute, one of Mikaela's friends - Beth, I think her name was - came up to me, stumbling a little, so I had a suspicion the punch was spiked now. Or she just got some smuggled beers.

"Where's Mikaela?" she asked.

"Dancing." I gestured with my cup before taking a sip.

"Oooh, he's cute," she said. "But I thought you two were back together."

"We are. Ben just asked her to dance, and he'll probably ask me next."

"Oh. So he's single?" I could see the definite interest she had, her eyes looking Bee up and down.

"No, he's taken, sorry."

"Damn! All the cute guys are taken or gay!" She pouted and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Don't you have a boyfriend?"

"He's not cute, he's just good at sex." She shot me a side eye. "Speaking of… have you and Mikaela…?" She made some motion with her hands that I think was supposed to be scissoring, but it was very weird. Still, it got the point across. "Well?"

"No, we're taking things slow, especially after the break up."

"Wow. I'm pretty certain she slept with Trent only after, like, a month. You sure she's serious about you?"

I knew the answer was yes, but the implication still hurt a bit. "It's because this is serious that we're going so slow. She's respecting the fact that I'm not ready for sex yet. When I finally am, that just means it'll be even better."

Beth tilted her head, then shrugged. "Alright, but you're missing out, girl. Get your shit together and get down on her!"

I shook my head, then spotted a teacher behind her. "You might want to hide, Mrs. Weirbrich's coming this way."

"Shit! Thanks, bye." Beth fled the scene, and Mrs. Weirbich and I had a short conversation that allowed her to escape clean. By then, Bee and Mikaela returned from the floor and we got back to dancing.

A little later, after the official announcement of the Prom Court, another slow song started playing and Bee held his hand out to me. "May I have this dance?"

I didn't even verbally respond, just smiled and pulled him onto the floor until we found a reasonably clear spot. My arms found their place around his neck while his rested on my waist, and we swayed to the opening chords of "May I" by Trading Yesterday.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey yourself," I said back. "Having fun?"

"Yeah. It's great to seriously unwind and not worry about anything."

"You worry a lot?" I frowned a bit.

"A little. I'm your guardian, I'm supposed to worry about you, and your safety. Then I'm also your amanti, but we're still so new. It's sometimes hard to imagine this is all real."

I laughed. "I know exactly how that feels Bee. But it's real, all of it. You don't need to worry so much, I have you and the other Bots, and I know nothing will happen to me if I'm with you guys."

"I'm not just going to stop, but I'm not letting it interfere with tonight." He pulled me a little closer, and I smiled before resting my head on his shoulder. As we swayed, he started to softly sing along with the song, his voice blending well with the singers.

"May I hold you as you fall to sleep?
When the world is closing in
And you can't breathe,
May I love you?
May I be your shield?
When no one can be found
May I lay you down?"

Yes, I thought. Yes, you can. I lifted my head to look up at him, and when our eyes met, we both leaned in, kissing as the last strains of the song faded out.

When we pulled back, we probably would have stayed there for another minute, but we both heard Mikaela's voice over the crowd. "Back off, Trent!"

Bee and I shared a glance, then pushed our way out of the crowd to find Trent, who looked a little drunk, standing by Mikaela with an arm out while she glared at him, her body language suggesting he tried to grab her.

"Come on, you just saw her making out with that guy," Trent said. "I never cheated on you, and the least you could do is some payback."

"Alison is not cheating on me." She spotted us and stepped over, grabbing Bee by his lapels and kissing him, before turning and doing the same with me. She turned around and grabbed our hands. "I'm dating Alison and Ben, and they're dating each other. We're a triad, and there's no room for a fourth. So back. Off!"

Trent, and a bunch of people around us, just stared as he tried to process what Mikaela said. Then his face started to flush red and he took a step towards us, only for Arcee to appear out of almost nowhere and grab his shoulder.

"I believe you need some time to cool off before you do something to get yourself kicked out of prom, Mr. DeMarco. Come with me." She dragged him away from us, and after a moment, people went back to their own business, though I knew the gossip would spread through the whole crowd by the end of the night.

"Well, not exactly how I expected everyone to find out about us," Bee said.

"Sorry about that," Mikaela said, turning to us. "He was getting pushy, and that was the only thing I could think to make him back off."

"It's fine, Mikaela," I said, wrapping and arm around her waist. "It was going to come out eventually, and at least we won't have rumors about us cheating with a mystery man."

"And hey, that means we can really let loose for the rest of the night," Bee said, coming up on Mikaela's other side and rubbing his cheek on her head.

Mikaela smiled and pulled us closer to her. "Thanks, guys. That makes me feel better."

Before either of us could reply, Beth and some of Mikaela's other friends came out of the crowd. "Girl! Why didn't you say he was taken by Mikaela and you!?" Beth asked, and I laughed.

We gave the girls a slightly edited version of our get together story, and while some of them didn't quite seem to get it, they all congratulated us, and we threw ourselves back into the party.

The rest of the night was mostly a happy blur, dancing, eating, talking and laughing. Trent went unseen for the rest of the night, and all the answer we got from Arcee on the matter was a smile and a shooing motion. We all took turns slow dancing with each other until the last one, where we swayed together on the floor. Mikaela's friends invited us to a party they were going to, but we declined, needing to get to base. Our bags had been packed in Bee's trunk before we even got ready, so we left straight from the school, only stopping in a 24-hour McDonalds meet with Miles and Barricade, get a small bite to eat, and for Mikaela and I to change out of our dresses into street clothes.

At base, we found most of the 'Bots were up and about, getting things set up as quietly as they could.

"Hey, Lil Ladies, BB, B.I.L, and Miles," Jazz said, setting down what looked to be a wooden stand. "You have fun?"

"Yeah, it was a good time," I said, looking around. "Where's Optimus and Elita?"

"They were helping out until about an hour ago," Prowl said, setting his own stand next to Jazz's. "Then Elita dragged Optimus to berth."

"He's the starring role tomorrow, of course he needs his rest," Bee said, and Arcee snorted as they and Barricade transformed.

"I don't think they'll be resting, Bee."

"Mental image!" Miles called out, and Bee, Mikaela and I laughed, while the others looked confused.

"If you aren't too tired, we could use the three of you to help out," Prowl said, looking to them.

"Sure, let's just get these guys to bed," Bee said.

"Do we get any hints as to what's happening?" I asked.

"Nope! You'll have to wait and see." He grinned, and then ushered me and Mikaela to the barracks, while Barricade carried Miles over. We all exchanged "good nights", and soon, Mikaela and I were snuggled together, fast asleep.

Short and sweet, here's another romance heavy chapter for ya'll to enjoy. For the interested, the song Mikaela and Bumblebee danced to was "I Swear" by All-4-One, and of course Alison and Bee danced to "May I" by Trading Yesterday. I don't have a specific slow song in mind for Alison and Mikaela's first slow dance, so feel free to insert any popular slow song that would play at a 2008 prom.

So what'd you all think? Not much happened here, but I hope it was entertaining. Do you think Trent is gonna cause trouble? What about Beth's insinuations? Who's curious about the Sacred Marriage Festival?

Oh, and I do have a commission of Alison, Mikaela and Bee in their prom outfits coming down the pipe, I'll put the link to the picture and artist's page on my profile and I'll inform you of its presence in the AN of the chapter after I receive it.

Guest Review Replies

Gabrielle (CH 32): Great chapter!
Thank you, lovely. I hope you enjoy this one too.

I'll see you all next week, same 'Bot Time, same 'Bot Channel!