15: The Adventures of Little Riley!
Chapter 15 - RV Excitement
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Transformers Prime or the franchise. All characters (except Riley) belong to Hasbro.
Note: I will start adding the months as well so you can get a sense of the time.
6 weeks later...Sunday. Last week of July.
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Summer break. The best break in the world. It's nice outside, you can hang out with your friends and family more often, and basically do whatever you wanted.
As Riley woke up from yet another Cybertronian dream, she straightened herself out. She could hear the fabric of her sleeping bag rubbing against itself as she shifted around. Then she remembered, she was on a road trip!
Her foster parents rented an RV and they planned to drive all the way out to the beach shore of the Atlantic Ocean. They also decided, since it was across the state, they wouldn't rush there. They wanted to have a slow paced but fun and eventful experience.
The first night they slept in the RV but planned on sleeping in a tent at a campsite for the second. If there was no Mosquitos, Riley would have loved this! At first glance, you wouldn't expect the Hayes to be experts in the wild. They knew a whole lot of stuff and taught Riley everything they could.
They showed her all the ways to start a fire, how to keep your food safe from animals, how to set up a tent, what is poisonous, and first aid. Plus a whole lot of stuff but Riley remembered those things specifically. Sometimes it was hard to remember that she was human, often thinking 'humans have learned so much in the wild'. She would work on that.
Back to Riley. She unzipped the sleeping bag and crawled her way to the door to the tent. She slipped her shoes on before leaving. She walked sleepily to the picnic table and sat herself down. She got a paper plate and sat it front of her. After, she laid her head down, nearly falling asleep again.
"Morning Riley" Lawerence hummed. He crouched next to the crackling fire, cooking bacon and eggs in a pan over the fire. It was all being held up by a metal grill, stand thingy.
Riley shot up immediately at the sound of his voice before sheepishly smiling and waving at him. He chuckled to himself before focusing back on the food.
"Foods almost ready kiddo, Rachel went to go get the water jugs filled up." He explained. Then he pointed at Riley's plate and motioned for her to come. She forcefully dragged her body over to the fire, waiting for Lawerence to be done serving.
"There ya go Ry'. Enjoy!" He said smiling. Riley thanked him before heading back to the table. She put her food down and handed Lawerence two more plates before sitting back down to eat. Moments after, Rachel came back and entered the RV.
As Riley ate, Rachel and Lawrence joined in. Their eating was interrupted when they heard a familiar bark. Collette then came running out of the RV and stood up on Riley's legs.
"Begging aren't we? You have your own food silly" Rachel said to the eager puppy clawing at Riley's leg. It didn't hurt Riley, just tickled a little. Riley ripped off a small chunk of bacon and gave it to Collette. Of course, Collette made it disappear in milliseconds. Now she sat down, begging for more.
Rachel laughed as she got up and brought the dogs food outside. She picked up a few pieces and held it out for Collette. Riley watched as Collette wolfed it down in Rachel's palm, waiting for more to appear.
"She thinks it's treats or something special" Rachel explained. "Eventually she will have to learn to eat on her own, can't hand feed her all the time." She said jokingly. Riley smiled, shaking her head before finishing her food.
After everyone (including the dog) was done, Riley took everyone's garbage and threw it out. Lawerence offered to clean up the campsite so the "ladies" could get ready. At that comment, Rachel punched him good in the arm. Both laughed it off as her and Riley grabbed their toothbrushes, soaps, towels, and clothing. They headed towards the bathrooms, observing other campsites nearby. It was still relatively early so most were still asleep.
Of course, the bathroom was empty. Riley entered one of the change rooms that included a shower. Locking the door behind her and placing her stuff down. Rachel has done the same as water hitting the ground filled the empty silence. Thankfully it wasn't disgusting but Riley still wished there was a shower on the RV.
She was the first to be done. She got into her change of clothes and exited the change room. She went towards the sinks, placing her stuff down and brushing her teeth while listening to Rachel's beautiful voice. Rachel wasn't shy to hide her voice, it's a good thing it sound lovely or Riley would need noise canceling headphones.
Rachel soon joined Riley, brushing her own teeth while Riley brushed her hair. One day when she was older, she wanted highlights. She wasn't sure what colour though.
"Liking this so far?" Rachel asked, spitting in the sink. "Yeah, I've never been camping or on a road trip. This is really fun!" She said beaming. Rachel splashed water on her face and washed the foam away from her mouth before responding.
"Well it's like an adventure and from what I've learned, you like those." She said, messing Riley's hair up. Why did everyone mess her hair up? It wasn't annoying coming from her or Lawrence but from the bots? Oh she would scream like Ratchet when Bulkhead destroyed something.
"Hey! I just brushed that!" Riley yelled jokingly. Rachel motioned for the brush, taking it, and brushing Riley's hair for her.
"I know, you don't like it. But that's what makes it more fun right? When your not allowed to do something or when someone doesn't like something done, it's more fun." She said as she carefully brushed the tangles. Riley slightly nodded, smiling at Rachel's reflection.
Once they were done, they gathered their stuff and walked back to their campsite. "So chief, tonight. Do we camp or sleep in the RV?" Rachel asked looking down at Riley. Riley looked deep in thought, as a joke, deciding. "Let's take a vote. I vote we stay up all night!" Riley shouted. Rachel quickly tried to shush her through her own giggles.
"First young lady, no yelling! People are sleeping. Second off, you, me, Lawerence, and Collette need our sleep." She said whispering, still giggling. Riley looked slightly disappointed before agreeing sheepishly. When their tent was in sight, Rachel stopped her. Riley looked up confused before setting her eyes on the scene in front of her.
Lawerence was there, struggling to take the tent down. One of the poles got snagged on the inside of the tent and his hands were too big to fit through and fix. Rachel and Riley stood there, trying to laugh as quietly as they could. It was very hard to not burst out. Lawrence was nearly shouting, fumbling with the tent's poles. Then he may have said a couple of no-no words.
Rachel gasped briefly when he did but continued to laugh harder. "Don't-t...e-everrr...say those...woorrddsss hahahaaa" she tried to explain through her laughter. Riley couldn't speak she was laughing to hard, only nodding in response. That's when Lawerence looked over and saw the two standing and laughing at him.
"Are you two gonna keep laughing or you gonna help me?" He shouted jokingly now. Rachel nodded as she led Riley back to the RV.
"Woo ok. That was the comedic moment of this summer. Put this away for me dear? I gotta go help him before I get in trouble." She said smiling. Riley took her stuff and headed inside the cramped space.
Inside on the left was a small fridge, stove, counter top, and mircrowave. On the right was the drivers seat, a small closet at the far end, and a table with cushioned seats in between. Riley walked to the end of the RV where the bedroom was. There wasn't any door to separate it so you could just walk through. She placed the stuff in Rachel's mini section of the small room. She grabbed her toothbrush and soaps and walked towards the mini bathroom. To the right, there was a small door that opened to inside the bathroom. The only things there was a table that held the toiletries, a small sink, and a toilet.
Riley put the stuff away, placing her own clothes in the closet. She brought the towels outside and placed them on the picnic table to dry as much as they could. Even if they were onto day 3, they already had a system.
After, she went back into the RV and got Collette's harness and leash. She called the little pup over, who actually came for once. She strapped the harness on and led the dog away towards the grass. By now, Lawrence and Rachel were done with the tent and the rest of the stuff, packing it away in the little storage area underneath the RV. Lawrence went towards the bathroom with his stuff to do his morning routine now.
"Still never got a vote" Rachel said in a monotone voice. Riley was watching Lawrence leave that she forgot about Rachel. Riley jumped, turning around to see Rachel chuckling.
"Did I really spook ya? Come on. You had to have seen me?" She said crossing her arms, raising an eyebrow. Riley rubbed the back of her head with her spare hand, shaking her head.
After all that, they stayed for an hour longer, letting the towels dry before taking them and heading off on the road again. Riley was glad Rachel and Lawrence we're both able to get a week off from work to enjoy the outdoors. Something that didn't make sense to Riley was the fact that she was still sleepy. Perhaps it was their surroundings. Nature. It was peaceful, letting it do it's own thing was amazing to watch, and a good thing to sleep to. But Riley didn't watch the nature, she practiced her Cybertronian writing in secret.
Riley sat in the RV with a small white board and marker. She didn't want to leave papers of strange writing laying around for certain people to see. Rachel and Lawrence we're outside, just chatting it up. Collette sat beside Riley with her head resting on her lap, sound asleep. By now, Riley could write a bit smaller and read it. She really wanted to impress Ratchet when she returned.
"R-I-L-E-Yyyy" she said out loud to herself. She wrote them down as best she could. Still messy and big but it was definitely improving. She smiled at her little improvement before hearing Rachel and Lawrence enter. She quickly wiped away at the bored and flipped the translation sheet over. She smiled, resting her hands over the board and sheet as Rachel passed. She put the towels away as Lawrence sat himself down in the drivers seat, closing the door.
"So. Up for a game of Crazy 8s?" Rachel asked, eyeing Riley as she sat down with the deck. Riley smiled and nodded her head. She had a determined look on her face, last time was child's play.
The game didn't last long, only a few rounds. Rachel eventually agreed to a tie with Riley before reading one of her books. Riley just stared out the window. Tomorrow, they would be at their destination. Riley smiled at the thought of her swimming in the ocean, building sand castles, and burying Lawrence with Rachel if he had a nap. Her plan, not Rileys.
Everyone agreed that tonight would be spent in the RV. Of course they'd still had a fire and their s'mores, which Riley didn't even know was a thing. (Yes this child REALLY is out of the loop). They listened to Rachel sing, Lawrence play his guitar, and Riley telling them funny stories. She even mentioned ones with the bots, don't worry though, she gave them fake names and altered the story a bit.
"So I woke up that morning like usual when Bryan (Bumblebee) and Clarence (Cliffjumper) came in laughing. They had a hard time explaining that they scared the living sc- I mean crap, out of Buddy (Bulkhead)! It was sooo funny seeing him walk in. He was so grumpy! Grumpier than Lawerence!" Riley said before bursting into laughter. Rachel joined in as Lawrence looked unconvinced.
"Grumpier than me? No way" he said in a challenging tone. Riley could only nod, still trying to contain herself. Wait. "Did I call you Lawerence?" Riley asked. Her laughter ending abruptly. Lawerence and Rachel looked at each other as they just noticed this too.
"Guess we're growing on ya kid" he said, leaning forward and placing his hand on his knee, resting his other arm on his other knee. Riley smiled and went to hug him. She truly did grow close to them both. They were like the parents Riley needed all her life. She wouldn't refer to them as such but she knew they were like that.
The night rolled in and Riley laid down across the seat. Collette laid on the other side sleeping while Rachel and Lawerence slept on the bed. Unfortunately, there was a thunderstorm, something Riley didn't like. She wasn't scared but it wasn't pleasant either.
As she laid there, eyes closed, the thunder boomed, shaking the RV. Lightning flashing across the sky, creating its bright light that went through her eyelids. The rain pounded against the windows and roof of the vehicle. She curled up a bit everything there was thunder. Then unexpectedly, the image of Megatron slamming his fist beside her from that one time, flashed across her mind.
She shot up, letting out a panicked, short scream. She panted heavily as Rachel rushed to her side in seconds. Riley quickly grabbed to her and held on for dear life. Rachel responded by rubbing her back, shushing and reassuring her. Riley sobbed uncontrollably into her shoulder.
Rachel picked her up and brought her to the bed with Lawrence, sitting there worried. Rachel sat Riley down and tried to pry her away for a few seconds to ask what was wrong but failed. Riley wouldn't let go. She was scared.
"Honey, what's wrong. Is it the storm?" Rachel asked. Riley shook her head still sobbing. "Nightmare?" Lawerence asked. Again Riley shook her head. "Memory" she responded hoarsely, letting a few more sobs escape. Rachel and Lawrence exchanges worried glances as they calmed her down a bit more.
"Want to sleep here tonight?" Rachel asked after finally facing the crying child. Riley shook her head, not wanting to disturb them but sleep took over her body fast. Rachel and Lawerence laughed quietly as they laid her down in between them. They each held Riley's hands, who gripped them tightly back.
Morning had arrived and outside was a compete mess. Everything was muddy, leaves and branches were scattered everywhere. Luckily, Lawerence was driving so that sight wouldn't be much longer. He left Rachel and Riley to sleep.
When Riley woke up, she was being cuddled in Rachel's arms. She didn't want to leave her warmth, love, or protection she provided. She closed her eyes, only to open them up by Collette who somehow got on the bed. The dog was patiently waiting for one of them to wake up and when Riley showed signs of conciseness, the dog 'attacked'.
"C-Collette stooooop" Riley whined as she tried to shield her face from the incoming kisses. Rachel came to her rescue, covering Riley enough so Collette couldn't get her.
"That's enough girl, how did you even get up?" Rachel questioned. "I can hear the ladies are awake! Collette was feeling lonely so I helped her up." Lawerence explained. Riley and Rachel both got up and stretched their tired limbs out. Rachel went into the washroom while Riley picked Collette up and carried her to the sitting area.
"Feeling better Riley?" Lawerence asked, turning slightly to face her. "Yeah, sorry I feel asleep like that." She said sleepily. "Nothing to be sorry for. Is it ok if you share this 'memory'? You don't have to if you don't want to but it might help if someone else knows." He offered. Riley thought about it. She wanted to tell them but how would she alter it so it didn't sound like a giant metal alien.
"Uh...it was just a memory of a scary man. I was at a park alone and a guy came. He was friendly at first but he got less friendly. Eventually he slammed his fist on the ground next to me, then he left." Riley explained. Half true, half lie. Lawerence bought it.
"Well that wasn't very nice, was it?" Rachel said emerging from the bathroom. Lawerence looked pretty mad but kept calm about it. Rachel was too but joked around and kept her cheery smile to avoid the feeling, lighten the mood even.
The rest of the ride was pretty normal. Riley had her snacks while looking out the window, even snoozing off for an hour. Lawrence kept driving, making comments every now and again from either the surroundings or terrible drivers. Rachel either read or joined Riley in looking out the window while talking about stuff.
After so long, they finally arrived at their campsite a couple of miles away from the beach.
"We're here ladies!" Lawerence announced. "Now tomorrow, we spend all day at the beach then we hit the road back home. How's that sound to you three?" Lawrence asked as he sat up and stretched his legs.
Riley and Rachel nodded while Collette sat there happily. Riley walked Collette around while Rachel and Lawerence went to set the camp up. As Riley went to throw the poop bag away in the trash, she noticed a certain motorbike parked not that far away. Riley excitingly threw the bag away and urged Collette to run with her.
Arcee watched as Riley ran towards her with a dog? That was new. Optimus did mention it but she didn't believe it. "Hey Ry', staying out of trouble?" Arcee asked, lifting her alt mode so it wasn't leaning anymore. Riley nodded back in response trying to catch her breath.
Riley looked around, coast was clear. She went up to Arcee and hugged her as best as she could but felt like she was being scooped up moments later. Arcee held Riley and her furry friend as she embraced them both in a hug.
"I missed you so much 'Cee. You have no idea" Riley said happily. The two sat in silence for a while until Riley was placed back on the ground. They started chatting it up till Riley heard her name being called out.
"Coming!" She yelled back. She turned to Arcee who was still smiling. "Better get rolling, see you soon Riley." Arcee said, transforming into her alt. The engine hummed to life as 'Sadie' appeared. "I want to go home soon" Riley said a little sad and disappointed. "Soon" Arcee said reassuringly. Riley smiled as a tear left her eye. She hugged Sadie who hugged her back. "Wait, how did you know I was here?" Riley asked. "Magic" was all Arcee responded with.
Arcee then sped off while Riley lead Collette towards the campsite. Once they got there, they had hotdogs and sat around the campfire once more.
"Ready for the beach Riley?" Lawerence asked. His tone suggested Riley wasn't ready but in a joking way. Riley smiled smugly. "Of course I'm ready...old man." She hissed the last part. Lawerence looked completely offended but quickly chased her down. Riley already made a break for it. Rachel just sat there, absolutely dying.
Once Lawerence caught Riley, he tickled her to death, not letting her leave his grasp. She squealed and squirmed. This was worse than Optimus! "R-R-R-Rachel! Hehehehe heeellp meeeeeheheheheeee." Riley yelled. Rachel held her hands up while laughing.
After, Riley sat down, staring Rachel in the eyes. "Traitor" she said jokingly. Rachel looked at her smugly. "Accusing me of betraying you? How?" She teased. Riley laughed, shaking her head as they spent the rest of the night in silence. Riley didn't remember entering the tent, probably because she fell asleep to the sound of the fire and silence.
The next day was nothing but fun. Lawerence did fall asleep, giving Riley and Rachel a chance to bury him in sand. All except his head of course. He woke up in the middle of it but pretended to sleep, allowing them to do their thing. They all of course went swimming, built sand structures, everything you could do at a beach. When Riley swam, she made sure the metal on her skin stayed hidden. Thank goodness her one piece didn't show anything. They slept in the RV again and went straight back home for the next two days.
When they did return home, Riley laid in her bed staring at the ceiling. This was only the last week of July, what could August, her last month of summer, provide as entertainment? Well she'll just have to wait and see.
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