Title: Inferno and Red Alert II
Rating: T
"...I-i don't want to go back there..."
"You have to."
"B-but, I-"
"No buts. You have to."
"B-b-bu-but-!"
"'Red!," Sideswipe growled, facing the smaller doberman. "Listen, I get that you don't want to go back to the school. You made a complete fool of yourself yesterday, which is not the kind of start I wanted for you or me. But if we can't make things work out here then we've got nowhere left to go to! Do you get that?!"
Swallowing back a whimper, Red Alert nodded slowly, looking to the ground. "I-i'm sorry, S-sides, I..." The younger mech tapered off, sniffling as guilt crushed him.
Sighing, Sideswipe glanced around quickly but the dirt road was void of any nosy villagers. Seeing that the coast was clear, he yanked his triplet toward him, hugging him tightly with one arm. "'Red...," he spoke softly, "I know that if you could control it, you would. Don't blame yourself, ok. Just... we just gotta do what the psychiatrist's are always telling you to: find a good focus point and keep on it. Don't let the bad thoughts get into your bubble. Right?"
His brother gave a meek, little nod.
"And for the record, I totally would of let you stay at home today myself," the older autodog added. "At least until lunch or so. 'Til you'd calmed more. But mom makes the rules and what mom says..."
"Goes," Red Alert finished quietly. He vented heavily himself. "I-i know. M-mom just wants m-me to do w-well. I k-know..."
"Yeah, well," the black doberman released his brother, giving him a nudge, "Don't focus on that too much. You gotta do it for yourself, or you'll never get anywhere." He turned to continue walking, Red Alert falling in behind him.
"B-but I m-messed up s-so bad yesterday. Y-you said so yourself Sideswipe!," the red mech whimpered. "H-how am I g-gonna make any sort o-of friends now...?"
Sideswipe glanced back at his triplet, struggling to find anything that would at least put his brother's spirits back into calmer states before they reached the school. "Why don't you join the athletics team? Or, like, one of those nerdy clubs you always like?"
"W-wh-wha?! N-no way!," Red Alert shrieked, shaking his helm furiously in protest. "I-i-i'm n-not g-good at sp-sports like you a-and S-sunstreaker! E-everyone w-will m-make m-more fun of m-me if I d-do that!"
"Well-" The sound of a school bell interrupted Sideswipe. He looked down the road, catching a glimpse of the forlorn flag pole and its limp banner, before turning his optics to his watch. "Huh... That's the early bell," the larger doberman commented. "We've got about five more kliks to get to class or we'll be la- Woah! HEY!"
Sideswipe wiped the dust from his optics as he glared at his brother's fading back; grumbling to himself as he only increased his pace to a light jog. "And that whiner says he's no good at sports... He's faster than Sunstreaker and I have ever been..."
xxXxXxx
Running with several pancakes in one's mouth was both the dumbest and hardest thing to do. Wheezing, feeling as if his vents were filling with syrup and dough, Inferno rounded the last of the field, barreling for the school doors immediately. The tardy bell rang, making the german shepherd cringe and almost choke as he went flying into the school, not slowing down for an astrosecond. "SWOZZE!," he bellowed, spraying pancake chunks everywhere, almost taking out a teacher.
"Inferno!," the mech yelled back. "You dough-helmed-"
Inferno didn't catch the rest of the insult, sliding to a stop and crashing into his homeroom class. Swallowing the half-soggy mass in his mouth, the youngling wheezed out a "sorry" before resuming to catch his intakes.
"Nice to see you too, Inferno," the teacher greeted flatly, a soft chorus of laughter behind her. "Now, if you'd be so kind and take a seat. I'd like to begin attendance."
Straightening up, smiling apologetically, the german shepherd scoped the classroom for an empty seat. Most were taken already, unfortunately... except for the one beside the new kid. Ears perking up in both surprise and excitement, Inferno quickly scrambled over, plopping down into the free chair with a thud. His unsuspecting table buddy gave a yip at the other's entrance.
"Inferno!"
"S-sorry ma'am!," he quickly apologized to the teacher. Shaking her helm, the femme returned to her roll call.
Tail wagging, the youngling turned his attention to the smaller autodog, who was determinedly trying to ignore him. "'Ey," the german shepherd grinned, "Sorry 'bout yesterday. 'Ow ya've been?"
The little doberman snapped his helm to Inferno in alarm, optics flared in disbelief. "A-are you talking to m-me...?," he squeaked softly.
Inferno canted his helm. "Well, yeah. Name's Inferno. What's yer's?"
"Y-you..." The smaller youngling was still gaping like a fish, looking both startled and unnerved. "Y-you... w-why are y-you talking t-to me? I-i've nothing i-important, I s-swear!"
The german shepherd shuttered his optics in surprise. "Aye don't need anythin' from ya, promise," he soothed. "Aye jus' wanna be yer friend."
"F...," the other autodog paused, sounding the word out slowly. "F-friend? You... you want t-to be my... friend?" Baby blue optics lit up brightly, fear being replaced with an expression Inferno could only think looked uncertainly hopeful. "R-really?"
"Really," the bigger mech smiled. He wasn't sure how to describe it himself, but he really, really did want to be this youngling's friend. Hopefully he wouldn't find him accident-prone and a bit of a blockhead like the others did. "So, name's Inferno. Glad t' meet ya...?"
"R-red... Red Alert," the other shyly supplied. "M-my name's Red Alert."
Inferno beamed. "Red Ale-" The german sheperd was cut off by a swat to the back of the helm.
"Inferno!," the teacher chastised loudly, holding her rolled up lecture book at the ready. "What have I told you, time and time again, about talking in my class?"
The youngling cupped the back of his helm where he'd been swatted, giving the femme the most simpering look he could give. "S-sorry, ma'am! Aye-"
"Detention for you and your new friend!," she yelled over the rising din.
"W-WHAT?!," Red Alert shrieked, horrified.
"And not another word out of you both while I'm teaching, or it'll be a week's worth!," she threatened the two, immediately, tight-lipped students. Eyeing them intensely, she turned away a moment later, returning to the front of the class, unrolling her book.
Feeling really guilty now, Inferno turned to the new student, surprised to see that Red Alert was slumped over his desk; servos covering his face in dramatic misery. "Um...," the german shepherd whispered uncertainly. He gently poked a flattened, quivering ear.
Nope. No response.
"Oops."
xxXxXxx
Sideswipe stood under the flagpole as other students walked by, heading off to home or whatever constituted as fun in this back-water country town, looking mighty stupid if you asked him. And why was he even here to begin with? Because Red Alert had a routine. That routine meant meeting up at the flagpole five kliks exactly after the bell rang. Routines were necessary; routines made Red Alert calm.
A calm Red Alert meant no meltdowns, freak outs or trips to the hospital.
So where was his brother? Sideswipe checked his watch again -it had been ten kliks now. Red Alert was officially late. Huffing, the black mech slung his backpack over his shoulder; marching back into the school, hoping against hope that he wouldn't have to crack some skulls. "Red? Yo, Red!"
The smaller autodog's ears perked as his triplet jogged towards him, trying to erase the miserable look off his face and failing even more. "Red...," Sideswipe slowly said, "Red, what's wrong? Whose aft do I need to kick now?"
"N-no! Oh, no, I-i'm not in t-trouble...!," Red Alert quickly replied. "W-well... At least n-not that way..." The white doberman's shoulders drooped alongside his ears and tail. "M-mom's go-gonna be so m-mad... b-but, but I've g-got detention."
"De-" The taller mech reeled. "Detention? How the frag did you-"
"T-talking. In class." Blue optics shuttered meekly up at his brother. "D-don't tell mom?"
"Don't-" Sideswipe groaned. "How do you expect me to not tell mom, huh? Listen, if you don't tell her then I will have to, otherwise she'll spazz out when I come home alone and probably call every emergency department available in this lil' hick town."
Of course, Red Alert was silent. "...I guess I'm sticking around then," the black mech grumbled to himself.
"N-no! No, d-don't... you don't ha-have to do that...," the other interjected. He picked at his fingers for a moment, debating. "I-i'll... I'll call mom and tell her about m-my detention. A-and I'll call her again o-once it's over. S-she can come g-get me o-or you can, t-then. P-please don't w-wait around on m-my account."
Sideswipe stared his younger brother down, wanting to find something to say in counter. But honestly? He didn't want to sit around, doing nothing, when there were things he had to do and how much trouble could Red Alert get anyhow? They were in the middle of nowhere after all... Pushing aside a few worries, the black doberman shouldered his bag again, staring the smaller autodog down.
"...okay. If that's what you want," Sideswipe said, "I'll be back in an hour's time, anyway. They can't hold you longer than that or I'll knock some helms together."
Red Alert squeaked at that statement, trying to convince his older brother not to do that but his triplet was already walking away; servos clapped to his ears. "La-la-la- I can't hear you! By the way, you're gonna be late for detention, 'Red."
There was another squeak and the whistling of wind as the lil' runt autodog hurried in the other direction.
xxXxXxx
Detention was dull. Dull and boring. Which, you know, it should be but considering he had a new buddy with him in detention today, Inferno couldn't help but to squirm in torment. Red Alert was sitting only five feet away from him; he was still close enough that the german shepherd could see the fang marks that the smaller autodog was leaving on his pencil as he chewed on it anxiously. Glancing back at the clock again, Inferno wished the little hands would wind around faster -he just wanted to be free to talk to his new friend!
"Inferno!," the detention teacher called snippily. The youngling straightened up in flash. "Quit eyeing the clock. This is detention -not class. ...Might I suggest getting a start on your homework like your friend here."
"Um..." The red mech glanced at the other autodog, and sure enough, Red Alert was closing his science book, having already finished the homework assigned for that class. Surprised, Inferno leaned forward a tad. Not many people usually did homework while in detention; certainly, none finished the whole chapter of work given to them like the doberman had managed to do. And he hadn't even broken into a sweat!
"Inferno!" This time a chalkboard eraser bounced off the german shepherd's helm. Wincing in slight pain, Inferno slouched back in his seat, looking up at the teacher. The mech gave the youngling a scowl and a point of his finger, warning him to stay in his seat.
Under his intakes, Inferno sighed. Detention was going to be a looooong one.
He didn't like just waiting. Waiting was horrible, like an itch that you couldn't scratch and it kept spreading and spreading, until your entire insides were crawling and it turned out there were insecticons on the inside starting to chew their way ou-
Red Alert quickly clenched the desk top, forcing himself to breathe in even, counted cycles through his vents until the itch crawling up his spinal struts finally began to reside and he wasn't plagued by continuous nightmare of insecticons devouring him from within. Curse this prison called Detention! He wanted out- he wanted to go home. If he didn't have his medication soon, the doberman knew the orn terrors would return, worse than before and not easily quelled with some breathing techniques. He really didn't want that to happen.
Shuffling up front caught the youngling off-guard; swallowing the shriek that nearly escaped, Red Alert snapped his helm up, watching in uncertainty as the teacher on duty rose from his seat. "Alright boys," he announced, "Detention's over. You're free to go."
"Woo hoo!," Inferno shouted, jumping from his chair immediately. Red Alert jolted, but didn't move, honestly still surprised that his short-term jailing was complete.
"U-um..." Coming to, the white mech slowly stood up as well, one servo blindly reaching for his bag. He gave a little yelp when he grabbed warm plating instead of his expected knapsack. "S-sorry!," he squeaked, releasing Inferno and shaking his servo as if he had just touched something toxic.
"'Ey, no, it's cool," the german shepherd smiled back, his deep blue optics crinkling with his grin. "Listen, Aye'm a really sorry 'bout earlier an' all. Will ya let me walk ya back home?"
"A-aye mean- Aye just really want to know ya better an' since, ya know, don't wanna get ya in trouble during class an' all an' Ay thought-" Inferno quickly added, rambling on at the other's wide-opticed stare. "An', like, u-uh, Aye'm j-just sayin', that y-yer, y-ya seem r-really neat a-an'-"
"...o...o-ok..."
The larger youngling stopped altogether, looking down the doberman. Red Alert glanced up at him for a moment, but was quick to look away again; optics dancing around the room nervously. "Really?," Inferno mumbled. His optics lit up and his tail began beating desks. "Really?!"
The white autodog flinched at his enthusiasm, taking a timid step back before the german shepherd had managed to reign most of it in. "S-sorry," he apologized, scratching the back of his ear. "U-um, yeah, so... home?"
Red Alert looked doubtful, but Inferno quickly bounded for the door; waiting like an impatient lil' turbofox.
Immediately, ice started filling the doberman's energon lines. It was silly, he knew, silly... just like Sideswipe always said, but... But he couldn't be the last one in the room. Red Alert hurried over to the doorway, getting one pede step in front of the other youngling. That unfortunately left him standing right in the doorway of the classroom and again, anxiety was jumping right up behind him, wrapping large claws around his throat. He couldn't be the last to leave a room, and he couldn't be the first. There were too many dangers, unknown variables and other horrible things lurking if he stayed behind or if he went first. What was he going to do?! He had to get home, he couldn't stay, but-but-
Before his intakes could break into a harmful, vigorous cycling, a heavy weight across his shoulders jolted him out of his panic. Whipping his helm around, Red Alert was alarmed to see Inferno smiling back at him easily, large arm laid out across his shoulders. Without even realizing it, they were leaving the room together; stride in stride.
What? How...? Nothing like this had ever occurred to the smaller mech before.
"So, 'ow ya likin' the neighb'rhood?," Inferno asked.
Slowly, Red Alert was even forgetting the wonder that was happening, falling into casual pace with the strange youngling. Pausing for a moment, the doberman mulled over what he wanted to say, clenching his binders close as he finally opened his mouth to speak.
xxXxXxx
His denta had been brushed, flossed and brushed again before ending with the routinely mouthwash swig. He'd showered, cleaned his ears out, and a fresh pair of pajamas were put on. Then he'd made sure his nails were cut and filed, waxed his pedes and fingers and slipped on his slippers. Triple-checked that his bag was packed, pencils arranged by colour, type and length in the outer pocket; lunch made for the next orn and all the contents divided appropriately- no intermingling! He'd checked under the berth, the closet, and in all the other nooks and crannies; then his sire, creator and even Sideswipe double-checked for him, before he went over and re-checked to make sure they hadn't missed something.
With all that done and taken care of for the night, Red Alert finally tucked himself in, staring up at the ceiling while his anxious mind finally began to wind down. He'd made a friend this orn.
It still was so surreal but it had happened. A friend. How long had it been sine he'd last had one of those? Forever?
The doberman blinked and he could see Inferno smiling down on him. The other youngling was big but... he didn't seem all that dangerous. And if he thought that Red Alert was pretty nice himself, how bad could the german shepherd be really?
Fears absent for once, the white mech rolled over onto his side, venting happily. He looked forward to school tomorrow and what new, fun things a friend could bring.