Author's Note: New story arc begins with this chapter. Hope you enjoy it! :)

Also, many thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter. :) I'm trying to go back and respond to the reviews, but in the meantime, please know that I eagerly read each and every one. Your words of encouragement keep me writing.

I hate my dad's truck. You know who I'm talking about, that tactless, overprotective, insensitive trigger-happy Topkick. Really, truly hate him.

I know, I know, you are all rolling your eyes and shaking your heads and thinking, 'Here we go again.' Well when you hear what happened, you'll totally side with me. Serious! I am not just being a drama queen this time!

But for you to understand why I hate him, I need to back up a bit. Two months ago (and seven months after my fifteenth birthday), I was sitting by myself at lunch like usual doing homework when Brian Lee just plopped himself down in the chair opposite me. "So…whatcha doing this Friday night?"

I raised my eyebrows at him in surprise. "Um…nothing?" There was an Autobot football game, but I could always catch the next one.

"Kathryn's throwing a beach party, and I was wondering if you wanted to go."

"But I thought you and Heather – "

"We broke up."

I stared at him blankly and he shrugged. "If you don't want to go, that's fine…"

"NO! I mean, yeah, I'd like to go, if you're asking." Heck yeah! In the hierarchy of datable material on the island, he came in a close second behind Bingham Davis (whose dad was on Ratchet's repair team). And he was asking me? Besides, I liked Kathryn – her dad served with Mrs. Epp in waste-management and she even talked to me at lunch sometimes.

"Great!" He stood up and left as abruptly as he'd come, falling in with Bing and Alex Wong (whose mom worked with harbor control and didn't have any direct affiliation with NEST). The bell rang before they reached the cafeteria door, and he turned, calling out, "I'll pick you up at seven!"

"Okay," I murmured, too quiet for him to hear. He grinned anyway and sauntered out.

WOW!

I had to tell someone, so on my way to class, I texted Mom. Big mistake. Instead of picking me up in the minivan, Mom was there on Arcee's black component, and Arcee (with the other two components) and Chromia were both with her in their holoforms on their bikes. But they weren't looking at me – oh no! – they didn't even notice me until I was only five feet away. They were all looking at Brian Lee. Evaluating. Analyzing. Appraising.

Smashing the helmet onto my head (it had been strapped down onto my seat), I hopped onto the black bike behind Mom and hid my face in her back. The last thing I wanted Brian to see was me hanging out with a gang of warrior biker chicks. As if being Colonel Lennox's daughter wasn't enough of a social handicap!

Even worse was knowing that it was just beginning. Before I got home from school, the entire Autobot force had received an info dump of the guy their communally-adopted kid sister was going out with. Before I got my helmet off at home, my cell phone was vibrating in my backpack announcing new text messages. Before Mom got the front door unlocked, Arcee was already planning my wardrobe and Chromia was planning out my dating self-defense class.

I did my best to ignore them, fishing in my backpack for my cell phone and powering it down.

"I bet you never even considered the tactical uses for high-heels," Mia said to me.

"Why do you think I only get her Stilettos?" R.C. cut in. "Those are warriors' shoes!"

"Mom?" I whined.

Taking pity on me, Mom said, "Alright, femmes, you've scoped out the boy. Now let Annabelle be so she can get her homework done. Beside, you'll be lucky if Prowl doesn't toss both your skidplates into the brig for playing hooky."

"Are you kidding?" Chromia said, heading back to the front door. "He sent us!"

I hid my face in my hands, and Mom gently patted me on the back. When the door closed, she reminded me, "They're doing this because they love you."

"With family like that…"

"Who needs Decepticons?" Mom grinned.

I gave her a little smile back. "Something like that."

"There are a few nuts on every family tree," she said, trying to console me.

"We just cut to the chase and bought a whole barrel-full, apparently."

"I'll keep them off your back," Mom assured me.

"Promise?"

"Promise. Now go get your homework done."

I blithely studied the different tissues in plants (xylem, phloem, yada yada yada) and memorized irregular verbs for Spanish, not thinking once about what would happen at five-thirty tonight. It must have been one of those things where you block traumatic experiences, because I should have known that Arcee and Chromia were just the tip of the iceberg. I took one look at Dad and 'Hide when they walked through the front door and was instantly ready to trade them in for the femmes. And that was before they even opened their mouths.

"So," Dad said, "Brian Lee, huh? His mom's a communications officer. She's got clearance to work with the Autobots, but no outside interaction privileges."

"He's too old for you," Ironhide gruffly declared.

"He is not," I answered. "He's in the next grade up, but our birthdays are less than ten months apart."

"Still too old," Ironhide grumbled.

"Saw the holo of him," Dad continued, ignoring 'Hide. "He seems pretty cute."

UGH! No one should ever have to endure the trauma of hearing their father say their male date is cute. "Dad. Please. Shut the frag up."

Appalled at my language, Mom scowled at 'Hide.

Dad shrugged it off, instead putting his arm around me. "You're a big girl, and I trust your judgment."

"You don't have to walk on eggshells; I'm not going to freak out. But I will hate you if you surrender the role of protective father-figure to a 20-foot tall trigger-happy alien."

Ironhide broke off from exchanging glares with my mom in order to glare at me. The 'bots hated it when I called them aliens.

"We all know Ironhide's not your father," my dad said, casting a 'behave' look at the Autobot, "and he's going to let me fulfill my role. I'm just saying I'm very happy for you."

"It's not like we're getting married," I answered. "He's probably just on the rebound anyway." I grinned, thinking that I'd happily be his rebound girl. I despised Heather anyway – she went out of her way to ignore me or walk away when I tried to join a conversation. And, gee, what girl wouldn't be flattered if asked by one of the hottest guys around to be a trophy date? I wasn't delusional enough to think he was in love with me or anything crazy like that. This would just be a fun night out on the town (such as it was on Diego Garcia).

"Still," Dad said, squeezing me a little tighter. "It's your first date. That makes it a big deal."

Thinking of the text messages piling up in my cell's inbox, I thought, 'Understatement of the year, Dad.'

…

So that Friday, Brian picked me up at seven o'clock on the button. I came downstairs in the outfit Arcee had picked out for me – a navy-blue bikini with a coordinating tie-dyed silk sarong and strappy heels. (This last had been at Chromia's insistence.) Brian's eyes lit up at the sight of me, and I instantly forgave the femmes for all their nosiness and pushiness. Autobot aunts, at least, weren't too bad.

Mom insisted on snapping off a couple of pictures, and then Brian escorted me to his folks' wonderfully non-sentient compact car, sitting in the looming shadow of a monster black Topkick. Even in his alt-form, Ironhide positively bristled in the driveway beside the little, just-past-its-warranty car. (Mom hadn't let his holoform inside, but he insisted on being here anyway.) Brian was happily oblivious.

The party was wonderful! We swam and played volleyball and buried each other in sand.

Everyone said hi to Brian, wanted to talk to him, wanted him at their table during the luau, and since I was his date, I was in the center of things, too. I'd never been popular, so it was interesting to see how the other half lived. Brian was great, too, and always made sure I felt included.

By the time he drove me home, I was on cloud nine. He held my hand in the car, and my heart soared – until we turned down the drive and I saw that stupid Topkick sulking in the driveway in front of the garage. The mech was just going to have to adjust to the idea that his little sparkling was growing up. If my own flesh-and-blood father could do it, he could, too.

We stopped and got out, Brian coming around the front of the car to walk me up to the porch. "So," I said awkwardly.

"So," he agreed, hands in his pockets.

"I had a good time," I offered. "Thanks."

He smiled at me, and I felt like I was warming from the inside out. "My pleasure. In fact, Michelle's quinceañera is in a couple of weeks. Want to come with me?"

Michelle's dad helped maintain the NEST aircraft, and I'd seen him a time or two when I was visiting the base, but we never spoke. He was always on the job, and anyway, he didn't have Autobot interaction privileges. I didn't know Michelle very well, but her quince would be my second date as Brian's trophy – it was a real compliment that I'd get two. Grinning, I said, "Sounds great!"

He nodded once and then stepped a little closer. My heart thundered as I realized what he was doing. First date and first kiss? Both with Brian? I must be dreaming. Hallucinating. I had to be high. Lifting one hand, he cupped my face and leaned in. I couldn't breathe.

Reeet! I jumped as Ironhide's car alarm went off. Reeet! Reeet! Ooo-ah! Ooo-ah!

Brian chuckled and leaned away. "Your dad?"

"No," I grumbled. "Just a glitching machine." I'd learned just last week that a worse insult than 'glitch' or even 'fragger' was to call an Autobot a 'machine.' It was as offensive to them as 'fleshbag' was to me. (Thank you, Mudflap, for tipping me off on that one!)

He laughed again, the moment gone. "I'll see you at school."

"See ya," I said, and opened the door, casting him one last wistful look. Mom and Dad were both there in the entryway, hovering over his cell phone. Reading texts from Ironhide. "You've got to be kidding me."

"We were trying to figure out why he was raising the alarm," Mom said defensively.

"It was either this or we were going to charge out onto the front porch and rescue you," Dad added.

Brian was still outside, so I couldn't go flip off Ironhide like I was tempted to. Instead I shut the door. "I'm fine. Of course I am – you both know 'Hide wouldn't leave any witnesses alive if some guy tried something bad."

Dad grinned, way too happy at the thought.

"That's it – I'm going to bed!"

Mom caught my hand as I tried to march past. Her eyes were gentle and I softened a little myself. "Did you have fun?"

I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah. A lot of fun."

"Good." And then she let me go.

In my bedroom, my phone chimed before I could even get my shoes off. Undressing quickly and changing into pajamas, I checked the text message. There were two, actually, received at the same time. One was from Arcee and the other from Chromia, and they both said the same thing. /So?/

Chuckling, I plopped down on my bed and dialed them up in a three-way call.

"Well?" they demanded, practically brimming with excitement for me.

"Weeeellll…I had the time of my life!"

The femmes actually squealed and I giggled right along with them.

"Tell us all about it," Chromia happily ordered.

"Let's see. Oh, first of all, thank you so much for your help! You should have seen the look he gave me when I came down the stairs – his eyes were huge. I actually felt pretty!"

"You are pretty," Chromia shot back, surprising me. Normally it was 'Hide who went on about how cute and adorable I was, while Chromia was more interested in making me into as much of an Autobot femme as a human girl could be.

"I second that," Arcee piped up. "And you're welcome, Firebrand. So tell us more!"

I went on about the party and about how he held my hand and how gorgeous his eyes were when he leaned in to kiss me. "And then your…mate or whatever you call him set off his car alarm!"

Arcee busted up – actually snorting she was laughing so hard – but Chromia sounded annoyed. "That mech's got a thing or two to learn."

"A thing or two? Is that all?" Arcee sniggered.

"All he's going to be able to hold in those thick chips of his," Chromia retorted. To me, she said, "Don't worry, it won't happen again. I promise."

"Thanks, you two."

"Our pleasure," Arcee answered. "We'll stop by and see you tomorrow. After Chromia's had a chance to lecture Ironhide and I've had a chance to help Ratchet put the malfunction back in one piece again."

Grinning, I ended the call and snuggled under the blanket. I don't remember my dreams that night, but I do remember I woke up happy the next morning.

. . .

Over the next couple of weeks, my whole world started to change. It began with lunch on Monday – Brian waved me over to his table to join him. I was tongue-tied the entire time, but it was kind of nice to not be sitting by myself. Of course, that meant, I didn't get any homework done, but I figured being with Brian was worth it.

A couple of days later, Kathryn said hi to me in the halls and even stopped to talk for a little bit. Her friends Shannon and Adrianne started saying hi to me, too. Heather and her clique couldn't give me the time of day, but that wasn't much of a change, not really. They were just a little colder about ignoring me now.

All in all, life was looking up.

…

Michelle would have never invited me to her quinceañera. She rarely spoke to me, and even then, it was only if we were stuck together for an in-class assignment or something. But everyone liked Brian, and for some inexplicable reason, he wanted me with him, so we both went. He could move from one social circle to another effortlessly, and I kind of envied him for that.

She was dressed to the nines in an enviable pale peach satin gown that even Arcee would have approved of. Of course Brian was seated at her table, so I ended up sitting across from her.

At one point, Brian and Bing Davis, who was Michelle's boyfriend of eight months and escort for the evening, had to go outside for something. I gave Brian a panicked look, but he just whispered to me, "Keep her distracted." Then the two of them were gone.

Okay…? What to talk about? Fishing for some kind of conversation starter, I asked her, "Is that an Alice Brandon?"

Michelle looked confused. "Pardon?"

"Your gown. It's absolutely beautiful. I saw something like that on her website when R.C. and I were doing some window shopping. Alice Brandon is an amazing designer. Usually I can only get one of her dresses for the New Year's Eve party."

"No…" Michelle hesitantly answered. "I'm not sure who designed it."

"Oh well. The look is perfection on you, so the maker doesn't really matter. Most people can't tell the difference between designer and imitations anyway."

"Thank you," she said and then mumbled under her breath, "I guess."

Chagrined, I shut my mouth after that and we waited in awkward silence for the boys to return. Fortunately, they weren't gone for long, returning with a bow-bedecked windsurf board carried between them – Bing's present for her.

Other than that one little foot-in-mouth moment, though, the evening was wonderful. Brian danced with me all night, just swaying while holding me close. Every now and then, he'd nuzzle my hair or whisper something in my ear and I'd just melt a little more. I didn't want to go home, but the party wound down eventually, and we walked hand-in-hand to the car.

When we got home and climbed the porch stairs, my heart was in my throat. Would he try to kiss me again? Ironhide was still pouting in the driveway – would he try to stop Brian again if he tried?

"Thanks," Brian said, standing awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. I was struck by how boyish he looked – which was really impressive considering he already cleared six feet tall.

"My pleasure," I answered with a slightly breathless smile.

He inched closer, ducking his head a little. "So…um…I was wondering…"

"Yeah?"

"Prom is in a couple of weeks."

"Prom?" I weakly echoed, no doubt sounding like a star-struck idiot.

"Did you already have plans to go?"

I shook my head, trying to clear it as much as answering him. "…no."

"Would you go with me?"

"Yes?"

He chuckled and ducked in for a startling kiss. I didn't even have a chance to be nervous and then he stepped back, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Thanks, 'Belle. See you on Monday."

"Wait!"

"Yes?" he asked, hesitating on the second step down from the porch.

I crossed the porch to him, and with him on the steps, we were eye-to-eye. "Again?"

He laughed quietly and inched closer, raising his hands to cup both sides of my face. Holding me gently, he leaned in and gave me a stunningly-soft second kiss.

When his hands finally fell away from my face, I breathed, "Wow!"

"I'll say." Stealing one last kiss, he all but skipped down the last couple of steps. "See ya!"

I practically danced into the living room – and almost yelped in surprise to see that 'Hide was waiting up for me in my dad's recliner. My dad's truck playing overprotective father. Ugh! "What are you doing here?" I hissed.

He shrugged, trying to look innocent. (It didn't work very well – 'Hide didn't look innocent even when he was.) "Your dad has the early morning shift, so I volunteered to make sure you got in okay."

"Uh-huh. And who arranged for him to be up before the crack of dawn on a Sunday?"

"Prowl," he answered shortly; then changing the subject he asked, "Anyway…how was the party?"

"Great. Good night." I headed up the stairs as quickly as I could in my heels.

"Annabelle…"

I froze when he used my human name. It just sounded so weird coming from him. I'd been 'Firebrand' for almost half a year.

"…can we talk for a minute?"

Grimacing, I headed back to the living room. "Mom already covered the birds and bees right down to protection, Chromia gave me nightmares with her description of all the ways I can incapacitate a guy with my hair accessories, and Dad's practically throwing me at Brian. There's not much left to say."

He smiled half-heartedly but gestured me to sit on the couch next to him. "Humor me."

I sat down with a sigh and looked at him expectantly. He was frowning thoughtfully, trying to find the right words, I guess. Finally he said, "I don't trust him."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You don't have to. We're not even boyfriend and girlfriend – we just had a couple of fun nights out."

He looked up at me, his eyes almost dark. "You don't know…" His jaw clenched like he was biting back angry words. 'Hide was always blunt – he was known for it – and seeing him struggle like this was just…kind of disturbing. "I promised Mia I'd be nice about it," he said, making the word sound like something disgusting. "So all I have to say is this: he doesn't see your soul. When Brian looks at you, he sees a pretty femme. He doesn't see you. And he never will." That last part was said almost sadly.

"I don't get it," I blurted out. "You're a mind-reader now? 'Hide, he's the first guy who's shown any interest in me. You don't know what it's like for me to be going out on dates. I'm having fun and it's with my own kind and kids my own age! You might not trust him, but I do! Just because he's not an Autobot…"

"That's not it."

"I think it is," I retorted. "He's not some mech you've known for thousands of years. He's a little kid trying to steal away your sparkling and you just don't know how to deal with it. Well you know what? You're gonna have to. I'm growing up, 'Hide, and I'm not gonna live on Diego Garcia forever. Once I'm eighteen, I'll have to leave or get a special visa to stay."

"Annabelle…"

"The name's Firebrand, and I'm going to bed." Angrily I rose to my feet and turned toward the stairs again. "I'm home safe. Go away."

Just before I closed my bedroom door, I heard him softly say, "Good night."

I changed into pajamas, mentally cussing out the glitch for ruining my first kiss. I should be blissed out right now, but instead, I wanted to kick something. My cell chimed with a text alert just as I was turning off the light; I was tempted to ignore it, but then I remembered Ironhide on Ratchet's repair berth with Johnston crawling inside his chassis and picked up my phone. Sometimes you don't get second chances, and I wasn't going to take that risk. Not again.

It was from Ironhide, just like I expected. But the words blew me away. /Love you./

That was a text I wouldn't ever delete. Tears of frustration welled up in my eyes, but I hastily typed and sent, /luv u 2/