By the time Mikaela got there with Bumblebee driving her, it was already almost dinner and most of them had retired to the rec-room. The girl was coming with her own agenda, but she had heard that there was a new Autobot on base that she planned to meet after she did what she needed to do.
It had been a few months since Mission City and her relationship with one Samuel James Witwicky had fizzled out. She wasn't interested in him as that type of boyfriend anymore, feeling like they were more close friends by that point than anything else. Maybe it would have gone differently if Bumblebee hadn't been a constant presence with them, but there was just no telling the Scout that he couldn't tag along with them. Any actual romance, let alone sex, had suffered because of that, leading Mikaela to view Sam in a more platonic way.
The teen was almost completely sure that Sam felt the same way. They had been texting less and less, his surprise presents had all stopped, there was no more immediate hugging and kissing when they saw each other, and things had just changed. Now it was too awkward to act like an actual couple, although she'd be damned if she was going to stop bossing him around or cuddling with him.
Mikaela took a deep breath and steeled herself as she walked into the rec-room, Bumblebee following immediately behind her. If she had read Sam wrong entirely and did end up breaking his hurt then it comforted her some to know the Scout was there to help hold him together.
"Sam, I'm breaking up with you." Mikaela blurted out as soon as she saw him, cursing herself mentally as that completely ruined all the ideas about asking him out of the room to keep it somewhat private.
All conversation ceased and eyes turned to her in shock. Jazz, Miles, Barricade, Epps, Will, and Fig were the most obvious about it. And Sam stared at her with wide eyes, looking like he was still comprehending just what had been said, so she averted her own. In doing so she noticed someone that she was sure should not have been on a NEST base. Trent stared back at her, looking aggravatingly hot with his amused half smirk that.
Trent turned to look at Miles smugly, who was sitting next to him and didn't seem to be that happy about it. "Is this what you wanted to tell me?"
"Excuse me?" Mikaela asked, glaring at Miles.
"What?" Miles asked, seeming shocked before he caught on. "No, no, of course not! I told Trent that you wanted me to tell him something, but that was a lie to get closer to Blaster! How was I supposed to know that you'd break up with Sam today? That's not my fault!"
Sam snickered, "Timing."
Mikaela glanced over at him, any anger she had felt disappearing to be replaced by relief. She might not have loved Sam in that way anymore, but she still loved him and never wanted to see him hurt, let alone be the reason he was. Saving the world with giant alien robots could do a lot to change a person, but it could also do a lot to bring two people together. It was hard not to forge a bond in the face of something like that. Being together had seemed the best option then, but now she could see that they could still be close even if they weren't 'sparkmates'. They were alike in some ways, different in others and they did compliment each other, but no more than friends would. It ended up becoming just what Miles had always said it would be, nothing more than a high school romance. A lot of people had seen it coming and she knew that there was a betting pool on who would break up with who first, a second one added on to the version where she did that guessed at Sam's reaction.
"Blaster?" She asked, turning back to Miles.
"Another Autobot, the Communications officer, or something," Miles shrugged, "His alt form is a big stereo thing, for whatever reason."
"When do I get to meet him?" she asked, tilting her head to the side thoughtfully as she remembered who else she hadn't had the pleasure of being introduced to yet. "And the Dinobots?"
"Blaster will be there during dinner to be introduced to you and some of the soldiers," Bumblebee replied. "Grimlock, Swoop, and Snarl are currently at Wheeljack's lab, driving him insane."
"Okay." Mikaela then turned to Epps, "Who won?"
Epps grinned, "Bumblebee. Mech bet that you'd be the one to break up with Sam, even specified that Sam wouldn't really care."
"Bumblebee!" Sam groaned, "Not you too! You Cybertronians and crazy NEST members are impossible!"
"Ya love us, and ya know it!" Jazz said cheerfully, laughing when Sam just grumbled to himself.
"Well, look at it this way. I'm not holding you back anymore," Mikaela smirked. "You and Miles can take your bromance to the next level."
"Yes!" Miles grinned. "We should totally sing Guy Love in front of everybody, Sam."
Sam made a face, laughing. "No way."
"Don't worry,Miles. I'm more than willing to sing Guy Love with you in front of everyone." Bumblebee laughed.
"What? No way! My best human friend is not cheating on me with my best alien friend, and vice versa!" Sam exclaimed, causing everyone to laugh as he grinned.
"I'm sorry, Sam, we just can't hide it anymore!" Adding a more dramatic flare to his voice, he grabbed Miles' hand, yanking the teen into his lap and hug. Miles was laughing too hard to protest.
"Well fine, I'll take Barricade then!" Sam mocked huff.
Barricade snorted, "I don't want anything that the Insect has infected, thank you very much."
"I'm flattered, I am, but..." Miles had to stop talking as he struggled out of Bumblebee's grip, still laughing. "You can keep Sam, I've got Sasha."
"Sasha?" Trent asked, speaking up and surprising some of them. The teens, mostly, had forgotten he was there.
"Oh, uh..." Miles turned to look at the jock, "That's my non-Cybertronian car. I thought it'd be good for a laugh to give her a name and a gender."
"Ohh, speaking of non-sentient cars, do you think Sasha could replace Bee soon?" Sam asked, Bumblebee making a slightly offended noise. Whether it was playful or he meant it Sam couldn't tell, so he patted the Scout's leg in a comforting manner. "My cousin is going to be having her bacherlorette party at my house. Believe me, you won't want to be there."
"As long as no one does inappropriate things inside of Sasha and I'm invited, okay."
"Course you're invited, bro. Eric's going to be trusting you to make sure his future wife doesn't do anything stupid!" Sam replied with a grin, "Happening next week. We get Friday off to help get ready and then it starts, then Saturday is the wedding."
"A party? That sounds like fun. Am I invited?" Epps asked playfully.
Sam laughed, "Sorry, Epps. I think it would be hard to explain you being there."
"Could just say I'm your boyfriend." Epps mock pouted, causing everyone to laugh.
"Cradle robber!" Miles snickered. "Hey mom, dad, I want you to meet my boyfriend. He's about a twenty years older than me, and involved with those alien robots, so he's as crazy as I am!"
"I think it would go over perfectly." Mikaela smirked, "As long as 'Sam's happy time' isn't brought up again."
"Dear Primus, all of you, excluding Miles, are never coming near my house ever again!" Sam groaned.
"And me." Bumblebee added, grinning.
"Sorry, Bee, I get bro-dibs. You come after me!" Miles said, laughing.
Barricade cut Bumblebee off before he could protest. "I wouldn't. Unless you want to be there and have your back seat defiled."
"True, true." Bumblebee replied thoughtfully, "I think I'll come visit the base for the weekend then."
"We do expect to get calls from you two. We need to know if you're going to be doing anything inappropriate so we can ask for pictures and laugh!" Epps grinned.
Miles laughed, "Knowing Sam's family they'll try to get him drunk."
"So you told one of them to call us if the other gets drunk?" Will asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Yup!" Epps said cheerfully.
The days had passed quickly and it was already the Friday of the bacherolette party. The plans had been changed slightly, Sam and Miles having been asked to return to base Saturday instead of go to the wedding because a new Cybertronian was arriving near Tranquility and they had yet to tell if it was Autobot or Decepticon. Bumblebee had been even more reluctant to leave because of that, but Sam eventually managed to shoo the protective guardian away.
They were in the rec-room again. Bumblebee, Barricade, Jazz, Mikaela, Will, Blaster, Epps, Maggie, and Prowl, that is. The humans sat on one couch while the holoforms sat on the other.
Barricade snorted, "You really think they'll listen?"
"No." Epps grinned. "Which is why I have my laptop. If one of them calls someone with their phone, I'll know it, and I'll be able to get into the conversation."
"That's invading their privacy, Robert." Bumblebee said, frowning.
"I'm just keeping an eye out for them," Epps replied with his best innocent tone, knowing he could at least win Bumblebee over if he said things the right way. "You know how many things could happen that they wouldn't call us over? A house fire, trip to the hospital, robbers."
"I doubt they'll really care, anyway." Mikaela laughed, "Don't think they'll be making any personal phone calls tonight. Besides, there's nothing else to do. The twins aren't even leaving their room!"
"What's with them lately, anyway?" Maggie asked, "I think they've been getting jumpier."
Jazz shrugged, "Who knows?"
They waited a few hours, different people checking Epps' laptop every now and then. Maggie and Prowl started to play chest, Bumblebee and Jazz were playing video games, Epps was playing the winner of said video games, Mikaela was discussing music she liked with Blaster, and Barricade was talking with Will about strategic war moves. It was about 12:30 when they noticed Miles calling someone, Epps quickly hacking into the call with a grin. They had no idea who was being called, but they figured they'd find out.
"Miles? What's up?"
"Eric, I'm sorry, but I can't watch over your wife anymore."
"What's going on?"
There was a lengthy pause on Miles' end. "A lot. I'm going to go up and hide in Sam's room because there is just way too much going on."
"Damn, sounds pretty bad. Sorry for them traumatizing you, lil bud. You at least get pictures to embarrass them with later?"
"Oh hell yeah."
"Good boy. You can keep my camera until after we get back from the honey moon. That should be enough time to upload the film."
"Should be. Wait a sec- JUDY DON'T TOUCH THAT!"
"Oh jeez, Judy? How's Sam holding up?"
"Actually, Sam's the main reason I'm going to go up and hide in his room. Well, Sam, Judy, Bunny, and everyone else, basically."
"Who's Bunny?"
"A very friendly male stripper. He's apparently bisexual, and has a thing for younger males. On the other hand he has a thing for older women. I'd say it's a good thing Sam's single now but then again I don't think he'll be able to function in the morning, let alone remember any of it, so..."
A pause as they could hear nothing but Eric laughing. "Oh Jesus, I'm sorry, bud."
"Be sorry for Sam, he's going to have one hell of a hangover. And the pictures I have are too good not to use on him."
"Do I get to know what they are?"
"You'll see soon enough."
"And how has Bunny been treating you?"
"We're not talking about Bunny anymore. I have to go, Sam's being cornered by your soon to be wife to see if vacuum cleaners really can give someone a hickey."
And then there was nothing as the line went dead, Miles not even leaving time for a proper goodbye as he apparently went to save Sam from a vacuum cleaner. Epps looked around at the others in the rec-room with him.
"They better bring that fucking camera with them." Epps said, grinning.
Maggie rolled her eyes, "Sam is obviously plastered and you're worried about some photos?"
"Too late to stop him now and it's around family. Family is providing the alcohol." Will replied for Epps, shrugging. "Can't do much against that."
Mikaela laughed, "Not like you guys didn't let us at alcohol during the Halloween party."
"The thinking behind that is you were around responsible people, nothing bad ended up happening after all, and it'll kill the curiosity." Epps huffed.
Mikaela, Bumblebee, Barricade, Jazz, and Epps were waiting for Sam and Miles to arrive in 'Sasha'. They had already gotten a call earlier from a strained sounding Miles as he tried to wake Sam up, saying that they'd be there by noon. When they watched Miles pull past the gate and drive towards them, Bumblebee was happy he decided to listen to Sam. Miles' car had a few more dents than it had before the party and it looked like it had been drawn on. They watched as Miles drove closer and closer, only to swerve suddenly. Barricade was about to see what was wrong, but they all heard a loud "DAMMIT SAM!". Miles quickly braked and turned Sasha off, then scrambled out of the car. Sam came out after him, laughing hard. The five stared in shock at the two.
"What the frag is your problem?" Miles hissed, either not realizing they had an audience, or just not caring. Probably he didn't care, as Bumblebee, Barricade, and Jazz were in there bipedal modes.
"Hahaha! I figured out what those stains were!" Sam held up a camera to Miles, seeming quite content to just sit on the tarmac.
Miles took it and looked at what had Sam laughing so hard. "Primus damn it, they defiled Sasha's back seat!"
"Miles?" Sam asked, trying not to laugh.
"What?" Miles snapped.
"You realize that's my parents, right?" Sam grinned, Miles quiet for a moment as he let the information sink in.
Miles slowly turned around to face the others, voice strained as he looked mildly horrified and disgusted. "I changed my mind. I want a Cybertronian as my mode of transportation. That'd never happen in one of you because you wouldn't let it!"
"You two realize that you're coveredin glitter, right?" Mikaela asked.
"Yeah!" Sam replied cheerfully, getting up off the ground. He then proceeded to gesture them closer, and opened Sasha's doors. Barricade, Bumblebee, and Jazz activated their holoforms. The floor was covered in glitter, as deep as it could get. Glitter was on the seats, around the mirrors, on the ceiling of the car. They watched as Sam opened the glove box and glitter poured out.
Miles groaned, leaning against Barricade's holoform for support. "We don't know where the glitter came from. The only picture we have of stuff being done to Sasha, besides her being defiled, is of some clown painting on her."
"From the way that phone call sounded las' nigh' Ah'm surprised Sam's so chipper." Jazz said, effectively informing the two that they had been snooped on. He ignored Epps' glare.
"I don't remember most of it, actually." Sam laughed, "And why I'm only looking at the very last few pictures."
"Sam learned how to lap dance!" Miles said gleefully, watching as Sam froze up and made a small strangled kind of sound. He really hoped the memories were coming back.
Bumblebee and Jazz looked slightly shocked, Barricade looked bored, and Epps and Mikaela started to laugh. Miles pulled up the pictures on the camera, showing he wasn't lying.
"Not gonna lie, I did too." Miles admitted, saving Sam some embarrassment, although he was already beet red. "It's really no fun being sober unless you join in on the stupidity. Bunny certainly liked Sam more, though. In fact, Sam, check your back pocket."
Sam did so without thinking, pulling out a folded up piece of paper. He unfolded it, read it, and if possible managed to turn even more red.
"That is Bunny's phone number." Miles explained, smirking. "Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go find Grimlock and ask him to accidentally step on Sasha, that way the government has to buy me a new car."
Epps stopped him to grab the camera, then let him leave. Triumphant, he turned towards the others, starting to look through the pictures. Sam eventually had to leave before even getting through the first ten, thoroughly embarrassed and suddenly feeling like he should get cleaned up.
Will had decided to take Trent DeMarco on as a sort of personal project. The Captain was determined to see if he could get the jock to shape up or if he was just a lost cause; between what Mikaela said about him and Miles and Sam said about him some aspects of the teen's personality weren't matching up. Mikaela had admitted that he could be a dumb jerk, but that was just the jock he was, and that he had been nothing but sweet to her most of the time. That was obvious, too, in that they were getting along just fine any time they were around each other. The Captain knew Sam and Miles were a bit uncomfortable around the jock, but he had been trying to get them to spend more time together and to talk more, even if Sam and Miles tended to try to avoid all of Will's efforts.
Due to this, Will decided that an impromptu day out between the four teenagers would be a great bonding experience. That meant he had to make sure Miles didn't actually get Grimlock to destroy his car, needing something non-sentient and knowing he couldn't use a military vehicle for his plan. It also meant that he had to sneak them out before the Autobot the others were waiting on landed, making sure they were long gone before anyone noticed.
He shouldn't have been too surprised when his plan failed, but he had held some hope it wouldn't have ended quite as it did. Of course, when Optimus had said the newest Autobot would be landing near Tranquility, none of them had thought it would be that near to the city, nor as soon as the Autobot did.
He'd decided to take the four teenagers to the skate park because he remembered that long ago Miles had said something about skate boarding, Mikaela had mentioned roller-blading, and Trent himself had mentioned wanting to try something or other at the skate park. He'd brought Sam along because he'd needed to come, but it didn't look like the four would be getting to do anything that day. They'd barely gotten to the skate park when Will had heard a weird sound and looked up, noticing something large falling from the sky. He'd had enough time to back them up so that they weren't anywhere near the blast radius, although Miles' car still shook when the blast of pressure hit them.
Miles whistled, "Is it gonna be the military or the Government that reimburses the city on the skate park?"
Will shot the teen a glare to get him to shut up, before looking back out the windshield of Miles' car. He thought on what to do for a moment, pulling out his phone and calling Ratchet to explain what was going on. Then he quickly got out of the car at the medic's request, jogging ahead to see if the Cybertronian needed any help.
This left the four teenagers alone in the car together, all unsure what to say.
"Do you think whoever it is is okay?" Mikaela asked after a moment, half out of the car and listening for the Captain.
"I think we should go check ourselves," Miles said, unbuckling and getting out of the car. "You know some stuff, don't you? Barry taught me a few things and I watched him do some self-repairs. We have to see if we can help, there's no way that the 'bot isn't wounded after a fall like that."
"Got a tool chest?"
"In the trunk."
And just like that Mikaela and Miles were gone, both running ahead to find the Captain and the fallen Autobot. Sam watched them go in mild shock, not sure how to respond to the current situation. He knew absolutely nothing about Cybertronian anatomy and knew he could just be a distraction or a hindrance if he went after them.
But that left him alone with Trent. He glanced in the rear-view mirror to see what the jock was thinking and nearly had a heart attack to see Trent looking back, the both of them averting their eyes instantly.
"Look, I'm sorry." Trent said after about a full minute of awkward silence. Sam glanced back in the rear-view mirror in his shock, staring at him as if he had grown a second head—which he may as well have if he was apologizing.
"Uh… If I ask for what you're not going to beat me up, are you?" Sam asked tentatively.
"I don't actually hate you," Trent replied. "It was just the thing to do. Like you hating me."
Sam went to defend himself, to say that he only ever hated the jock because Trent started to be mean to him, but he realized that wasn't exactly true. They had been in the same school for forever; in middle school they had been more than capable of holding a decent conversation, even if they had never been friends. But it had just seemed to be the thing to do, Trent joining the football team and Sam walking with the lower masses of the high school. They were basically forced into hating each other, Sam getting Mikaela right after she'd broken up with Trent not helping one bit.
"I don't think we know enough about each other to actually say we hate each other," Trent said after another moment. "I mean, Mikky likes you, and it's hard not to believe someone's okay when the human equivalent of a Goddess, who's even good with cars, notices them."
"I thought you didn't like a girl good with cars?" Sam asked, "Isn't that why you two broke up?"
"We broke up because we weren't together to be together," Trent told him. "Mikky was in it because we were both popular and it was what everyone expected. I had been looking for a way to piss her off enough for her to dump me and that was it."
Sam turned in his seat to stare at the jock in open shock, "You... you wanted her to break up with you?"
"I wasn't doing anything good for her," Trent shrugged, "Don't get me wrong, I did think she was really hot, but there's more to a girl than looks even for a guy like me. She didn't love me, I don't think she even really loved herself back then. You guys, all this alien robot nonsense and you being friends with her, its like she found herself. I'm happy for her."
"I... but..."
"You can't tell her, got that?" Trent glared at him, "I watch over all my ladies, but sometimes it helps if they don't know they're being watched over. Mikaela's strong and prides herself on being independent. If she knew I was trying to give her a push in the direction she needed to go to become something besides a typical high school cheerleader than she'd have my balls on a plate."
"I..." Sam just shook his head, "I think we're going to get on a lot better than I thought if what you're saying is true. I never dreamed you were this smart."
"I can still kick your ass," Trent threatened.
"Not when I can have someone step on yours."
"You fucking little..."