Disclaimer: Yeah, I've been losing track of time. I hope this update makes up for that.

Queenie176: Sector Seven deals with aliens, and appears to hack telephone lines. They know everything. I don't think there's a way Blake can hide, even if she didn't want to.

grapejuice101: I'm glad you like it.

Transformers is not mine.

"Speaking"

Thinking

Miles was... I didn't want to say a generic character in a film you'd forget immediately. It was clear the moment we picked up the shaggy blond teen that he was close to Sam; probably deserving of the title of best friend. Does Sam have any other friends outside of Miles? A little spacey, but overall an easygoing guy. We had pulled up alongside his house, a single floor dark blue building, and had him climb into the back. Of course, Sam had to get out for that to happen. Looking in, he paused in entering the vehicle when he found me over in the passenger seat. "Dude, I didn't know you already picked up a chick. She go to our school?"

"This 'someone' happens to be several years older than the both of you," I replied, as he began to slide into the back behind Sam's seat. "Blake; and I would appreciate it if you keep any potential perverted comments to yourself." Sam had a small amused smile at the greeting, and I could tell he was trying not to laugh.

"Okay, you two. Next stop's the lake." He shifted gears, and started off down the road again. I leaned closer to the window, almost having my head stick out and letting my own dirty blonde hair drift around in the wind. Thank goodness for the pixie cut. Any longer, and the heat would be terrible.

The road began to go up a small incline before travelling along an embankment. The sound of loud voices met us, and Miles turned to Sam expectantly. "Dude, are you sure we're invited to this party?" The road curved around said lake, with houses on the side we were on, and a forest on the other. Cars were parked all over the place, from the actual lot to somewhat on the grass so that people having picnics didn't have to go very far. I could scarcely make out a few canoes out on the still water, but my view was mostly distracted by the teens throwing balls around higher up the hill where we were.

"Of course, Miles. It's a lake. Public property." Sam pulled over in the lot along the side, turning off the ignition before pausing. "Oh, my god. Oh, my god, dude, Mikaela's here. Just don't do anything weird, alright?" I give him two minutes before something weird happens. "I'm good, right?"

Miles followed out behind him, adjusting his open hoodie. "Yeah, you're good." The two teens started off towards the party, before Sam stopped to look back.

"I said I wanted to get out, Sam. I never said I wanted to actually join you at the party. Go on ahead. I'll hold down the fort." Sam reached into his pocket, and tossed me the key back at me through the window. "I won't ditch you."

"You don't have a license, so I didn't expect you to try." I grinned at the snappy comeback, before returning my focus to the car itself. I caught a brief glimpse of Miles jump up at start hanging from a branch just above Sam's head by the time he walked over by Mikaela, seeing that I was the least of his worries. Me hurt his status? I think Miles is doing that for him.

"So... it's just you and me, Bee. Probably not for long, depending on what Miles does." The radio continued to play the station Sam had set it to after regaining control from the Camaro a few minutes into the drive, showing no sign of a proper answer. So far, I had yet to hear any relatively current music from the Transformer. Everything had been bouncing around the decade of the 80s. I wonder if I can get an answer out of him again like earlier. "Do you have any ideas on what we should talk about? Seeing that you are a fan of older music, do you have a favorite genre?"

A flurry of sounds suddenly filled the vehicle, and while it was all in a loud, scrambled jumble, I could make out mostly rock music. "O-okay then. Guess I should've expected that." I chuckled, reaching forward to place a hand on the dashboard. "What else can we talk-Miles, what are you doing?"

I frowned, turning my attention to the driver's window as he crawled through it. "Is there a problem?" I just... I'm not even going to bother with this. "Having fun in here?"

"A blast. Shame you two weren't having fun out there." Sam was a few steps behind him, pausing at the door to look back. Adjusting myself in my seat, I could make out Mikeala walking off along the side of the road back the way we came, bag slung over her shoulder. The radio began adjusting itself again, The Cars' Drive began to play for the three of us. Miles looked at it in confusion, before turning to my amused face.

"Hey, what's wrong with the radio?" Sam, in a daze, still stared at her vanishing form, and repeated the words Bee was playing to himself.

"I'm gonna drive her home tonight..." he mumbled, barely loud enough for us to hear him over the speakers.

"What? She's an evil jock concubine, man. Let her hitchhike," Miles said, leaning ahead so his head was up by mine.

Sam didn't bat an eye at the insult. "She lives ten miles from here, okay? It's my only chance. You got be understanding here, alright?" Miles shrugged, the two of us seeing that he wasn't going to be able to sway his friend's mind.

"Alright. I'll move over to the passenger seat, and she can go in the back with Blake then. I'll be quiet." Since when am I being moved? I was here first. Miles didn't see my unimpressed look, but Sam zoomed in on the words like a hawk.

"Did you say, 'go in the back'? Miles, I'm not putting her in the back. You got to get out of my car." Sam opened the driver's door, taking him by surprise.

"That's a party foul," Miles retorted. Might want to hurry it up here, guys. Mikaela was almost out of my line of sight. Though it was hard to make out how she was feeling from her facial expression, it was clear her shoulders were slumped. Tired, annoyed-it could have been a variety of things.

Sam, sensing that he was running on a limited amount of time, hurried with his reply. "What rules?"

"Our-bros before hoes!" I reached over, lightly smacking Miles on the back of his head. He spun around to look at me, not fazed by my annoyed glare. "Hey!"

"Miles, I'm begging you to get out of my car. Okay? The only reason Blake's still sticking around is because my parents would ground me for ditching her."

"And you, on the other hand, can figure out how to get back to where you live. I can't." Miles clearly was close to Sam, and I did feel bad about ditching him at the lake. He has a phone, right? He should be fine. "Besides, Sam needs all the smooth skills he has in order to pull this off."

Miles sighed, and began to make his way out of the car as Sam opened the door for him. "Fine, but this is a one time thing, Sam. Give me a call tomorrow if you score or not." I slipped into the back, just as Miles had suggested, and sat behind the passenger seat.

"Thanks, Miles. See you tomorrow." Sam hurried into the car, scrambling to get himself ready before taking off. Bits of rocks kicked up in a dust cloud as we left Miles behind, driving after Mikaela who was a fair distance down the road already. With the mess of events that are about to happen, I hope nothing breaks up their friendship. "Blake, you got to let me handle this."

"Relax, Sam. I'll be quiet." Nodding, he leaned towards the passenger window, trying to get a good view of the other teen as we approached her.

"Mikaela! It's Sam." He decreased the speed, coming to a crawl beside her as she continued walking, not giving any sign that she heard him. All the while, Bee kept playing the same song through the speakers. "Witwicky? I hope I didn't get you stranded or anything. You sure? So, listen, I was wondering if I could ride you home." Sam's eyes widened at his mistake, mentally kicking himself. "I mean-give you a ride home in my car, to your house."

Mikaela finally came to a stop. From my angle, it was hard to see her facial expression to his words. The door popped open, and she stepped inside. Sliding her bag off her shoulder, she settled it down at her feet after closing the door behind her. "There you go," Sam coughed. Picking up the speed, the Camaro continued off down the road with its newest passenger in tow. "So... uh..."

"I can't believe that I'm here right now," the brunette mumbled, looking out the window. Sam's face drooped a little at the choice in words, adjusting his grip on the wheel.

"You can duck down if you want. I mean, it won't hurt my feelings." He checked over his shoulder for any cars following, backing up his statement.

Mkaela shook her head, a little surprised at the suggestion. "Oh, no, no, no. I didn't mean-I didn't mean here with you. I just meant here like, in this situation. This same situation that I'm always in. 'cause, I don't know, I guess I just have a weakness for hot guys, for-for tight abs and really big arms."

"Big arms?" Checking ahead so that he could turn in her direction without hitting anything, Sam brought his arm up, awkwardly bending it to point at the light in the middle of the car and at the disco ball still hanging on the mirror. And here I thought you wanted to take them down, Sam. He caught sight of me in the reflection, arms crossed and leaning against the seat. "Well, uh, there's a couple new additions in the car. Like, I just put in that light there. And that disco ball. And so the light reflects off the disco ball.

"Oh." A minute of silence drifted by, and I waited for one of them to speak again. "Are you... are you new to school? This year? This your first year?"

"Oh, no. No. We've been in the same school since first grade," Sam explained.

"Really?" She asked, turning around to face him with genuine interest.

"Yeah, a long time," he replied with a smile. It wasn't a pleased one, however. Mikaela must have seen it too. Sam looked like a sad puppy, shifting his eyes a little at how much the conversation wasn't turning in his favor.

Giving an embarrassed frown, Mikaela was quick to try and redeem herself. "Well, do-do we have any classes together?"

"Oh. Yeah, yeah. History. Language arts. Math Science," Sam listed off, hearing the silent question about which ones. The darker brunette looked disappointed she hadn't recognized him, hearing at how often the two were together at school, but brightened up after a moment.

"Sam." His smiled lit up. "Sam Wilkicky." Smile gone. Sam slumped in his seat, visibly deflating.

"Wit-wicky," he stressed the two parts, disappointment dripping into the reply.

Mikaela ran her fingers through her hair, looking away awkwardly. "God, you know what? I'm so sorry. I just-"

"No, it's cool," Sam assured her. It wasn't, though. Having the girl you liked not even remember your name despite being in the same class for so long hurt, and it showed plain as day on him.

She noticed it too. "I just didn't recognize you." How? Besides the presentation I helped him with, there must have been other class presentations where he had to get up in front of the class.

"Yeah, well, I mean, that's understandable." Okay, I think that's enough. I leaned further into the seat, slinking down just out of view from the mirror and in case the two turned around, and looked at the floor. He could hear me, despite the fact I had zero idea where his face was, and... if his species even had ears to begin with. They can hear, so I guess they have something similar.

"Bee, can you try something?" An almost inaudible whirl was my answer, and the car jerked as he took control from Sam.

"Ah, no, no, no, no. No. Come on." The two looked at the radio, seeing the dials spin as it settled onto a new station. "Sorry, I'm just working out the kinks. You know, it's a new car," Sam explained, looking from the steering wheel to her. All the while, I moved a hand over my mouth, hiding the building laughter from the teens up front at Bee's new choice in music. The car rolled along, and from my slouched position, could make out a sunset over a large series of hills. A single tree blocked out the light from our vision, lighting up the dust around our tires.

"Oh. This radio is like, you know-it's an old radio, too, so-look, this isn't something that I, you know-I can't get this radio to stop." Running a hand through his hair in exasperation, he turned to fully look at Mikaela. "Look, I wouldn't try this on you. You know. 'cause this is like a romantic, romantic thing that I'm not trying to do."

"Uh-huh." Mikaela reached into her purse and pulled out an elastic. Reaching up to her hair, she began to pull some of the dark brown locks into a bun, all while listening to Sam's embarrassed rambling.

"Not that you're not worthy of trying something like this on." The radio switched again to another song, and while I was relived at the change in tension from before, this was just as bad if not worse.

"Okay, I'm done being quiet." Straightening up, I reached forward and tapped Sam on the shoulder. The two turned to me, Mikaela appearing shocked that she hadn't even noticed there was someone else in the car with them, and Sam in defeat. Sorry, Sam, but this is getting painful to watch. "Sam, pop the hood before you say anything else."

"Who are you?" I undid my belt letting myself move to the middle of the worn leather seats.

"Blake Wile. I'm a tenant of Sam's." Sam mouthed the word back at me, while Mikaela didn't seem to be bothered by the answer. Unlocking her door, she climbed out and made her way to the front. I hurried to follow after, feeling the car shake a little as Sam stomped down on the floor angrily. "Sam, don't take your anger out on Bee."

"Well, maybe I wouldn't if this didn't happen." Pressing a button to unlock the hood of the Camaro, he got out and joined us at the front. The air had gotten cooler as the sun set behind us, but still managed to maintain its warmth. Putting both hands on either side, Mikaela lifted up the yellow and black striped hatch. "Whoa."

"Yeah, whoa. This is some impressive gear you got, Sam." I did mechanical work, but I wasn't entirely able to memorize every part of an engine. I mostly dealt with the parts underneath. Wheels, headlights, and a lot of parts under the car itself. What I did know, from just giving the engine a once-over, was that it was comprised of parts that you would not find in a normal car.

"Nice headers. You've got a high-rise double-pump carburetor. That's pretty impressive, Sam." Sam, off to the right of us, looked from the interior to her in confusion.

"Double-pump?" He repeated in confusion.

"It means that your car can go faster," I explained. "It's good for race cars, and seeing that this is a Camaro, that shouldn't be too surprising." No signs of any wear or damage, and it was shiny to boot; as if it was came straight out of the factory, and had never once been used.

"And it looks like your, ah, your distributor cap's a little... loose." She reached in, holding the hood with one hand and adjusting the cap in question. "That should do it." She positioned herself carefully, not leaning in enough to accidentally burn herself. Tapping it to make sure it wasn't still loose, she retracted her arm.

"Yeah? How did you know that?" Mikaela straightened up, wiping her hand on her jean shorts before lowering the hood.

"Uh, my dad. He was a real grease monkey. He taught me all about this. I could take it all apart, clean it, put it back together," she explained. A hint of pride was clear in the words, showing that she was proud of what she was capable of. Sam nodded, moving closer to us instead of off to the side.

"That's weird. I just wouldn't peg you for mechanical," he pointed out. I could understand why. If I didn't know anything, I probably wouldn't have imagined it either.

"Well, you know, I don't really broadcast it. Guys don't like it when you know more about cars than they do. Especially not Trent," she added with a small smile. "He hates it." Okay, now that one I can understand.

"Yeah, no, I'm cool with, uh, you know, females working on my engine. I prefer it, actually." Sam blinked, slowly realizing what he just said. "I, uh..."

Mikaela gave a small laugh, letting it slide. "Okay. You want to fire it up for me?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, no problem." Moving back to the driver's seat, he slid his arm inside and began feeling around for the key, keeping his eyes on her. "You know, I was thinking," he started, finally turning the ignition. "You know, if Trent's such a jerk, why do you hang out with him?" The car sputtered at the starts, not kicking in to our misfortune.

Mikaela exhaled, shoulders sagging slightly. "You know what? I'm just, uh, I'm gonna walk. Ah... Good luck with your car." Moving past me, she reached inside and grabbed her bag off the floor. Slinging the strap over her shoulder, she started off down the dirt road. "It was nice meeting you, Blake."

"Alright. Walking's healthy, right?" Just as she was halfway down the small hill, still a fair distance off from the road Bumblebee ditched, Sam threw himself back into the driver's seat. Looking from him to Mikaela, I opened the passenger door and climbed to the backseat once again. "Oh, god, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Come on, please. Please, you gotta work for me now. Don't let her walk away. Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on. Please, please," he pleaded, twisting the key several times. Finally, either his attempts at getting Bee to drive or the Autobot decided his attempts at acting as a wingman were over, the Camaro roared back to life. Baby Come Back blasted through the speakers, singing out the chorus for its intended target. "Whoo. Hey!" Shouting out the window as he slammed his door shut, he spun the car around in the dirt and hurried after her. "Hey! Wait a second!"

Mikaela, once we got close enough, caught a good view of Sam's desperate and pleading look as we peeled out of the lookoff. Come on, Mikaela, get in the car. Shaking her head with a smile that was either from amusement or pity, she popped open the door and got back in. Maybe it was pity, but it worked, right?

(Time Skip)

The streets were dark, lacking any streetlights. Bee, ever the DJ, was softly playing Linkin Park in the background. The two teens sat in a comfortable silence as we slowed down near our destination, while I was fighting to stay awake in the back. "There it is," Sam announced, pulling off to the side of the road. A slightly banged up garage sat beside a trailer, no doubt housing whatever vehicles they owned.

"I had fun," Mikaela admitted, undoing her buckle. "Um. So, you know, thanks for listening."

Sam smiled back, happy. "Oh, yeah, yeah."

The lightened mood dropped a little, as she averted her eyes. "You- you think I'm shallow, huh?"

"I think you're... No. No, no, no," he rushed. "I think there's a lot... more than meets the eye... with you." In all honesty, had I not been close to passing out and right next to Mikaela, I would have laughed at that. Sam was quite on the nail with that, and he had no idea. Still, the humor I found was that he quoted one of the taglines to the Transformers franchise.

Mikaela pondered it over, before giving another smile and nod. She had no clue what it meant, same as him. "Okay," she chuckled. "Alright, I'll see you at school."

"Alright." With a final grin, she grabbed her gear and stepped out of the car. As she walked up the steps to the trailer's door, Sam muttered under his breath just quietly enough that she wouldn't hear. "That's stupid... that was a stupid line. There's more than meets the eye with you. Stupid." He looked back to Mikaela, who was on a deck behind a faded white fence. The metal screen door was open, and she waved back with her hand clutching her purse. Spinning around, she headed inside, letting the door close behind her. "Oh god." Chuckling, Sam turned to look down at the steering wheel. "Oh my god. I love my car."

"Yeah, well, you can rave over it tomorrow." I undid my belt, crawling to the front and sitting in the passenger seat. "Food is a thing that I am lacking right now."

Sam rolled his eyes, and began to head off down the road. "We can go through a fast food place, if you want. I doubt my mom will have supper still out."

"No, we can head home. Honestly, Sam, you've had a long week. You need the sleep." You really, really will need the sleep. I didn't think he would be getting any, once things picked up speed. Where he would be finding that energy, I had no clue. "By the way, what do you think about our quirky radio? You said earlier about fixing it."

"Hmm?" The pale glow of the streetlights illuminated the dark pavement, and cast shadows around us. All of the curtains' were drawn, signalling everyone was getting ready to wrap it up for the night. Bee was playing another song, which due to the low volume, I couldn't tell from the lyrics what it was. Still, with how good he was at communicating through it, it no doubt was fitting to the current moment. "I did, didn't I? Huh. Well... I would've liked it if it didn't act out during the drive." Sam shrugged, giving a small laugh. "But hey, if the car can score me points with Mikaela, I'm not changing anything."

"Well, it's nice to see your priorities are... somewhat in order," I replied, hesitating at the end. "Let's get back to the house then."

Sam continued along the road, driving in almost complete silence. Had it been for the fact I knew that the car was alive, I really would've thought everything was normal. That nothing strange was happening, and that I was still in my hometown. But it wasn't. It wasn't normal. I was there, with Sam, possibly twelve or so hours away from...

What am I gonna do then? The car rumbled to a stop, and Sam was quick to hop out. Leaving the door open, I hurried after him before he closed and locked it. "There you two are!" Turning around to the back deck, we saw Mrs. Witwicky poking her head out of the sliding door. "Where were you? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Sorry we were late. Sam was helping a friend from school home, since her ride ditched her at the lake." Sam's shoulders slumped, visibly relieved I had come up with an excuse for us. "We got carried away in a conversation and lost track of time."

Judy's eyes darted to her son, and he nodded. "Yeah, her house was out in the trailer park across town," he added hastily.

"Oh, my son's growing up to be such a gentleman." She opened the door the rest of the way, and we moved along the stone path and headed inside. Kicking our shoes off on the mat by the door. She headed to the stairs. "I already put supper away. Goodnight, Sammy."

"Night, mom." Once she was gone, he quickly shot me a look. "Really, do not call me Sammy."

"I won't. Okay, that was a one-time thing. Besides, your mother does it so much better." Rolling his eyes, he trudged towards the kitchen. "Getting something?"

"Probably just a sandwich. Want something?" Reaching into the fridge, he pulled out a plastic container and a jar of mayo.

"I'll have the same. Let me get the rest." Moving to the breadbox and bringing out the loaf, I almost laughed at how absurdly normal all of this was. Tomorrow, if my sense of timing was correct, everything would pick up speed. I had never given it much thought before, how the entire plot happened in just a few days. When one jumped around to different characters, and had time skips, all sense of a continuous flow seemed... broken. But in just one day, Sam had gotten Bee, we cleaned up the Camaro's exterior, and partially won over Mikaela Banes.

"Here you go." Sam slid the jar and container of sandwich meats over to me, already holding his supper. "Night, Blake."

"Goodnight, Sam." I slid the knife out of the mayo, letting my thoughts try and wrap around it all. I have a basic timeline of what's to happen, but other than that... heh. I don't know what scares me more. The fact I'm about to be thrown into a civil war with a giant race of mechanical aliens, or the fact that the government will be after me at any time. Ah, yes. Sector Seven... "eugh."

Putting the food away, I trudged up the steps and made my way to the guest room. Sitting down on the mattress, I quietly ate the sandwich. One last thing... what was it? Moving off the bed, I headed over to the window and slid it open. Unlike Sam, who got a good view of the backyard, I was able to see the driveway. Sticking my head out, I waved down at the Autobot far below me. "Goodnight, Bee."

Ducking back in, I left the window open a crack before dropping down on the bed. "Way too tired to change." The soft ticking of the clock echoed around the room, drawing me further into an exhaustive state. Head buried into the pillow, I rolled over and faced the wall. "Well..." I yawned. "At least... we'll get some sleep before it... all..."

"DAD, CALL THE COPS!"

Just saying this now, but besides the prologue, the minimum chapter length will be 3000 words. Not that it was difficult to write this up, but I've been so busy with school and approaching midterms, all writing had to take a backseat. I doubt I'll get another chapter up this month, but I can assure that the next chapter will make up for the potential wait.

Until next time!

Angel