You should never be alone!
Chapter 6
A/N: Thank you to everyone that it reviewing, it is greatly appreciated. Hope you enjoy. R&R.
As soon as Isabella arrived home she immediately went into the house and dried herself off properly, putting on some clean, dry tracksuits and top that made her feel comfortable and warm. When she moved back downstairs to fix herself something to eat and have a lazy night in front of the television she noticed Smokescreen's holoform moving around her living looking at all the canvasses she had painted and the drawings she had done, her house could literally pass off as art storage seeing as her pieces took up so much room in her house. She couldn't help but smile at his curiosity, he seemed to love her enthusiasm for the natural beauty around her. "Hey, want to see what I've been working on?" he nodded immediately as if she didn't have to ask. Slowly she moved into the room and rummaged through one of the piles of canvasses that were leaning against each other. Although it didn't seem like it there was some organisation in how her work was arranged.
Smokescreen watched as she pulled out a decent sized canvas and turned it to face him. A blush fell on his cheeks as he realised the painting was of his alt mode doing donuts on the road. Bella had painted the day that the both of them had met properly, she must have used one of her photos that she had taken off him when he was showing off.
"Seeing as my life will never be the same again now, I thought I'd paint something significant to me" her words made the rookie blush even more, in her eyes he looked as red as a strawberry. His knees did buckle a little. She could have painted anything from that day but she didn't; instead she painted him so that she could remember it always. "I'll admit I haven't been spending all my time on this" she then put the painting back in her pile and moved over to the other side of the room to another and took the top one holding it up. The entire canvas was made up on a mountainous landscape with plenty of trees in the distance but what captured his attention more than anything was the night sky she had painted, they were perfect. He could definitely point out Cybertron in the image.
"Where do you get your ideas, bells?" she couldn't help but give him one of her big smiles at the nickname that seemed to be sticking for her. His spark thrumming louder.
"The majority of my paintings are places I want to go but…well you know why I can't leave" she then put it down hoping to change the subject.
It saddened the rookie to see her yearn so much to see the world and appreciate the beauty out there but never being able to do it because she's held back by something that knocks her off completely. Bella let her body collapse onto her sofa seeing as her muscles ached from the day she's had. Smokescreen moved to join her, her eyes were droopy and wanted to close and rest but she was fighting it which made him chuckle to himself. As soon as he was seated he noticed that she shifted closer to him, the warmth from his holoform making her even more susceptible to sleep. They remained in silence for a while, Smokescreen's not leaving Bella's form for a minute. His arms soon made its way over her shoulder as she rested her head in his lap, her breathing becoming steady as she relaxed into his soothing touch. "Thank you for saving me, Smoke" she moaned softly.
"As long as I'm around the decepticons aren't going to touch you, I promise you Bella that I will protect you with my very spark" he didn't think about what to say, the words just sort of slipped out of his mouth but he didn't regret them one bit. It was then that he noticed that she had given in to her tiredness and had fallen asleep. He'd happily admit that since the day he first saw her, or heard her beautiful voice he hadn't quite acted himself. He was drawn to her more than anyone else. He had tried to pass it off as being a guardian thing but it was different.
Since the day had unfolded he had worked it out, his spark ached whenever she wasn't around. It wanted her, to be around her all the time and he didn't want to argue with it. He loved the way she smiled. Her passion for the world around her made her someone completely different from any other human on the planet. Bella's soothing voice he could listen to for hours, even the cuteness of her laugh. He'd noticed it the first day he saw her, he was automatically drawn to the wonder of her singing. Of course they had music on Cybertron and singing but this was something beyond what has ever heard before.
He was drawn out of his thoughts when Bella shifted in her sleep, he brought his hand up to her face and couldn't help but place a strand of her fiery red hair behind her ear and stroke her soft skin. Again she shifted but this time she moved into his touch and the edges of her lips lifted. Even in her sleep she enjoyed his company and he couldn't argue that he loved her company as well.
It was then that he knew that he had to go, he couldn't stay with her as much as he wanted to-now that the decepticons had the Omega keys. Smokescreen was needed at the base now more than ever and he couldn't let his feelings of wanting to stay by her side get in the way of his mission as an autobot. Being careful not wake Isabella up from her much needed sleep he lifted her head off of his lap and rose up off of the sofa placing a cushion down where he had sat and then laid her head down. Quickly Bella missed the warmth of his holoform as she wiggled in an attempt to find it but she couldn't and so turned to face away from him to huddle into the sofa. Seeing a blanket hanging over the back he grabbed it and placed it over her form to keep her warm. Gazing at her sleeping form for a few more minutes, Smokescreen's holoform then dissolves into the air as if it were never there before his alt mode springs to life and reverses quietly out of Bella's drive so that he could return to base; where he was needed most. Though given the choice he would much rather remain with the red head and watch her rest.
She giggled as she dipped her feet in the fresh water of the river, the forest surrounding the small cleared area rustling and swaying in the wind. It didn't make her cold though, the sun's rays warmed her skin completely that the wind and cooling water was refreshing. The greenery around her blossomed in the absence of human activities. And as she closed her eyes all she could hear was pure silence; there was no traffic, no car alarms or angered people just the peaceful sound of the world around her. The native birds singing to each other in the tree tops and the flow of the water trying to push past her, the whole area was a lush green that made her sigh out in content. If anything she would live in the middle of know where. Where no humans would ruin it all with their modern lifestyle and technology.
It did sadden her that very few people saw the world as she did and envisioned people living the way they should though many would call it a 'primitive' way of life. As she was going to sit by the bank of the river she heard a loud splash behind her but before she could glance that way a shower of river water rained down on her covering her completely so that she was drenched-not that she minded. Her eyes searched for the culprit and soon found him.
Somehow she wasn't surprised to see the holoform of the young autobot standing with her in the water, a cheeky grin plastered all over his face as his hands where dripping from where he had pushed the water at her to soak her. She reacted quickly bending down and swiping her arms up to splash back at him, he tried to shield himself but there was no doing that she his entire form got wet. Both of them laughed aloud filling the air. He then tried to return fire but she didn't let him as Bella ran and jumped at him. Seeing this Smokescreens arms opened up to catch her but the impact made them both fall back into the river, the river flow washing over them as they continued to laugh in the fun they were having together.
As they were calming down, Smokescreen's hands moved to hold her against him around her waist while they stared into each other's eyes and the gap between them was closing so that they could feel one another's breath on them.
Isabella smiled as she slowly began to awake from her much needed slumber, a huge smile all over her face as her thoughts drift over her small dream. She kind of wished he didn't wake up seeing as it felt so real to her. There was also a disappointment because she knew that the dream would be impossible. Smokescreen would never look at her that way, she was grateful to have him as a friend though. Lying on the sofa thinking of him made her heart skip a beat and she was sure that things got warmer all of a sudden.
She slowly picked herself up looking around the room hoping that the rookie had stayed while she slept but she had no such luck. She understood though. From everything that she had witnessed things couldn't be more serious for the autobots; they had a second chance to get their planet, their home back and it was thwarted instantly. Looking at the nearest clock Isabella noticed that she had slept right through the majority of the morning so she moved quickly to try and make the most of the rest of her day starting with a refreshing shower, goodness knows how much she sweat from her free falling the previous day. But as she had dried herself and was dressed Bella suddenly felt uneasy like she was being watched.
Carefully she moved to her bedroom window and glanced out but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Cars were parked on the side of the road while others were speeding down the road in a rush to get somewhere. She still hadn't seen her neighbours go out in their new car that they had bought recently which she found quite odd considering that it looked really sleek and it hadn't moved from that single space. Dismissing it quickly she moved away from the window and decided to eat something before she starved to death making sure to have her medication at the same time.
Though even as she was being casual the hairs on the back of her neck stood, and her skin shivered not from feeling cold but from her instincts telling her that something was wrong. It made her question if she should contact Smokescreen seeing as she had his comm link number but then thought against it. He was busy trying to get the Omega keys back to have to worry about her instincts even if he had promised to protect her.
Bella couldn't help but blush thinking of what he had said to her as she was drifting in to sleep but it she loved his passion to protect her. Her mind wondered away from her as she ate while working on some sketches that she needed to complete for one of the companies she for, their products being quite popular though she had planned to back to the abandoned house that Smokescreen had found her at to finish her photography, particularly the inside if she was able to get in. Leaving her sketches until later she packed a small bag with her camera with different sized lenses and a few extra things that she never left her home without especially her medication just in case. Putting a thin jacket on to keep her warm she jumped out of her door locking it behind her. As she walked down to the path and towards the location she gave a small glance to the dark purple car, she couldn't even see into the vehicle which made her frown slightly. Surely that wasn't allowed.
Bella then chose to forget about it, after all it wasn't her car and she had much better things to be getting on with in her time then wondering what's going on in her neighbourhood. Again her thoughts slipped to her favourite rookie as she moved past other pedestrians on the path but paid no further attention to them. "Hey Bella" only as he name was called out did she look up.
She noticed Jack, Raf and Miko sat outside the high school as she was passing it. They seemed to be waiting for the autobots but seeing as they were the only ones around she could guess that the bots were running late. "Bella, do you know what's going on? The bots haven't come to pick us up and Ratchet hung up on us" Jack showed his phone to indicate that he had called into the base.
"Sorry guys, I don't know what's going on. I've only recently regained my strength from my last adventure" she shrugged to them which made them sigh as they were being kept out of the loop.
Miko was the most annoyed and everyone could probably guess why. "This isn't fair, they don't tell us nothing anymore"
"Miko, it's their war not yours or anyone else's. They can bring back their home so don't you think you should cut them some slack, they're aliens remember not child minders" somehow Bella was able to Miko in her place.
Jack and Raf were actually surprised that Miko took that and was silent afterwards "How come you know so much?" Raf shifted his glasses that where resting on his nose.
"Smokescreen tells me a lot of stuff, probably because he doesn't feel like he can tell anyone else"
The two boys nodded in understanding "So how are you coping with it all" she knew that Jack was referring to her panic disorder but it didn't get to her. The raven haired boy never treated her any differently after he found out about which she was grateful for.
"I'm doing okay, as long as things progress slowly and I'm not alone when it happens I'm fine" Raf was looking a little confused as was Miko so she nodded to Jack allowing him to tell them. She was going to listen and fill in any details that he missed but something caught her attention.
An engine revving hard behind her. She took a small glance over her shoulder so that she wouldn't draw quick unwanted attention. Her eyes getting wider as she notices it's her neighbour's car that never moved and now it was stalking her which was never a good sign. Her breathing hitched as she knew what was coming next then all of their attention was brought up to the sound of jets flying in the sky.
It was a good job that the area they were in was always deserted around this time after high school had finished. "Run" her voice was low but the others were still able to hear her. As they took one step away from the car its engine revved aggressively which them all gaps out in fear "Run!" this time she was louder and they immediately left the area moving quickly Bella bringing up the rear as they ran down the street. The wheels of the decepticon screeching at the sudden acceleration as he began following after them with obvious intentions to either capture or kill. "Follow me" Jack led the way into an alley so that they could short cut into the open and get away but as they were coming out to the main road they heard the shifting of metal above them and the ground suddenly shook as the decepticons second in command landing right in front of them.
All four of them were forced to stop and were about to back track on themselves when the decepticon drone pulled up behind them and transformed as well blocking them and any escape they had. Bella had to take a deep breath as she could feel a panic attack coming and it wasn't going to be a little one. The decepticons were there and there was no autobots around to help them which didn't look too good for them.
She glanced at both them as they were blocking any exits. Starscream's faceplates showing a devilish smirk "You humans are pathetic" she could see the fear in the kids' faces, they weren't quite sure what to do. Seeing this Bella steps in front of them protectively her arms stretched out which she could see displeased the stilletoed decepticon.
"Don't touch them!" the teens couldn't believe what she was doing as she made sure that she blocked them from one decepticon and were out of reach from the other. "Run as soon as they're distracted" she whispered to them.
"You can't stop us fleshy" Starscreams digit pointed to her and she got a good look at how sharp it was. One wrong move and that was it.
"They have nothing to do with this, let them go and I'll tell you about the autobots secret weapon" she can see that she has Starscream and the vehicon intrigued. Their brows raised. "It's locked on to the Nemesis and…" she suddenly stopped herself purposely and tilted her head to look past the second in command.
Seeing this Starscream and the vehicon followed her gaze and that was when they were distracted. The teens then ran between the vehicons legs, Bella doing the same this with Starscream but he was quick. Noticing that it was a distraction he swung his servo at Bella but she ducked out of the way only to be in the path of another swing that hit her dead on. Isabella was sent flying into the wall her body making impact with a loud crack as her body fell limply to the floor. The teens had not been fast enough and had been captured by the vehicon forced to watch as Bella had been tossed aside, her head hitting the wall and her arm in an abnormal position.
Her eyes were shut, she had been struck into unconsciousness, her face bruised and scratched and as her body lay on the floor a small amount of blood became visible below her. "Weak human" Starscream looked up to the vehicon "call a ground bridge; seems only fair that there should be four humans for four keys even if you won't live to see another day" his voice was describable. The vehicon carrying out orders as Starscream violently grasped Bella in his servo not caring for any injuries he had inflicted on to her or any more he add to the list while he transported her to the warship.