I'm glad y'all love the Sunny/Charlie scene as much as I did writing it! And the race!

As always, it was such a pleasure reading all of your amazing reviews; Shelbaky,99luftballonsx.o.x, shaddowdarkcloud,xxvampirebitexx, Storygirl747, SapphireSpark, graceful but forgetful, mostly a reader fangirl99, AutobotCopperShadow, Megstiel98 (thanks for such an enthusiastic one!), ChromedomeandRewind4Ever (I LOVE your username), Xarine, jgoss, CastielLunaWinchester, Bee4ever, Khalthar, Edges05, The Silvernote, CrystalVixen93, Starlit Storyteller, and JessieBWriting!

I guess I had to throw in a little more fluff before things get serious lol.


Chapter Thirty-Five: One Year Wiser

Something was going on, I know it.

I had felt it as soon as I woke up; Quickshift wasn't there. He used to sleep on my bed. But Jenna had arrived a few days ago, and since her old room was occupied, we just decided it would be easier to be roommates. And since Jenna moved in with me, we had to kick him to the cot, since he refused to recharge with the Autobots, although I don't know why. His cot was empty, and the covers were neatly made, which was also strange, because Quickshift never made his bed. A small surge of worry had pierced my chest, but I pushed the thought away. He probably just got up a bit earlier, I thought to myself, before continuing on with my morning.

The second indication as to something was going on, was the twins.

I had seen them in the Autobot Hangar on my way to the Food Hall, but they were hunched together, talking so low that my freakishly advanced hearing couldn't pick up on it. Neither of them acknowledged me when I waved at them, or called out their names. And when I tried to comm them inside my helm, neither of them answered. The foreboding feeling of worry was spiraling up inside me again, this time much stronger than the first. Where they ignoring me on purpose? Where they upset about something? Did I do something?

The questions kept spiraling, and I had to, once again, talk myself out of it. I told myself that if they really were bothered about something, I probably shouldn't disturb them. A small ache of hurt had throbbed in the back of my chest at the thought of it, though. I thought I was close enough to them that they could tell me things...or at least, close enough to Sideswipe. I bit my lip, my frown deepening as I turned and walked away, my appetite disappearing.

The third indication, was Jenna.

She wasn't in her usual place at the Main Hangar, working on some of the military cars. I checked the Food Hall and the courtyard, but she wasn't there either. I had ran into Lennox and Epps in the halls, and decided to ask them if they knew anything about it. But they're gazes were guarded.

"Sorry kid, I have no idea where she is." Lennox said, but he didn't look me in the eye.

"Neither do I." Epps said, equally unbelievable, as he gave a sheepish shrug.

I narrowed my eyes at them, the worrying feeling had come again, but it had melted into annoyance. I crossed my arms, and pinned them with my glare, "Okay, what is going on?"

They had the audacity to look surprised.

"What do you mean?" Lennox asked.

"You know what I mean," I said, "Something weird is going on. Quickshift is gone, Jenna was gone too, the twins were avoiding me, the Autobots were strangely quiet as well, and now Lennox and Epps were acting weird! And for the life of me, I couldn't understand why.

I was confused, upset, irritated, but mostly hurt. Whatever this was seemed a big enough deal for everyone to start snubbing me, and the worst part was that no one would tell me why. I had enough things on my guilty conscience, and I most definitely didn't want to add this! What is going on? The thought was driving me insane, bouncing around in my head like a pinball machine.

Lennox and Epps had glanced at each other, and for a moment, I had caught a flash of pity in their gazes. But I had blinked, and their gazes were nervously back on me. Despite my hurt, I had kept my arms cross and my glare firmly on the two soldiers. If no one was going to inform me, then I guess I'd have to find out for myself.

"You two know something, don't you?" I said, and their eyes widened in panic. I gasped, "You do know! Tell me what's going on!"

"Oh man, we forgot about that meeting scheduled with the Secretary of Defense," Epps suddenly blurted, and Lennox turned to nod at him.

"Yeah, it almost slipped my mind! Sorry Charlie, we'll talk later." He said, carefully slipping around me.

My jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"

Epps gave a mock two-fingered salute, and Lennox shot me semi-sympathetic smile, before the two disappeared around the corner. I can't believe it! Lennox and Epps knew about whatever was going on, and they didn't even try to let me know! I ran my hands through my hair in frustration, letting out an angered sigh, before deflating in defeat. I didn't know what or why things were going this way, so I decided to try one more person.


"So everyone's in on it, huh?" The tall, lanky boy with brown hair asked. His name was Ethan.

"Yeah," I nodded lamentably. Other than Jenna, Lennox, and Epps, Ethan was another actual human I had talked to. He had happened to be in my one-day training class, and one the airplane that would take us to the battle in Kennewick. We hadn't gotten to talk much outside of dealing with Autobots, so I was happy that I had ran into him in the halls a few days ago.

"Sounds like you need some new friends." He murmured, cleaning the inside of his gun. Currently, we were in the Main Hangar, but on the north side, where all the soldiers were either training or on break. Luckily, I had managed to catch Ethan on break.

"It's not like that," I tried to protest, "It's just...we've been through a lot together, all of us. I don't want to just ditch them because they're ignoring me. I just want to understand why." I looked at him, "Does that sound wrong?"

He gave me a soft smile, and shook his head, "Not at all."

"Then what am I doing wrong? Why won't anyone tell me anything?" I groaned, leaning back against the Jeep we were sitting on.

Ethan shrugged, "Honestly, I have no idea. But just because they're mad, doesn't mean they should treat you like this. It's not right."

I bit my lip.

"I know we haven't known each other that long, but from what I can gather; you're a pretty caring, passionate, smart girl. You've been through a lot of hell, and you still come out strong."

"Strong?" I echoed, raising an eyebrow.

Ethan looked at me, and set his gun down, "Hell yeah. I can't think of another girl who would march straight into an actual battle with little training."

I glanced down at the ground, rubbing the back of my neck, "Yeah, I wasn't really thinking straight..."

"But you love your family, and you were determined to do anything to make sure they were okay." He said, "That takes some real guts, and a lot of determination. It's what I admire about you the most."

My gaze snapped back up to him, to see him grin at me. It wasn't hard to admit, Ethan was really handsome. He had strong cheekbones like Sunstreaker's holoform, with caramel brown eyes, and small stubble that wrapped around his chin, and connected to his sideburns. He was young too, probably only two years older than me. My cheeks were flooded with heat again, at his words and his handsome smile.

I nervously tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, "Wow...um, thanks."

His grin stretched a little wider, "Well if you're friends aren't going to remind you, then someone has to."

I rolled my eyes playfully, "Whatever Ethan."

A thoughtful look crossed his features, "Sideswipe...the name sounds familiar."

I perked up at that, "Really?"

"Yeah," He said, a grimace settling over his lips, "We have met before."

"Oh," I said, sensing his mood change, "What happened?"

"Nothing," He shook his head quickly, "Just...be careful around those aliens."

'Those Aliens'? I shot him a questioning look, but he didn't respond to it. I opened my mouth to verbally question him, when I heard my name being shouted across the Hangar.

"CHARLIE!"

Ethan and I exchanged a look, before climbing off of the Jeep, Ethan followed suit. We both started to walk, but stopped abruptly, because I almost crashed into a sturdy chest. I looked up to see the familiar platinum blonde hair with silver fringes, and cerulean blue eyes that belonged to Sideswipe's holoform.

"S-Sides?"

"Where have you've been?" He asked, crossing his arms for a moment, giving me no time to answer, before he uncrossed his arms and latched a hand around mine, "C'mon, we got to get to the Autobot Hangar."

"Wait what?" I mumbled, being pulled along. I was confused, I thought he wasn't talking to me. "Sideswipe, what is going-"

"Hey," Ethan's cool voice had Sideswipe freezing in his spot, "Let her go."

Sideswipe turned, his blue eyes surprised at first, before they slowly narrowed with thinly-veiled hostility, "Who are you?"

"I'm her friend," Ethan said. My eyes widened, he's definitely gotten more confident since the last time I had seen him.

This, only made Sideswipe grip my hand a bit tighter, as he pulled me closer to his front. "So am I."

"You mean the your one of the ones who are ignoring her?" Ethan questioned, looking unconvinced.

Sideswipe grimaced at that, "Listen man, you don't know what you're talking about. Besides, it's none of your business."

"She's the one who told me."

He glanced at me, and all I could do was shrug sheepishly. Sideswipe glared at Ethan, and I could feel the tension developing like a poisonous gas. I cleared my throat, catching both of their gazes. "Um...it's okay Ethan, I'll be fine."

Ethan looked like he wanted to argue, but thankfully, backed off. Sideswipe on the other hand, looked triumphant, as he held me even closer to his chest. I rolled my eyes at him, before giving Ethan an apologetic smile, "Thanks for listening to me."

He nodded, "Always." Before he turned to walk away.

Sideswipe had glared holes into the back of his head, before I cleared my throat again to get his attention. Once his blue eyes darted to me, I gave him a pointed look, "So...what was it you wanted to tell me?"

He perked up at that, "Oh yeah, that's right! C'mon follow me, we're already late!"

"But don't we need to talk about-"

"Charlie, just trust me on this."

"But you guys have been ig-"

"Trust me."

I sighed, and stayed silent because I did trust him. We raced all the way down to the Hangar, and I nearly tripped over my own feet if it wasn't for Sideswipe's quick reflexes. The door to the Hangar was shut, and Sideswipe let go of my hand, only to type in a passcode.

I raised an eyebrow at that, "Why is there a passcode on the-"

"SURPRISE!"

I let out a small shriek of surprise, as the dark Hangar suddenly flooded with light. Streamers and confetti had rain down on top of me, and I stared at the sparkly pieces of plastic for a moment, before looking up in confusion. My eyes widened at the large banner that had been scrawled out in neat, blue letters. All the Autobots were there, including some soldiers, Lennox, Epps, and Jenna.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHARLIE!" They all shouted in unison.

I gasped, my hands immediately went up to cover my mouth. Jenna and Quickshift came running forward, both hugging me and while Jenna screamed "happy birthday" in my ear. Sideswipe was on the other side of them, and quickly joined in.

"Congratz Charlie! You're finally eighteen!" Jenna cheered happily, throwing more streamers at me. "You're officially an adult!"

"Yeah, but I'm still your guardian!" Quickshift said.

"And so am I!" Sideswipe added.

"Happy birthday, Kiddo." Lennox said, walking up to me and giving me an affectionate pat on the head.

They were all here, even Sunstreaker, who was leaning beside the wall, but his gaze was on me. The edges of his lips were quirked up in a small smile.

For once, I was aware of the tears as they blurred the edges of my vision, before spilling on to my cheeks. I wiped them away quickly, but more only came toppling down in their place.

"Charlie," Sideswipe whispered softly, since he was right beside me. He softly grabbed my chin, turning my face in his direction to wipe away another tear that escaped my eyes, "Why are you crying?"

"I..." I bit my lip, shaking my head. How could I forget my birthday was today? Jana and I had been talking about it ever since school ended. I was going to be finally eighteen, and we would've went out with our closest friends, downtown to celebrate. We were supposed to get matching tattoos that day, and she was going to throw me a huge party and...

I let out a soft chuckle, "I...I can't believe I forgot."

"What?" He asked softly.

"I almost forgot about my birthday." That meant that the three months Jana and I had been excitedly waiting for had passed, and it was the fifteenth of November.

"Everything had gone by so fast," I mumbled into his shoulder, "I...I just can't believe I forgot."

"Well luckily for you, we remembered." He said, stroking my hair softly.

I looked up at him, realization dawning in on me, "So that's why you guys have been avoiding me." I turned to look at Jenna, "You guys were throwing me a birthday party."

"Yeah, but if you're not up to it we can call it off." Jenna said, concern in her voice.

"No," I said, shaking my head and drying my tears, "I'm fine...I just. So much has changed, and I don't think I realized it until now."

"It's what happens when you're eighteen." Jenna said with a small smile, "You become more introspective. You realize things."

"After all, you're one year wiser now." Sideswipe added.

I am. I'm eighteen now.

I smiled, "This is the sweetest thing that anyone's ever done for me."

"Let's save the sappy speech for later, we have cake to eat!" Jenna cheered, breaking me away from Sideswipe to usher me up the platform to a large table, where a gigantic chocolate cake with the numbers one and eight sat on it, alighted with fire.


"Sideswipe, what is it?" I mumbled, stumbling out of the hangar, with the silver twin pulling me eagerly.

"I have one more surprise for you."

"Jesus, it better not be another race." I said, and he chuckled softly.

"Not this time, schlemiel."

I scoffed at the nickname, but kept walking with him until we reach the courtyard, where his sleek, silver Corvette was waiting, glistening brilliantly in the pale hue from the moonlight. I was so entranced by the car, that Sideswipe had to nudge me to climb in. I made him swear on his life that it wasn't another fatal car-race, before I climbed in. His holoform dissolved, and the beautiful engine revved eagerly.

"Where are we going?" I wondered.

"Not very far." He answered.

He wasn't speeding down the pavement, so I guess that was a good thing. But I was mildly surprised when I heard the sound of another engine, before a golden Lamborghini fell into step right behind Sideswipe.

"Sunstreaker?" The question fell out of my mouth. I looked back at the dashboard, but he was annoyingly silent.

The silent went on as they reached the edges of the base limits, passing through the checkpoint, and out into the sandy terrain. And it didn't stop until we had reached the shore, the dark figure of the ocean only a few miles away. I had gasped, my eyes widening at the sight of the sea. We had never been out this far before, and the moon was much larger, looking like it could touch the sea. It's light glistened off on the dark waters the same way it glistened off of the twin's automobiles. And once we stopped, I had eagerly opened the door, running out towards the soft sand.

I had taken off my shoes, exposing my toes to the icy wind, not caring at all that it was November as the cold, soft sand practically enveloped my feet. I reveled in the feeling, and began running again, getting close enough to the shore without actually touching the dark waters. Familiar sounds of transformations filled the air behind me, but I was so engrossed with the waves that I didn't even notice the silver and golden robots on either side of me until Sideswipe had unceremoniously sat down with a large thud into the sand right beside me.

The sand went airborne.

"Sides!" I yelled, shaking the sand out of my loose curls, before giving him a pointed glare.

He shot me a cheeky grin, "Keep frownin' like that and you'll get wrinkles, schlemiel."

"So that's what you two brought me out here for? To talk about my future wrinkles." I deadpanned, looking back over to Sunstreaker, who opted to stand.

"No, we brought you out here so we could spend the rest of the night with you." Sideswipe retorted, putting his hand down as a beckoning for me to crawl on top. And I did.

He lifted me up carefully, and I sucked in a breath, staring back at the vast expanse of stars in the sky. No matter how many times I've done it, the same enraptured rush flows through me when I see the stars up so close like this. I couldn't describe it...but the feeling was something you'd never get tired of. Ever.

"They're so beautiful." I spoke softly, still looking up at them.

"We also made a little something for you." Sideswipe said, and I glanced at him, surprised.

"Really? What?"

His gaze traveled to Sunstreaker, who rolled his eyes at his brother, before hesitantly reaching down to get something from his subspace. It all happened to quickly for me to comprehend, but suddenly, there was a large, red present in front of my face. I stared at it in pure shock for a moment, before looking back up at Sunstreaker. He wasn't making eye-contact, his head was turned slightly, as if he was embarrassed. I took the present from his long, nimble fingers, and sat down in Sideswipe's palm.

I could feel Sideswipe's barely contained excitement, and laughed, before taking my sweet time to unravel the neatly tied bow. I lifted the box, and gasped at the inside. It was a statue, the length ran from the length of my wrist to my elbow, carefully placed in a cushion.

"It's a crystal flower, a very rare and delicate flower that grew in the Gardens of Crystal City," Sideswipe explained as I admired it, " Of course those crystals don't grown on Earth so we used Quartz instead. It took Sunny and I a few days to do it, especially since we had to carve it -"

"What are you talking about?" Sunny grumbled, nudging his twin lightly, "I had to do all the carving."

"Well, yeah but it was a team effort. And hey, I picked out the colors." His brother countered, with a smirk.

Sunstreaker rolled his eyes, before they both looked down at me again.

"Do you like it?" The golden twin asked softly.

I grabbed it carefully, pulling it out to watch the rays from the moonlight shine down on it, bouncing off beautiful shimmers of pink, green, and yellow. I felt the corners of my vision blurred again, and tried to blink them away, but it was no use. They had already detected it.

"You don't like it? That's okay." Sideswipe said, taking my signs of tears as a negative reaction.

"Are you kidding? I love it," I said, wiping my eyes again, "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever received." I looked up at them, feeling myself welling up with emotions again, "Thanks you guys so much...a lot of stuff has happened to me over these past months, and even though it has put me through some heart-wrenching pain, I will always cherish moments with you guys and...I," I sniffled slightly, quickly putting the delicate trinket back into the box, before wiping away some more tears, "Thank you for being there for me, and...and just making this the best birthday I could ever ask for."

"All we want is the best for you." Sideswipe said softly, and Sunstreaker nodded.

Happy Birthday Charlie. Both of their voices, mixed together had filled my head, and my lips parted in surprise, before they curled up in a smile.

"Thank you." I whispered.


Aw geez...THE FEELS. Yay Charlie's a young adult now, and I really loved typing that part...and the scene with Ethan and Sides. Brings out a whole new emotion in Sides, doesn't he? *winks* How do you guys feel about Ethan? Yay or Nay? Lol, anyways thanks so much for reading, I appreciate it so much! I can't wait to read your reviews, so make sure to do it!