Chapter 9

"So are you guys excited for school?"

It was Monday morning and the human Autobots sat at the table eating their breakfast as June tried to start a conversation.

To answer her question, the four Autobots who were going to go to school for the first time merely shrugged.

"June, we've been fighting a war for centuries. Now we're going to school." Arcee said before putting a spoon full of cereal and milk into her mouth.

The nurse laughed at Arcee's statement. "I guess you're right" suddenly she paused and thought for a moment before going on. "Did you guys have school on your planet?"

"Well we did, but only for the first few years when we were created. I can't remember anything about going to school when I was a young Cybertronian" Bulkhead answered.

"Actually, I never got to go to school when I was created" Bumblebee said, earning a confused look on Wheeljack's face.

"There's no way, we all go to school when we're created. Unless you skipped class which I doubt you would have done" Wheeljack perked.

"Wheeljack, Bumblebee was part of the last wave of new Cybertronians to emerge from the well of Allsparks. At the time, our war against the Decepticons reached its climax and we were unable to educate the young ones." Optimus explained.

Bumblebee nodded as he remembered when he was created, then sent into the field about an Earth week later. "I didn't go to school but the school stuff was put into my head so I know just as much as you do."

"Huh, well that explains it. Let me tell ya kid, you didn't miss anything. School was a drag and I enlisted into the junior wreckers as soon as I got the chance" Wheeljack said.

"Not everyone's as excited to go fight as you are Jackie" Bulkhead laughed, slapping his buddy on the back.

"Well Wheeljack, maybe you'll find Earth school to be different than your school on Cybertron. Who knows? Maybe you'll like it better" June smiled.

Wheeljack forced a weak smile, he still wasn't too excited about going to school again but he knew he had to do it to keep his cover.

"We'll see about that."

...

The two cars given to them by Agent Fowler pulled up into the school's parking lot. June had offered to give Optimus and Ratchet a ride to base so that they could have both cars. There was a little debate over who would drive the Audi but eventually it was Wheeljack who grabbed the keys first. Arcee didn't really have a problem with it since she always wanted to be with Jack, even if he was driving for once.

The humans and Autobots got out of the car and they looked up at the school.

"So this is the place, huh?" Wheeljack said, studying the building's structure. "Sure is different from the school we used to attend."

"You know, I've never actually seen what's inside. Only the outside when I wait to pick-up Miko." Bulkhead pointed out.

Miko closed the car door behind her and walked over, grumbling in annoyance. "Don't worry, there's nothing special."

The two wreckers rolled their eyes and laughed, knowing all too well how much Miko gets in trouble around here.

"So the first thing you guys should do is go to the office to get your schedule and lockers" Jack said, walking over with Raf and Bumblebee and Arcee slightly trailing behind.

"And where is that exactly?" Wheeljack asked.

"Don't worry Wheeljack, we'll show you where it is" Raf said, walking towards the double doors leading into the school with the rest of the gang right behind him.

"Well we better hurry otherwise we're gonna be late! I don't want a detention from this!" Miko exclaimed, running ahead of Raf.

Jack laughed at Miko's reasoning behind her enthusiasm and was about to run after them when he noticed Arcee still near the car, holding her right arm with her left hand and looking at the school quietly. He quickly told the others he'd catch up and walked over to his girlfriend.

"Come on Cee, you're gonna be late" Jack said, walking up to her. As soon as he was close enough, Arcee grabbed his hands and stared into his eyes.

Jack, slightly surprised by Arcee's actions, stared back, looking directly into her beautiful blue eyes. He peered deep inside of her, able to read her emotions clearly and saw the fear that she felt at the moment.

"Arcee... are you... scared?" Jack asked quietly, not wanting anyone else to hear him. Although, no one was around since class was about to start in five minutes.

"I-I don't know Jack, I don't know what to expect." Arcee answered in a whisper. "I've never felt like this before."

Jack softly laughed. "It's just nerves, you'll get over it. Besides, you'll have me everywhere you go, ok?"

Arcee smiled at his warm words. She loved him so much and knew that he would be with her wherever she went. "Ok."

The former two-wheeler leaned in for quick kiss and wasn't disappointed as they met in the middle. A moment later, Jack pulled away, smiling at her that made her melt inside and squeezed her hand. They walked into the school together, ready to start their day.

...

"Hmmm, so the Prime's huh?"

"That's right sir" Wheeljack responded, used to talking to authority, although he hated it.

The principal looked up from the files on his desk at the four teens sitting in the chairs in front of him. His name plates sat on the edge of his desk; one saying 'Principal' while the other said 'Evans'.

"So what brings you to Jasper, Nevada?" Principal Evans interrogated.

"Our dad is a writer and wanted a quiet place to get his work done." Arcee responded.

Yesterday they went over their background story with Agent Fowler and Optimus multiple times and they practically knew it by heart now. Their dad was a writer looking for a place to work and chose Jasper, Nevada. They're family consisted of a father, a grandfather, and four kids. They were home schooled until they moved and decided to try out a public school.

"Where did you move from?" the man asked.

"We used to live in Canada" Wheeljack answered.

"Canadians, huh? Well welcome to the US, God bless." He joked, laughing at his own joke while the others forced a laugh. "Anyways, I also understand that you're staying with Jack Darby, correct?"

"Yeah, Jack and Mrs. Darby are family friends and when they found out we were coming to Jasper, they let us stay with them" Arcee said.

Principal Evans nodded his head and smiled. "Jack's a nice kid and I wouldn't expect anything else from him. I had you three placed in every one of his classes so he can help you out with the change." Arcee, Wheeljack and Bulkhead nodded as the man turned towards Bumblebee. "Jason, unfortunately I wasn't able to get you into their classes since you're not in their grade. Although, I was told that Raf was also a family friend so I have you with him throughout the day, is that fine?"

"Yes sir" Bumblebee said, happy to know that he'll be with Raf.

Principal Evans let out a good hardy laugh. "Enough with the sir, you can call me Mr. Evans or Principal Evans."

"Ok, Mr. Evans" Bumblebee said, laughing along with the principal. He liked him, nice, funny and obviously not mean.

Principal Evans looked over the four kids and nodded his head. "You four seem like you are very active, do you play any sports?"

The four of them shook heir heads.

"Well, we're always looking for young athletes to come out. We pride ourselves on our sport teams and while we haven't won any champions lately, we're still very supportive." Principal Evans said, looking to the two wreckers. "You two look in excellent shape and you definitely fit the scale. Our football team is looking for new players since some of ours have gotten injured. If you're interested, just give me of Coach Sherman a call and we will gladly give you a tryout."

The two wreckers nodded their heads; not really knowing what 'football' was but agreed to thinking about his offer.

"I think we're done here. Here are your schedules and locker numbers, if you have questions don't be afraid to ask." The man said, standing up and shaking each of their hands.

The former Autobots thanked him and left the office, walking over to their first classes. First they found Bumblebee's classroom and said bye to him. The three new grade 10s continued to walk through the halls in search of their first period class.

...

Eventually, the three former Autobots found their period one classroom; room 216, Mr. Denham's math class. They knocked on the door and waited until a grouchy man opened the door. He appeared to be in his late 50's and sported a unibrow that gave him that 'I hate my life' look. He looked at the three teens standing at his door way and ushered them in.

Arcee, Bulkhead, and Wheeljack stood at the front of the class as everyone watched them. They saw Jack near the windows on the right who waved to them and pointed to three open spots next to him and behind him.

"These are your new classmates. If you don't like them, I don't care. They're here and they're here to stay." Mr. Denham stated with a little annoyance in his voice and turned to the Autobots standing awkwardly at the front. "State your name and where you came from."

"Hey, I'm Ryan and this is my sister Sadie and my brother Cameron. We moved from Canada a couple weeks ago." Bulkhead introduced.

"Great, Canadians..." Mr. Denham muttered under his breath. "Well then, you three take a seat and be quiet."

Quickly the Autobots went to the seats Jack was pointing at and sat down.

"So, how'd it go?" He asked, referring to their encounter with the principal.

"It was ok, seems like a nice guy" Arcee answered quietly.

"Hey Jack, what's football? He said that Bulk and I should tryout" Wheeljack whispered, curious to see why they were offered a tryout.

Jack looked over to Mr. Denham who was pointing at the board that had a complex math equation. "I'll tell you later, Mr. Denham is a nasty guy and I'd rather not get caught talking in his class."

Wheeljack nodded and looked forward and watched as the teacher taught his lesson.

The rest of the class went by slowly and painfully, especially for the Autobots. Cybertronians were much more advanced than the humans and the things they were learning were extremely simple. Even Bulkhead could do all the problems with his eyes closed, and he was considered a dumb one on Cybertron.

Mr. Denham noticed that the three new students weren't paying attention at all. In fact, they looked like they were almost asleep. "Hey! You three! Don't think because you're new that I won't give you a detention! Pay attention and do the work."

Wheeljack hated being yelled at or ordered around and took this as a challenge. "We're already done the work and we're not paying attention because your class is boring."

The last part made the class burst out laughing as they waited for Mr. Denham's response.

"So we have a smart ass here, huh? Tell me, why do you find my class boring? Are you telling me you understand everything I've been teaching you?" The teacher asked with a menacing tone. The students in his class knew that when he used that voice, something was about to go down.

"Understand it? All that stuff is simple. I could do it with my eyes closed" Arcee said, also bored from the class just as much as Wheeljack.

"Is that so? I tell you what; I'm going to write three problems on the board. All three of you will have ten seconds to solve them since you find these equations simple. If anyone of you doesn't get the right answer, I get to give all three of you detention for the rest of the week."

Wheeljack smirked at the bet. "And what happens when we do get them right?"

"If you get them right, I'll get off your case for the rest of the month" Mr. Denham said.

Arcee thought about what he offered and looked at her 'brothers' with a smirk. They smirked back and nodded telling her to sweeten the pot.

"How about this Mr. Hammy" Arcee started, making the class laugh. "If you win, you can give us detention for the rest of the month but if we win, you run around the school in nothing but your boxers."

Mr. Denham was extremely confident that they wouldn't win agreed immediately. He was going to have some fun writing them all those detentions. "Ok it's a deal."

The three former Autobots got up and walked to the front of the class while the teacher started to write the equations on the board. When he finished, the rest of the class looked at the equations with a confused look. They were extremely complicated and one of them was something they haven't even learned about yet.

The three of them looked at the questions then looked at each other and grinned. Everything on the board was basic things to them and they couldn't wait to see the old man run around naked.

"Good luck with these Primes. You have ten seconds starting... now!" Mr. Denham said, starting his timer.

The Autobots merely walked up to the board, wrote a number, and put the piece of chalk down.

"You call that hard?" Wheeljack teased as they backed away from the board to let everyone see their answers. Mr. Denham, still smirking, looked over at the answers. Suddenly, his jaw fell and his eyes became wide as Frisbees when he saw the answers on the board. The classroom exploded in laughter when they saw his face and some of them looked at the three new students with admiration.

"Well Mr. Hammy, I believe you know what to do now" Arcee smirked as the teacher sighed.

"I hate my job" Mr. Dunham groaned and started to take off his clothes, earning cart calls and laughs from his class. When he was wearing nothing but his boxers, he opened the door and started to run while the class followed him, taking pictures and videos of the old man sprinting in his underwear.

The three Autobots stayed back in the classroom and high-fived each other as Jack walked over.

"Nice job guys" he said, fist bumping the two wreckers and kissing Arcee on the cheek.

"You know Jack, your mom might be right. Maybe I will like Earth school" Wheeljack said, pulling out his phone and showing the group a picture of Mr. Denham in his boxers blushing in embarrassment.

The four of them laughed at the picture and ran out the door, trying to snap more photos of the naked teacher running.

...

"Man, I can't stop laughing at this."

The group of three humans and four Autobot turned humans sat at the lunch table as Miko showed replayed the video of Mr. Denham running around in his boxers. The entire school was talking about how the three new kids got mean old Mr. Dunham to sprint laps in his underwear. Just like that, the group had become school-wide famous.

"That was nothing, you should have seen his face when he lost the bet" Bulkhead chuckled. Wheeljack quickly pulled out his phone and showed Miko the picture.

"Hah! That's awesome! Send that to me" Miko laughed as Wheeljack forwarded the picture.

"So how are you liking school so far?" Raf asked.

Arcee shrugged. "It's ok I guess but the classes are really boring. I knew you humans were less intelligent than us but I didn't know you were this dumb, no offense."

Raf shook his head and smiled. "No offense taken. Bee was telling me how he already knew everything we were being taught so I just let him play games on my laptop."

"Raf, we totally need to get the new racing game soon" Bumblebee said.

"Don't worry Bee, we'll head to the mall later this week to get it" Raf answered before returning to his food.

As the group ate, every so often a couple kids would come by and give them a high-five or a fist bump, although it was mostly for the Autobots.

"Well look who's famous" Jack joked, earning a proud smile from Arcee.

"I kind of like it, feels good to get noticed for once." She said, as she hugged his arm. "Although it feels better when you notice."

Jack looked around to make sure no one was watching and quickly gave her a kiss on the lips. He didn't think anyone knew that they were a couple and he really wasn't ready for that kind of attention.

Arcee smiled warmly before she straightened up. She looked at her empty tray, then at Jack's and gave him a pleading smile. Her boyfriend laughed and gladly pushed over his tray for Arcee to finish his food.

"Hey, Ryan, Cameron!"

The group looked over to where the voice came from and saw two guys walking over. Jack, Miko, and Raf immediately recognized them as the football jocks, although these two were some of the nicer ones.

"Who are those guys?" Wheeljack asked quietly before they came over.

"That's Carson and Paul, they play on the school's football team. Carson's the blonde one and the team quarterback and Jaden's the linebacker captain." Miko explained, eyeing Carson a bit. He was one of the better looking guys in the school and almost every girl in the school had a crush on him, including Miko.

"Hey" Carson greeted when they reached the table. "You're Cameron right?" he asked, pointing at Wheeljack.

"Yeah, what's up?" the wrecker said, interested in why they came over.

"Well Principal Evans told us about you two and asked if we'd give you a shot on the team. We're down a couple guys and our coach would love to have you come out." The quarterback explained.

Wheeljack gave Bulkhead a look before answering. "We haven't really decided yet. We don't really know how to play."

The bigger one, Paul, laughed. "Don't worry, it's pretty easy to learn and you two would definitely be good at it." Paul checked out the two wreckers' arms and nodded. "Damn, you guys are ripped. Where do you work out? Anytime Fitness?"

"We... don't go to gyms... home workouts" Bulkhead said, not really sure how to answer his question. He could have said that they've been fighting a war for centuries but decided to leave that part out.

Paul nodded his head, inspected his own muscles which made Arcee roll her eyes.

Teens, she thought, chuckling to herself.

"Anyways, yeah like Paul said, it's easy to learn. If you guys are interested, we're holding a tryout tomorrow after-school. Hopefully you'll come." Carson said before walking away. As they passed, the two jocks looked at Arcee and smiled.

The former two-wheeler raised an eyebrow and gave Jack a confused look.

"Hey, you said you like to be noticed. You're going to get a lot more of those looks while you're human." Jack said.

"And why is that?" she asked, obviously not understanding teenagers.

Jack rolled his eyes and was about to respond before Miko beat him to it.

"Because you look hot and guys are going to check you out a lot." The Japanese girl answered with a smirk.

Arcee thought about what Miko said and realized she's been getting those looks ever since she became human. At first she thought it was some human thing but now she knew that it was because others found her attractive. She smiled and moved closer to Jack.

"Well they should know I'm already taken." Arcee stated proudly, sneaking a peck onto Jack's cheek. He was slightly caught off guard but regained his composure. He wrapped his arm around her waist and smiled at her.

Miko rolled her eyes at the couple and faked a gag, making the rest of the group laugh.

...

Arcee walked through the busy school hallway heading for her locker. The warning bell had rung a couple seconds ago telling them to hurry and get ready for their next class. Jack was supposed to be walking with her but he had to go hand in a project

While on her walk, she couldn't help but notice the looks others gave her. She knew that she was attractive but now that she knew why they were staring, it was starting to annoy her.

Definitely one of the down sides to being human, she said to herself just as a cat call was heard.

She rolled her eyes and continued. Suddenly, she started to wonder whether Jack looked at her like these people did. She remembered the look on his face when he first saw her outfit, but that was a different look than the ones she was getting. Although, having her boyfriend mesmerized by her looks did make her smile. Instead of a feeling of annoyance, she felt warm inside knowing that someone that she was attracted to was attracted to her as well.

Arcee reached her locker and started to put in the combination. She was too deep in thought and didn't notice a couple girls come up to her. One of them tapped her on the shoulder, startling the former two-wheeler as she spun around. There were four girls, one of them she recognized as Sierra but the other three were a mystery. She wondered why they were here and decided to let them talk first.

"Hey, you're Sadie right?" Sierra asked and Arcee nodded in response. "Cool, I'm Sierra and this is Emma, Lauren and Katie."

Arcee said 'hi' to the three other girls who said 'hi' back.

"So what's up?" The former two-wheeler asked.

"Oh nothing, just wanted to say hey since you're new and all. We say you sitting at the lunch table with Jack and a couple other new kids. Are they all friends?" Sierra asked. Arcee could tell that the other girls were listening closely and made the assumption that some of them had a crush on someone at her table.

"Yeah, Jack, Miko, and Raf are all good friends but the other guys are my brothers." Arcee answered. One of the girls, Emma, whispered into another one's ear that made her blush and Arcee wondered what they were talking about.

"Ok cool. Well good meeting you Sadie" Sierra said, about to walk away when she looked over Arcee and frowned. "Just saying, you're really hot and a lot of guys are going to try to get in with you. I'd watch out if I were you."

Arcee nodded her head and watched the four girls walk away talking quietly so she couldn't hear them. Something bothered her about what Sierra said, something about watching out. She knew that she meant watch out other guys but Arcee couldn't help but feel like that was more of a threat to her than a warning.

The two-wheeler shrugged it off and closed her locker door, heading to her next class.

...

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly compared to math class. History was pretty cool and the Autobots were actually interested in human culture. Next, gym was fun and relaxing since they hadn't really had a time to break out a nice sweat for a while. Finally science was a drag because most of the things they were being told wasn't exactly true but it was still livable.

The final bell that signaled the end of the day rang and the humans and Autobots quickly collected their stuff and went outside to meet with each other.

"Ugh, I'm so happy school's over. I was going to die in last period" Miko complained.

"Honestly Miko, I don't really see what's so bad about school. It's long and boring sometimes but it's pretty cool" Bulkhead said earning a fake look of disgust from the girl.

"I don't even know you anymore" she joked with an ashamed tone which made them burst out laughing.

A couple moments later Jack and Arcee came out of the building.

"So what's the plan guys?" Jack asked when they came near.

"Well Bee and I were gonna go play some video games" Raf said with Bumblebee nodding in agreement.

"And I was going to give these two another guitar lesson" Miko added, pointing at the two wreckers.

"Hey, that reminds me. Are you going to that football tryout tomorrow?" Arcee asked them, curious to see if they would.

"Hmm I don't know. Still thinking about it" Wheeljack answered. "We still don't know how to play."

"Don't sweat it guys, I'll teach you later today" Jack said and the group looked at him with a confused look.

"You know how to play football? Yeah right" Miko sneered but Jack shook his head.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me" Jack said. His words had a little darkness to them which nobody noticed except Arcee. She was going to ask what he meant by that but decided to wait until later.

"I'll get you ready for tomorrow" Jack said to the two wreckers who agreed to training with him.

"Hey Darby! Waiting for mommy to pick you up from school?"

The group groaned as they realized who's voice it was. A moment later Vince and his gang showed up behind them.

"Where's that crappy bike of yours?" the bully asked.

"It's in the shop" Jack answered blankly as he turned around and started to head for his car.

Vince turned his attention to Arcee who was giving him a glare. "Hey babe, we got off on the wrong foot last time we met. I'm Vince and you are one of the very few lucky girls who are offered a seat in my ride."

He pointed at his car painted with flames on the side as he reached over and placed an arm around Arcee's shoulders. "Why don't we get to know each other a bit better and maybe we can get a little more intimate."

"Get off of me" Arcee huffed as she threw his arm off and walked towards Jack.

"Hey bitch! Where are your manners, or do you need me to come over there and teach you some?" Vince threatened as he took a step forward. Quickly Jack jumped in between the bully and his girlfriend and stood his ground, not letting him get anywhere near her.

"Get out of my way Darby or do I need to teach you some manners too?" the bully said but Jack stood his ground.

"Why don't you back up? You're so desperate for a girl that it's pathetic" Jack shot back. People around started to watch as the two boys stared each other down.

"Aw look guys, it's the heroic boyfriend who saves the day" Vince mocked, making his gang laugh. "You make me sick Darby."

With that, Vince threw a punch that caught Jack off guard. The hit nailed him right near the eye and made Jack stumble back a bit.

"Jack!" Arcee exclaimed, running over and checking his face. A bruise was beginning to form around his eye and she gently stroked it with her thumb.

Bulkhead, Wheeljack and Bumblebee were about to step forward when they noticed Jack recover and walk forward.

"Now do you want to get out of my way Darby?" Vince growled, ready to throw another punch.

"You're even more pathetic if you think a cheap shot is going to make me back down" Jack countered.

Vince growled and threw right hook aimed for Jack's jaw. Surprisingly, Jack dodged the hit and came up with a hard punch to Vince's stomach that made him double over. The bully recovered and landed a hit to Jack's nose and stomach which he countered with two punches to the chest. Vince was caught off guard and stumbled back a bit before trying another punch that only hit air. Jack grabbed his arm, twisting it and flipped the bully onto his back with a thud.

Jack looked at the bully on the ground with a pathetic look before spitting blood onto the ground and turning around. Blood was now coming out of his nose and the bruise around his eye was starting to form. Arcee quickly rushed to her boyfriend and checked on his injuries.

"Jack are you ok? That was amazing" she said, peering into his eyes.

"I'm fine. I couldn't let him talk to you like that" he said, smiling back.

Arcee stroked his cheek before leaning in and kissing him passionately. They held the kiss for a bit until Arcee separated and started to clean up the blood coming from his nose.

Suddenly Principal Evans came out of the school and looked at Vince on the ground. "What is going on here?"

"It was Darby My. Evans. I was here minding my own business when he came over and threw me onto the ground!" Vince said, lying to the principal's face.

Principal Evans shook his head. "That's not what I saw. I saw you land a cheap shot then get your ass kicked. Now, if you don't mind, how about you pick yourself up and head to detention."

"Detention?! You're giving me detention and not Darby?!" Vince practically screamed; he was furious.

"That's right, now hurry up or I might give you another one."

The bully groaned and headed inside the school as the students who were watching cheered. Principal Evans looked at Jack who was being held onto by Arcee and smiled.

"Good job Jack, couldn't have done better myself." He said before walking back into the school.

"That was awesome! I got it all on tape!" Miko said, walking over and waving her phone. "You totally just showed him whose boss."

"Miko's right Jack, that was a nice technique you had there. Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Wheeljack asked.

Jack shrugged. "I don't know, maybe from watching you guys battle it out for so long." Nobody knew it but he was lying to them. Ever since Agent 000 has been plaguing his nights, Jack has been fighting him almost every time. While he always lost the fight and got killed, he's been getting better and clearly it's been transferring over to real life.

"Either way, you were amazing babe. Thanks for protecting me" Arcee said.

"You're worth it Sadie" Jack answered, not sure if people could hear him or not. They leaned in for another passionate kiss which didn't go unnoticed by everyone around.

"Let's get going. We should probably get Martin to check out your eye Jack" Raf said and the group headed for their cars. Moments later, the seven of them drove away, talking about how great it was to see jack beat up Vince.

...

Sierra and her three friends had watched the whole thing and were admiring Jack from a far.

"You know, he's really cute" Lauren pointed out.

"Did you see how hot he looked when he punched Vince? I died on the inside" Emma added.

"Hey, don't forget that he's mine." Sierra said, looking at two girls.

"Actually Sierra, I think he's already taken."

The three girls looked over to where Katie was pointing and were just in time to see Jack and Sadie kiss. Anger boiled through Sierra's skin as she watched the couple break away.

"She said they were only friends!" Sierra complained, glaring at Sadie who was stroking Jack's cheek and staring into his eyes.

"Really close friends" Katie said. "So what are you going to do Sierra?"

"Nobody steals away my guy" she responded, clenching her fist. She told Sadie to watch out and now she meant it.

...

Author's Note: Hey guys, if you don't know already I love football so it's going to show up a couple times in this story. Also this last part was inspired by one of my reviews so kudos to whoever wrote that. If you have any suggestions, don't be afraid to review. I take everything into consideration when I'm writing and if your idea matches the theme I'm putting out there, it just might make the cut.