Chapter 24
School started back up on Monday and everything pretty much went back to normal. Well, normal at this point basically meant back to routine since the Autobots were still human. Nonetheless, the group was happy to return to their daily schedule but they did have to make some slight adjustments. With Ultra Magnus and Smokescreen both new to Team Prime, as well as to Earth, they mostly spent their free time teaching them about the planet's basic rules and so on.
For Arcee, the return back to normal routine could be considered good and bad. While she did miss the soft sandy beaches of San Francisco, it was nice to go home and go back to her old self. The problem was, she wasn't the only one to go back to their old selves. Ever since his little memory refresher, Jack was going back to his mysterious and secretive self. It was as if all the bonding they did together during their vacation was thrown out the window, and Arcee hated it. She just wanted her Jack back but it seemed like his past was never going to leave him and their relationship would never move on. It was a tough situation for the former two-wheeler. Every day she had to stop herself from forcing Jack to tell her about his problems, and even when she tries to talk with him, it always ends in the same way.
"I'm fine Arcee, there's nothing wrong."
"Yes there is Jack, you're changing again and I don't like it. Please, just talk to me."
"There's nothing to talk about, I swear I'm ok. I know you're worried about me and that's one of the reasons why I care for you, but I haven't changed at all. I'm still the same Jack, still your Jack so there's nothing to be concerned about babe."
Jack leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her lips that ended the entire talk. Every time he pulls this move and every time it gets her. She falls for his method of ending conversations and always beats herself up afterwards. It's not really her fault though, Jack's really playing a dirty card and she really can't help it when he gets affectionate like that.
Eventually they parted lips and Jack caressed her cheek before heading downstairs, leaving Arcee standing in the hallway. She was slightly dazed and flustered from the sweet kiss and took a moment to remember where she was.
Scrap! Every time! She cursed herself.
The former two-wheeler headed downstairs, shaking her head at how easily she was fooled. She plopped herself onto the couch and joined Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Bumblebee, Miko, and as they watched the football game.
"Where's Jack at?" Wheeljack asked, seeing Arcee sitting with her arms crossed.
"He's helping Smokescreen pick out a vehicle mode. He wants 'the perfect one' and convinced Jack to help him find one" Arcee said.
Wheeljack chuckled. "Yeah, the rookie's got spunk, I'll give him that. He's too arrogant though, can't really see him as a team player."
Arcee raised an eyebrow. "You're one to talk."
"Hey I changed ok. Once we're back to our normal bodies, you'll see. The new and improved Wheeljack is a hardcore team player who gets the job done. Who knows, maybe the commander will promote me to second-in-command instead of you."
She rolled her eyes. "Keep dreaming."
The two of them shared a laugh before turning to the TV, just in time for their favorite team to score a touchdown. The group cheered loudly and even Arcee joined in. Her family always knew how to cheer her up and now she was in a much brighter mood.
She could only hope the same was for Jack.
...
Jack pulled out of the garage and headed down the road, his black Honda Civic looking as slick as ever. He had spent hours cleaning, buffing, and waxing the car and now it looked almost brand new. The thing was that he didn't clean his car to make it look good, rather to have some time to himself. He knew that Arcee has been noticing him sneaking out on his own once in a while so he's been playing it smart, doing unnecessary normal things that would allow him to think for a while.
"You know, that trick isn't going to work for much longer" Jack said out loud, even though there was no one else in the car with him.
Then you better find another way to end your little talks. You don't want to have to explain to her about what you've been up to.
"Well it's more like how would I explain it to her. Right, so there's a force of darkness that is trying to get out, but me and Agent 000 have been creating barriers to block it out. Making the barrier takes a lot of effort and that's why I'm so wiped out sometimes, oh, and I've been hiding secrets from you for months now" Jack said sarcastically. "I don't know about you but I'd rather not have to explain that to her, or anyone else for that matter."
Hey, I'm not arguing against you kid. I'm just saying your girlfriend is persistent and she's going to keep bothering you until you tell her what she wants to hear.
"And what exactly does she want hear?"
The truth, and that's something you can't tell her. You're in a lose-lose situation here and even I don't have a way out of it.
Jack sighed. "Then I guess I'm just going to have to keep my mouth shut and try to avoid talking with her about the subject."
That's not the best way to keep your relationship stable.
"Do I have a choice?" Jack asked, frustrated at his situation.
No, you don't.
The two of them drove in silence as they neared the mountain that overlooked the highway, perfect for choosing a new vehicle mode for Smokescreen.
Jack?
The teen didn't answer right away. He knew that whenever the Agent used his real name, it meant that it was serious.
"Yeah?"
One day, you're going to have to choose between them.
Jack sighed.
"Yeah… I know."
...
Jack and Smokescreen lay on their stomachs as they watched passing cars drive by. The freeway wasn't too busy today but luckily there were enough cars to pick out a form for the rookie.
"Nope."
"Nah."
"Uh, uh."
Smokescreen didn't even give a second look at the rusty cars that went by.
An old pick-up truck went by and the rookie laughed. "That's more like Ratchet's speed. I could totally see the old guy choosing that one."
The rookie looked next to him, expecting Jack to be laughing along with him. Instead, the teen was looking out into the vast desert, deep in thought.
"Hey Jack, you okay?" Smokescreen asked.
Jack perked at his name. "Huh? Oh yeah, just fine." He mustered a weak smile and pointed to a cement truck. "How about that one?"
"Hah, maybe if I was a Constructicon."
Smokescreen saw that Jack wasn't paying too much attention and gave him a look. "You sure you're alright?"
He sighed. "There's just… some stuff that's on my mind. Nothing too important."
The rookie raised an eyebrow. "Is this something to do with what I said before? I'm really sorry that happened man."
"No, it's not that. It's something else. Something that's been bothering me for a while."
"Come on Jack, you can talk to me." Smokescreen said. He noticed a slight frown on the teens face when he said that. "Is it something to do with Arcee?"
"Yes, and no. It's… complicated Smokey."
Seeing that he obviously didn't want to go into details, the rookie decided to stop pushing him for answers. "Well, if it is about relationships and all that stuff, I can't really help you at all. I'm still kind of wrapping my head around you and Arcee but you both look happy together. If I learned anything during my life, it's that being alone sucks. I know that I'm destined for greatness and since I'm still young, I got a whole life ahead of me, but it's still nice to have someone with you, you know? Sometimes I wish I had someone to talk to during my trip in space. Man was it boring up there, but now that I'm on Team Prime, I have you guys. Optimus is always going off about family and I'm starting to understand what he's saying."
Jack nodded his head and looked away, pondering the rookie's words. His silence told Smokescreen that he needed to think so the young Autobot returned to scouting out cars in silence.
Suddenly, a nice white Lotus Exige sports car drove by and the slick form immediately got his attention.
"Check that one out, I think I could pull that one of" Smokescreen said.
Jack looked at the car he was pointing at and nodded. "Looks nice, good choice."
Quickly, the rookie scanned the car as it drove by, just managing to finish his scan before it went out of range. Once his scan was complete, his body started to shift slightly, adjusting pieces to match his chosen vehicle. When he knew that the form was programmed into him, he transformed, parts moving in place as the sound of transforming came from his engine.
Moments later, a very sleek white sports car with a single blue stripe sat on the mountain top. The car had different designs on its body that made it look like a race car. The rookie blinked his lights and moved his mirrors, testing and adjusting the settings to his preference.
"Aw yeah! I'm loving this V-mode!" the rookie said.
"Up for a little test run?" Jack asked, getting up and pulling out his keys from his pocket.
"You know me Jack, let's do this thing!"
Jack got into his car, starting the Honda Civics engines as he and Smokescreen lined up facing the empty desert.
"Three, two, one…go!"
The two cars zoomed into the desolate land, leaving behind a cloud of dirt. Only a couple seconds later, they became only two small specs, moving into the distance.
…
Author's Note: Short and sweet, just how I like it. This is just a bonus little chapter for today so I'm still going to be putting one up tomorrow. I was actually planning on publishing it along with chapter 23 but the last time I did a double, one chapter got more views than another by almost double, which is very strange to say the least.
If you guys didn't know, I posted chapters 20 and 21 on the same day as a double feature. Turns out, I'm pretty sure some of you didn't realize that both of them went up and you only read chapter 21, completely skipping chapter 20. If you did, be sure to go back and check it out just in case you did. I'll be honest with you, I forgot what I wrote for that chapter and if it was important, you might want to catch up on it.
Thanks for reading and sticking with my rambles. The story is coming to its climax and the end is drawing near. Be sure to follow if you like what you're reading and leave a review. Let's me know what I can improve on or what I'm doing well on.
Pie Guy
