A/N: Contains spoilers for Alpha/Omega.

"It's my last day; you think I can go out with Sierra tonight?" Jack asked, though his tone was lacklustre as he knew it was a bad idea to put it off, though he'd been distracted as of late.

June looked at him incredulously. "Are you just now asking me this?" she asked and her eyes softened as she saw the guilty look in Jack's eyes. She placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "I know you upset about what almost happened to Smokescreen, and that the Autobots could be leaving, but you have to get out of this daze."

"Does this mean I can go?" Jack questioned, though he didn't sound hopeful.

June sighed and nodded. "Just be back by midnight, and I don't care how long your movie is, you will be back by then, got it, mister?" she asked sternly and Jack nodded.

The teen was about to turn away, when he realized he didn't want to bother Arcee with being a chaperone on his date. "Hey, mom, can I borrow your car?"

"Can't Arcee take you?" June asked surprised and saw Jack's eyes dim. "Honey, I could be called into work if there's an emergency, and-"

Jack looked alarmed. "No, I get it. I guess I'll ask her if she wants to." He said and headed for the garage. He slowed to a stop as he recalled that the Autobots had begun to learn how to text and call them. Jack reached into his pocket, his lips pursing in thought. Would it be worth it to go behind everyone's back for a few hours together?

Jack's eyes dimmed once more as he thought it wouldn't matter, seeing as the 'Bots were going to be leaving sometime soon anyway. Making up his mind, Jack put his phone back into his pocket and made his way over to Arcee when he entered the garage. "Hey, Arcee, can I ask you something?"

"What is it, Jack?" Arcee questioned.

"Do you miss Cybertron?" Jack asked and Arcee was silent for a moment.

"I do, why do you ask?" Arcee replied.

Jack tried to make his shrug look noncommittal. "It's just…I don't want you to spend your last days on Earth being cooped up. You can go back to the Autobots sooner."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Arcee asked.

Jack blinked and shook his head. "No, I just don't want to make our goodbyes harder than they have to be, 'cause I'm gonna miss 'Cee. You're like my big sister."

"You think of me as a sister?" Arcee questioned and Jack nodded. "I would miss you to, Jack, but if you really think you can handle being without me…"

Jack chuckled dryly. "Trust me; I think I can spend a few hours on my own fine."

"Well, alright then." Arcee said as her hologram formed and Jack went over to the garage door and opened it to let Arcee out. He watched her drive away before he brought the door back down and took out his cell phone again. While he'd meant what he said, he couldn't have her still here or it'd be suspicious. :Hey, Smokescreen, you wanna go on a date?:

The reply didn't come for almost a full two minutes, and Jack suspected the mech had debated whether or not to even answer the call in the first place. :…What?:

:I need a ride to take Sierra out to the movies, wondered if you'd want to volunteer like before, and I need to talk with you:

:You sure I'm not too dangerous to be around, like everyone else thinks?:

Jack blinked at the questioned, and rubbed the fading mark on his neck. : Of course I don't. I like you a lot, Smokescreen, and I want to spend time with you while you're still on Earth:

:We're going to get into even more trouble if we do this:

:I know, but even if it's for just a little while, we still need to talk:

Smokescreen didn't reply for the longest time, and Jack was getting nervous. He knew whatever Arcee had told him when they went on their mission must have affected him. :…Alright then, we're do you wanna meet?:

:At the corner of where my home is; I'll meet you there in an hour:

:I'll be there:

"I'm leaving now, mom!" Jack called as he headed out into the garage.

"Have a nice time, Jack!" June called back before Jack closed the door.

The teen went over to the garage hatch and opened the door, moving under it before he set it back down and jogged down the sidewalk toward the stop sign. He rubbed his hands together nervously, feeling more nervous about talking with Smokescreen than going on his date with Sierra. Ever since he learned Smokescreen had almost died, he'd been forced to re-evaluate what their friendship was actually like.

While he hated to admit it, even to himself, Miko maybe had a more than a point to what she was saying.

In the beginning, Jack really had just wanted the mech's friendship, he'd become to like the mech more and more with the time they had spent together. Could he have had a crush and just not been aware of it, until Miko so thoughtfully made him notice? Or was it just the face he thought he'd really lost Smokescreen that made him realize it? He didn't know what triggered it, but Jack could at least admit he liked Smokescreen a lot, and he needed to talk to the mech about it.

And he needed to talk to Sierra too. With Smokescreen he felt alive, normal, but with Sierra he didn't really feel anything.

Jack noticed Smokescreen pulling up next to him and he smiled at him before he got into the driver's seat. "Hey, Smokescreen, it's good to see you again."

"Did you want to talk now, or after?" Smokescreen questioned.

"After." Jack said decidedly. He felt the mech driver along the street and he absently patted the steering wheel. "You know remember where to go or do you need some help?" he teased.

Smokescreen huffed indignantly. "Please, of course I know where that girl lives." He said and paused. "It's down the left, right?"

"Right." Jack said leaning back into the seat and crossed his arms. When they came upon Sierra's house, Jack patted the dashboard. "Congratulations, you did it all one your own." He said and Smokescreen made another huff as Jack got out and walked up the driveway. He knocked on the door and it opened to reveal Sierra, who smiled upon seeing him. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah." Sierra replied walking out of her house and closed the door behind her, but her smiled faded a little as soon as she saw the car they were taking. "Your friend lent you his car, again?"

"Uh, yeah, he's a really great guy." Jack said and got back into the driver's seat while Sierra took the passenger's.

Sierra looked around the interior. "This is the same guy who's been getting you into trouble, right?" she asked putting the seatbelt on.

"He's really sorry about it, but like I said, he confessed to what he did." Jack replied a tad defensively. "And he's not so bad once you get to know him. I like him a lot."

Sierra stared thoughtfully at Jack and looked out the window. "I see."

Jack looked at the road in front of him and made a show of pressing his foot down on the gas pedal.

"This," Sierra paused after the movie had ended and Jack was driving her home, "I had a nice time again."

Jack nodded absently. "Look, we need to talk."

Sierra blinked and looked a bit sad. "You just get right to it, don't you?"

Jack blushed at his bluntness. "Sorry, but it's important." He said and neither of them made a move to leave the car once Jack parked it on the side of the road in front of Sierra's house.

"It's about your 'great guy,' isn't it?" Sierra asked knowingly.

Jack grimaced; first Miko, and now Sierra? Was he making it too obvious before this? "Yeah, it kinda is." He said vaguely because he knew Smokescreen was listening, but he didn't want the mech to find out like this.

Sierra pursed her lips and sagged her shoulders. "Well, then I hope he makes you happy." She said softly and made a move to leave the car.

"I could still walk you to the door?" Jack offered, but Sierra shook her head.

"No, I can do that myself." She said, though she paused at the window. "But tell me, did you at least like me?"

Jack looked guiltily back at her. "I did, once."

"But you just like him more." Sierra added. "Well, maybe now you'll stop looking so down." She said and walked up to her house.

Jack looked at the steering wheel. "Now it's time for us to talk."

"Jack, whatever I did, I didn't mean for this to happen." Smokescreen replied.

"You never mean for anything to happen, do you?" Jack questioned softly, but he shook his head. "It wasn't because of you; it was because of me…and my relation to you."

"I…I don't understand what you're saying." Smokescreen said confused.

Jack sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He wondered if the direct approach would be the best way to handle this. "I have what is called a 'crush' on you, it means that I'm interested in you…romantically." He said blushing.

Smokescreen was silent for a moment. "Oh, well, uh, was that it?" he asked distractedly.

Jack felt like he'd been punched in the gut. "Yeah, that was it." He said listlessly. "You can drop me off at the corner by my home." The teen felt detached as Smokescreen drove down the road. "If you don't feel the way I do about you, then what am I to you?"

"You're still my friend, and you were accepting of me." Smokescreen replied.

Jack glanced down at the steering wheel. "I just thought I couldn't keep this to myself, which you should know before you all found the Omega Keys and left. We'd never see each other after that, and there'd be nothing significant about me to stay in your processor."

"That's not true, you've managed to surprise me a few times, including tonight." Smokescreen said.

Jack smiled slightly. "This isn't exactly a good thing to be remembered by, that I'm only important to you because we broke the rules together."

"You're important to me for other reasons." Smokescreen retorted.

As Jack saw the drop-off point near, he gathered his resolve to say all of what he wanted. Whether or not this made any difference, he didn't care now. He just wanted to say his piece, or else he'd regret having never done it at all.

"Smokescreen, I asked you out here tonight, because I really did have more to say." He admitted. "I can respect that you don't have feelings for me, like I do for you, but I just want you to know…you'll always be my friend too. Even if all this is, is just a crush." He said and when the car stopped, he got out of the driver's seat, though he patted the hood as he walked around the mech. "I may not be the most open of people, but you make me feel normal, alive, and though how we went about it was not the greatest of ways, thanks for being my friend."

Smokescreen sounded a bit stunned, much like on the night Jack gave him his ultimatum about not getting back at Vince. "You're welcome."

Jack smiled slightly once again. "I know I've said it a lot, but I guess this is the last time we're gonna see each other for a while."

"It won't last." Smokescreen said confidently. "We'll see each other soon enough."

Jack nodded and made his way down the sidewalk back to his home. "I hope we will." He said under his breath.