Note! I know it's been such a looong time guys, but I promise to keep writing now! I've re-read my story and fallen back in love with it so expect some good stuff. All my family issues have been solved and I'm out of school, so let's get going again!
Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, I don't know how many times I must say this. They hasbro's idea.
To Flamers: Still got a bucket!
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Staring at the boys around her she looked at the two blondes then the newer ones. "So, uhm...If I may ask the four of you. Where am I going to sleep exactly? It seems to already be a bit crowded in here and I'm sure I can just sleep in my car if I need too..."
"Liz! C'mon! I mean, how long have you known us? You can have my room and I'll just share a bed with Ashleigh." Jordan said, hugging his younger cousin to his side.
"Yeah, we don't have a problem with it at all! You should know better." Ashleigh muttered and smacked her foot lightly.
"But Liz, no really! Avery said something about being careful with your arm and your back, what's that all about?" Jordan asked, laying his head on her shoulder, his big green eyes looking up at her.
"You remember my pinched nerve I had way back when? I got in a fight and it get lodged again...They had to rebuild my spine and my left arm entirely so that I could still move. I'm pretty much part Inspector Gadget. But better looking and a lot smarter." She muttered, looking into the green eyes and smiling softly.
Staring, all four of the boys gawked before looking to one another.
"So you've been pretty stressed out lately then, haven't you cuz?" Ashleigh asked softly, playing with the lace of her thigh high leather boots.
"I really have guys. It's been really difficult to wake up sometimes, but I got through it and here I am, talking with the two best guys in the family, besides Ave of course." Liz replied, smiling down at her cousin and nudging him with her toe so that he gently fell back.
"Well then," Matt began and got up. "How about we let you get settled and rest for the night and we'll introduce you to our style of life in the morning?"
Smiling up at him, Liz nodded and got up as well, moving to the door as everyone looked at her with a puzzled look.
"Uhm, all my things are in my car." She laughed, and opened it, walking down the stairs with the boys trailing after her. 'Like flies to fresh dead meat...'
Matt scrambled up to her and held out his arms openly, as if waiting for the weight to pack itself on. "We can help, really. Four strong guys make moving things fast and painless." He told her, stumbling over his words and trying to hide the pink that crossed his face with his hair.
"Okay, okay. Here, Matt take my clothes in please, and Ashleigh, will you get my make up bag. Jordan and James, I've got a few electronics in the back I need to hook up so I can tune my arm up. Can you get that?"
Looking at the boys, who didn't seem to think she'd spew orders so fast, she watched them all nod and grab the random objects she inquired about and take them up the stairs before sitting in the passenger seat.
"Jazz, I'm going to sleep in the house, unlike I wanted..." She muttered, looking down at the floor and sighing out, running her fingers over the arm rest of the seat.
"Inside is safer for you Liz, and as long as the black haired boys stay away from you I'm fine..." The metallic voice rang and almost cut out too swiftly.
"Jazz, what are you not telling me? It's really starting to peeve and upset me that you won't tell me the truth..." Liz grumbled, picking at some lint on the seat.
"Ow! Hey cut it out, that actually hurts me some...And I'll tell you when we go to Michigan. I promise. Right now you need to go rest up and have fun with your family. It's your vacation from whats to come. Please go relax..." He muttered, shivering a little beneath her fingers.
"Alright Jazz, you win again, but only for now...I want the truth before I meet Optimus..." Liz muttered, patting the dashboard and getting out of the car, shutting the door gently and heading back up into the apartment.
Eventually the boys went out, apparently like usual, and left Liz to settle in Jordan's room, nosing around a bit before shoving her things in the closet and under the bed. But slowly, she pulled out a few tuning instruments and pulled the fake skin back from her arm.
Beneath it were wires and switches, metal surfaces that seemed to shimmer in the dim lamplight of the room.
'It may just be hospital work, but I lived in Japan...' She thought to herself, smiling and tweaking a few things, testing surfaces to see how they reacted. Occasionally, she twitched violently at a shock from the equipment.
"Ow!" She almost began to cuss out the things, but decided to calm down before she caused her cousin's rent to go up by leaving a giant hole in their wall.
After tweaking out her arm some, and changing into a white satin kimono, she laid down in the bed, burying her face in the pillow and sighing. Jordan always did smell good, and now it only lulled her to sleep.
In the morning, or rather noon as her body had grown accustomed too, she found herself being jostled about by Jordan who was far too happy, in her opinion.
"Liz, we're having a party today with all the guys and some of the girls from the last few years. You just gotta come! There's gonna be music and dancing! It'll be so worth it!" He howled, jumping like a monkey on the flimsy mattress.
"Ah! Ah! Jordan! Stop jumping for God's sake! I'll go! Jesus!" She exclaimed, trying to curl up and hide from his movements, not worried about getting her herself, but worried about hurting him.
After a few more bounces he got up and left the room, telling to boys to back off the bathroom so she could get ready.
And she did just that, throwing on a slightly tattered tank top and some ripped up jeans after a general short shower, outlining her eyes generously and pulling her two-toned hair up into a braid. Looking at herself in the mirror she could only laugh.
"Cause I totally look like I belong at this party..." She muttered, looking to the window. "At least I can take Jazz..."
"Who's Jazz?!" Ashleigh burst in, looking at her for a second and blinking, only to smile at her, back to his question.
"Oh, uh, I named my car, kinda gets to be a habit where everyone's got a nick-name..." She reply, looking at him nervously, trying to cover her embarrassment.
"Ah, I see, sounds like a thing there huh?" Ashleigh smiled and then looked at Jordan who was running around the halls of the apartment like a puppy dog after it's own tail, grinning the whole while.
Eventually there was a loud 'thud' heard from the front room and Liz ran in, only to see James on top of Jordan. Slowly, she backed up and just continued to peak around the corner, watching the two and gawking as her cousin kissed this black haired boy she just met.
Stepping back and then yelping loudly, to distract them, she 'tripped' around the corner and looked down at her feet. "Stupid feet..."
Jordan got up and helped her up quickly, kind of grunting with her weight and smiling at her softly.
"You should really be more careful cuz. This house is full of loose carpet and random shoes." He laughed before looking at her semi-serious expression.
"You should be careful as well cousin," She muttered, hugging him and whispering as she moved closer. "I know, but I won't tell them. You're both far too safe with me. I promise."
Jordan's expression changed from scared to relieved as he hugged his cousin close and smiled at her. "Thanks Liz, that means a lot..."
Laughing, she got up and then looked at him. "So, when do we leave?"
"NOW!" He exclaimed, running around her and then out the door. "So let's go!" He yelled from his jeep in the parking lot and jostled around in it roughly. Slowly, the other four followed him out and laughed loudly, only to leave after Liz got in her car and was ready to follow.
"So what are we doing?" Jazz asked as they took off, following the boys in their jeep, his steering being much better than hers since it was so early for her.
"Going to a party...Doesn't really sound like my thing but Jordan really wants me to go...Oh and...Ashleigh knows your name, but not about you, so if you hear anyone but me say your name, don't answer...Sorry.." Liz muttered, putting on her sunglasses and leaning back in the seat to close her eyes."I figured a few more days and we should head to Michigan. I really don't want this to be a long visit..."
Sighing, Jazz silently agreed by leaning her chair back a little. "I'm sorry there are such pressing matters before you Liz...I wish you weren't in the middle of it..."
"Jazz..." She muttered, yawning just a little.
"Yes Liz...?" He replied, his voice slightly concerned.
"Shut up and drive..." Her voice was a murmur as sleep over took her and the ride continued, good thing the trip was to be long as well. Liz couldn't even begin to understand, but she was so exhausted.
Without a word, Jazz kept on, following the little Toyota in front of him and playing Liz's music to keep himself distracted. Eventually they came to Riverside Drive and both cars stopped at a wide park where many other cars already were.
Slowly Jazz turned the music up and waited for Liz to respond, which she didn't, until he jerked a little.
"Liz, your cousins are coming, wake up!" He muttered loud enough for her to her.
Taking her time, Liz stretched and then looked at the window to smile at Ashleigh who was staring at her as if trying to move her with his mind.
"Come Liz, you must come to the fun..." He murmured and grabbed her hands after she opened the door and pulled her up and over his shoulder. "Let's go!" He laughed, walking toward everyone,
Yelping, she clung to his neck rather roughly. "Ashleigh I'm too heavy! Put me down! I don't want to hurt you guys!" she howled, flailing her legs some and grunting.
Not letting go, Ashleigh kept walking toward the people and Liz had nothing to do but stare back at Jazz with a plea for help. She hated being social, that's why she chose cars to work on, you just have to be nice there...
Once at the huge group, Ashleigh put her down and smiled at her. "Buck up, maybe you'll meet a guy here or something." He nudged her, laughing gently and grinning ear to ear at the idea.
"It wouldn't matter Ash. I've gotta leave in about two days anyway. I'm just stopping by on my way to Michigan. Got a deal with a car dealership and they want me there soon as possible." Liz muttered.
Ashleigh nodded, seeming not very phased by anything she'd just said and walked off to talk to some of the girls at the party. While he did that, Liz found a picnic table and sat down on it, just watching all the people around her and sighing out. 'The normal life...'
But before the normal life could even begin to look good, she saw a jet fly up over the sky and squeaked, ducking to hide herself from it's view.
Gingerly, she got up and walked back to Jazz, telling her cousin's she'd forgotten something in the car and slid into the drivers seat.
"Jazz! What the hell is he doing?!" She whispered, her voice rushed and cracked at the urgency. Her eyes went from his dash up to the sky.
"Apparently stalking us to see where we're going...Maybe you should call Optimus, Liz...Tell him about Starscream and let him know we may need cover tomorrow when we head up there..." Jazz muttered, the lights inside flickering in slight agitation.
"Okay, I'm going to head back under the picnic cover. I'll call him." Liz whispered again and got up, shutting the door and walking back over to where she was, pulling out her phone and dialing Optimus's frequency.
"Yes? Who is this?" The loud metallic voice rang in her ear, giving her an excruciating headache.
"Be quiet Optimus! It's Liz! I have something to tell you so be quiet! I just spotted Starscream flying over Tulsa. Me and Jazz suspect he's following us, trying to see where you are. Jazz said to tell you we may need some type of cover if possible tomorrow. That's when we'll head to Michigan..." Liz seemed to mutter this entire conversation, not wanting anyone near by to hear.
"Very well. Contact me when you've entered Tennessee. We can't risk anyone until then." Optimus grumbled back.
"Alright, I'll speak with you then Sir." She whispered and hung up, looking down at her phone only to see the background being the Yaris from Tokyo. 'Such a trivial thing, a background...'
But before she could further scold herself, she turned and took a picture of Jazz, auto-placing it as her background.
She'd managed to have one simple day, and now tomorrow had become the day to decide how far the journey would really take her. It would decide the fight and how extreme it was to be. Maybe they would have time...to relax when they got there anyway.
Lugging around a spine and an arm is rather difficult after a while, that's why she'd been so content with Jazz, he helped her out whenever she needed. He was still pissing her off with the whole secret thing. And obviously it had to do with her...
Laughing she could only think to herself about the idea of Jazz being human. There's no telling what he would look like...or how he would react. But slowly, she grew fond of the idea and grins, making a note that a side project was needed.
Before long, it had grown dark outside and they had lit a campfire down closer to the water. Jordan had begged her to join and she obliged, eying the food around it with a hungry gaze. Jordan noticed and handed her a small steak that they had already prepared.
"You're so sweet Jordan." She laughed and smiled, cutting up the meat and chowing down hungrily while the others talked among themselves. And before long, everyone was eating and laughing, including her. Which was rare enough as it were.
But when the night had fully settled, everyone began home and she was sitting comfortably in the Solstice again, looking at the steering wheel before putting her shades on and relaxing, looking at the details.
"Optimus said he'd do his best and to call him when we got to Tennessee. I figure you'll have to if I pass out again...I'm sorry I'm such a burden Jazz..." Liz sighed, closing her eyes slowly.
"You aren't a burden Elizabeth..." He replied, only to hear her breathing softly. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me..."
Once home, an hour later, Liz got out and explained the situation, though in less Autobot related terms, and Jordan and Ashleigh sighed out at the same time, nodding slowly.
"Well fine. If you're that bored with us already..." Jordan muttered.
"I'm not bored!" She roared, jumping on top of the boys and looking at them both. "I've had a really great time. And I'll be coming back sometime to have more fun with you guys. I promise..."
Nodding, the twins hugged her and told her they'd all be out when she awoke due to testing so their goodbyes were said that night before she changed into another kimono and laid down, letting herself drift to sleep, not bothering with preparing for tomorrow.