"Wanna go for a drive?" he asked me after a while. "I need to go for a long drive."
All happy I got up and wiggled my tail, tilted my head and barked at him.
He transformed, I got in and he drove off. Not even fast… he just drove off in a quiet way… not like him at all.
We drove towards town. The city was always awake, even at night. It was quiet when we drove into town, not too many cars on the roads. The streets were lit up by streetlights, the lights in the shops and the neon lights that decorated the buildings.
I wondered where he was going. Hopefully we wouldn't run into any Decepticons again. He drove up to the entrance of a large park in the middle of the city.
"Let's go for a walk in the park, you'll like that, right? Hope you don't mind it's dark." He let me out and transformed.
There were hardly any people here. Just some homeless people walking around or sleeping on a bench. And some suspicious looking characters, but they got out of our way as soon as they saw Hot Rod.
I decided to take off unnoticed. That was easy since Hot Rod's mind was light years away from here. He'd probably think I was just wondering around like dogs do if he'd notice I was gone.
There was a wooden bench and a street light (with an old fashion look so it fitted nicely in a park) beside the path he followed. Behind the bushes I transformed back to my own self and sat down on the bench as if it were a comfortable lounch seat. It actually was a back killer…
And then there was this feeling of being watched… I couldn't place it. It was probably because it was kinds creepy in a park at night.
He came closer… walked past me… never even noticed I was there. I grinned.
"You're sure miles away from here with your thoughts!"
My sudden words startled him and he looked my way, somewhat annoyed. That annoyed look vanished quickly when he recognized me.
"Hey, it's you… the crying girl at the lake some time ago…"
"Is THAT how you remember me?" I said somewhat offended.
"I'm sorry, I forgot to ask your name back then."
"Alyx," I said, glad he asked so I could finally introduce myself to him. (even though he still doesn't know who I really am)
"I'm Hot Rod."
"Hi!"
He smiled. "Mind if I sit down?"
"Please do! I'd like the company."
He sat down in the grass and I could clearly see the sad look on his face.
"It seems you're the one who needs to be cheered up now."
He let out a sigh. "Oh, it's nothing."
"Come on, that look in your eye sis just awful!"
"I just thought the most gorgeous female Autobot around would love to be my girl… guess I was wrong…"
"Ah! She must be the crazies one around as well. Why wouldn't she?"
"Would you?"
She hoped the street light didn't show the blush on my cheeks. "Any day! Do you have any idea how cute you are?!"
"Yeah, I do," there came his self confidence. "But she doesn't see me that way. She said she wants to be independent."
"So let her," I put my hands behind her head and stretched my legs. "She doesn't know what she's missing, to bad for her, right?"
"She wants to stay friends."
"Oooh… that's a killer! Can you do that?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "I'll get over it."
"Of course you will. And don't even thing about changing yourself for any girl, okay! Just be your own cute self."
I saw his eyes brightening up a bit.
"Talking about being one's self. Have you told your friends your secret yet?" he cleverly changed the subject.
I could have seen that coming, but I hadn't expected that at all. I looked up at him as I let out a sigh. "No… I'm afraid not. I can't."
My eyes must have shown my sadness clearly cause he put his hand on my shoulder – or actually it was so big it covered my back as well – to comfort me.
"Why not? Do they mean that much to you?"
I nodded. "They do."
"Maybe the right moment to tell them is still to come."
"I sure hope so. Dad promised me he'd find a solution."
Now I was glad I called Optimus 'Dad', or I would have probably blown my cover.
"Oh, by the way…" he just remembered something. "Did you see a dog pass by here some time ago?" He looked around, looking for me.
I grinned. "That light husky? Yeah, she took off with some strays that live around here."
"I hope she stays out of trouble," he looked at me again. "Talk about trouble… It isn't real safe here for a girl all by herself, is it?"
"Oh, that's alright, I can defend myself just fine!" I jumped up from the bench and showed him some karate-kicks I had seen on tv.
"What if someone holds a gun to your head, or threatens you with a knife?"
"Hmm… I could handle the knife…" I thought out loud. "But the gun … could give me trouble…" I sat down again. "Well, now you're here. So no one will dare to try anything."
"Your dad will be pleased when I drop you safely at home, right?"
"Right!" I said with a smile. But how could he drop me off at home… I don't have a home here in the city… Need to come up with something…
"What's your dad like?"
I thought for a moment… trying to forget the home for now. "I think he's a lot like your leader."
"Optimus Prime?"
"That's the one."
"Well, if he is, you don't need to worry, he'll find a solution with your 'secret-problem'. Talking about Optimus… He'll be worried about me if I don't get back to Autobot-city." He got up.
"Don't you think he'll contact you if he wants to know where you are?"
"Well, yes, but when he does, I'm usually in trouble. Wanna help me find Lucky? If I come back without her, I'm in even more trouble. That dog is real special to him and a lot of other Autobots… including myself."
"Of course I will!" I was glad to hear that.
We walked around the park, talking about every thing that kept us busy. He's really great, I must try to convince Dad that it would be alright to tell him who I am.
There was this creepy feeling again. It gave my goose bumps. "Could we get out of the park, it's kinda here at night."
He grinned. "Sure, I don't think we'll find Lucky here. We've been around the whole park now.
So we left the park and the spine-chilling feeling disappeared.
After a few hours – time flies when you're having fun – I saw a nice apartment building. If I told him that's where I lived, I could get out of sight, he'd go on finding Lucky, I could transform back to my doggy-self and let him find me.
"Hey, that's where I live," I pointed at the white building, four stories up. It looked new and stylish, but not too expensive.
"Nice place," he said. "Your dad will be pleased I brought you back in one piece."
He knelt down and I looked up at him. … awkward silence…
"It was great seeing you again," he said.
"It sure was. I had a great time with you," I agreed. If I were taller, of if he were shorter I definitely would have kissed him.
"Maybe we'll run into each other again."
"I hope so." I walked up the three steps to the front door. It wasn't locked, it lead to the hall with mailboxes and stairs. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you find your dog."
"I'll find her. I have to get her a collar with a tracing bug in it when we get home!" He transformed. "Goodnight, Alyx."
"Goodnight, Hot Rod." I waved as he drove off.
MAN! It was sooo late! Hey… there was this creepy feeling of being watched again. It crawled up my spine and it gave me the chills. I looked around but there was no one to be seen.
Quickly I transformed to my dog self and took off. I ran after Hot Rod in the shadows. Because he was looking for me, he wasn't driving very fast, so I could easily keep up with him.
He stopped at another park and called my name. I squeezed myself through the fence and got into the park. The creepy feeling got stronger. Hmm… dark park again.
"LUCKY!! LUCKY!!" Hot Rod called.
I quickly ran towards him. Faster and faster cause that feeling gave me the scary sense that some dark hand was about to grab me and pull me into the darkness. The hair in my neck and on my back stood up straight.
I barked to get his attention and when he turned my way and his headlights lit me up, the feeling faded a bit.
He opened up his windscreen/roof/you know what I mean and I jumped in.
"Finally, you little rascal! We've been looking all over you! You just missed my new friend Alyx." He closed up and drove off, back to Autobot-city.
In the darkness of the park, the trees and bushes rustled a bit. Two red eyes lit up in the shadows and a huge figure stepped into the light, following Hot Rod as he drove off. His white with red F15 wings shimmered in the city lights.
"Well, that's mighty interesting," Starscream said with a smirk.
