Zoe's POV

Chapter Eight – Strangers and Protective Topkicks.

Zoe laughed out loud at the old rickety tin can that hobbled its way down the dirt track and walked up to it as it rolled to a stop. She recognised it from the photo on Samantha's phone but thought that the camera angle had added the tired old man look – it hadn't. Gross mustard yellow had been splattered carelessly on its body however it happily boasted lime green wheels, bright blue flowers on its roof and a pink exhaust pipe. Although it looked as though it had been assembled by a two year old – it was exceptionally cute.

"Zoe! Zoe, Zoe Zoe!"

Said teen laughed again at the high pitched squeals that could only belong to Samantha and braced herself for the monster of hug she knew she'd receive. Samantha – all khaki shorts, tank top and flip flops – shot out of the camper and pelted over to her friend. Throwing her arms around Zoe, Samantha gave her an enormous hug before moving back and looking over her.

"Nice outfit babes, it's perfect in fact." She observed cheerfully, winking slyly.

Glancing down at herself, Zoe frowned. She was wearing very little; a small pair of denim shorts and a wavy long sleeved top decorated with beads. The look showed off her long slim legs, toned stomach and sleek curves. Shaking her head, Zoe's attention was caught (as was her breath) when two boys exited the camper.

The first stepped out of the passenger, removing his sunglasses in the process. He was hot. No two ways about it. He looked about nineteen, twenty and the seemed about 5'11 ish. Perfected muscles rippled in his arms as he swung the door shut and although his legs were covered by a pair of baggy jeans; she guessed they were toned as well. He was gorgeous but in a way that made her raise an eyebrow. He knew he was good-looking and he knew how to flaunt it. He made his way over and since his blue eyes were not covered by the shades, she saw him look her over and smile crookedly; he had liked what he saw. Great, she thought.

"Hey," His voice was soft, husky and would have been alluring had Zoe not put him straight into the 'be wary, very wary' category. "I'm Michael, you must be Zoe."

"Hi Michael, it's nice to meet you." Zoe replied politely, refusing to blush when he accepted her outstretched hand and kissed it, holding onto it to long after his lips left her skin.

Her gaze was drawn to the other boy – the driver – when she heard the door shut. Since the player who was still looking her over was Michael, the teen making his way over must have been Tony. He had shaggy blonde hair, covering the blue/green eyes and the quirky mouth. His nose clearly had been broken but despite this Zoe thought he was still good-looking. He was about a head taller than she was and although he was thin, he was by no means weak with his own set of muscles under his green top and casual baggy shorts. He made his way over and grinned at Zoe, as if he was happy to see her.

"Hello, I'm Tony. Nice to finally meet you." He said, extending his hand.

"You're Irish?" Zoe took his hand and gazed into his face, taking in every detail. Her comment made him laugh and place his hands in his pockets, never breaking eye contact.

"I've lost most of the accent, but yeah. My Mum's from Dublin and my Dad's from Edinburgh so I got a bit of everything in me." He replied happily, chuckling again when Zoe laughed.

"Samantha has told us a lot about you." Michael added, glancing at her friend who was holding onto Zoe's arm grinning like a child at Christmas. Zoe raised her eyebrow and looked at Samantha curiously but she only just flashed her a look that read 'you'll thank me later'.

"Oh, uhhh... good?"

Tony seemed to sense her confusion and tried to rescue her. "You're a gymnast right?"

Oh that is it, Zoe thought. Samantha is going to get up close and personal with her fist. A gymnast? Brilliant. Samantha had once told her that that was a sure fire way of getting guys interested. So that's why old drool boy was staring at her.

"Yeah I am," Zoe replied but desperately tried to steer the convocation away from her and added, "I hope one of you have an alternate route to the camp site, we have a problem."

When she received bewildered looks, she led the way past her truck and lent against the grill to watch their reactions. The grill cooled and she inwardly sighed. It was hot now that she was out of the shade.

Each had different emotions pass across their faces simultaneously; Michael's was confusion then slight frustration, Samantha's was puzzlement then turned sulky. It was Tony's that interested Zoe most though; he went from confused to calculating. Turning, Zoe watched him look over Ironhide thoughtfully, back to the fallen pine and then back to her truck.

"What?" Zoe asked, distracting Tony from his thoughts. His gaze met Zoe's and he answered with a still thoughtful and soft tone.

"I was wondering whether your truck could drag it at one end so then it could be rolled off the road." Zoe didn't notice the way Tony was staring at her or the low grunt of her Topkick.

"Nice ride by the way." Michael added head tilted at the GMC, impressed. Zoe nodded her thanks and bit her lip, pondering the idea. Turning her head to look at Ironhide's windscreen she threw it a questioning look, thinking it over.

"We have to do something." Samantha said one hand on her hip, the other running through her hair.

"I have a piece of rope. If it holds, it should work." Tony reassured. He walked up to Zoe and gave her a comforting smile which she returned and after a few seconds she nodded.

"Alright, but one of you guys have to do it." She bargained and laughed when she saw smiles full of eagerness usually found in six year olds fill their expressions.

Samantha walked up to Zoe just as she was about to open the driver's door.

"So?" She asked enthusiastically in a low voice, bouncing up to her friend.

"So what?" Zoe returned, trying to sound ignorant. She gave Samantha her best innocent look, just to be sure.

But the teen wasn't fooled. "So? I choose them myself. I want Michael but that seems ok because of all the looks Tony is giving you."

Zoe chuckled and pulled at the door handle. When it failed to respond she tried again whilst saying, "That's insane. I like them both, they seem to be nice."

Samantha scoffed, "Yeah, they're both totally not players Zoe. Wake up girl, I brought them specially. It's about time you have some fun." After a few seconds she added gently, "You're going to have to let Scott go at some time, babes."

Zoe stopped trying to enter her Topkick, faced Samantha and smiled sadly. "I know Sammy, I am letting go. But it's only been a few months. He even said he loved me. I can't, not yet. Please stop? For me? I am trying to let him go, I promise"

Samantha pulled Zoe to her and gave her a heartfelt hug. She had known she shouldn't have even mentioned Scott, especially since it had only been three months since they finished. Scott had been Zoe's sweetheart in England. He had been about to leave University when Zoe had to move. They had been soul mates, best friends, passionate lovers. They had even told each other they loved each other. But then that shattered when Zoe ended it. She couldn't face the idea of talking on Webcam but not to face. She hated that she thousands of miles from the one person in her life since her family perished that was dear to her and she hated that she was never to hug, kiss and embrace him. She had wanted him to move on, to find someone else and in order for him to be happy; she had had to give up hers. Samantha understood this and although her intentions had been pure, she knew she shouldn't have said anything.

Zoe pulled away and wiped her moist eyes. "Got to the boys, ask them to get the rope." She said, reaching for the handle again.

Smiling apologetically, Samantha nodded and left, leaving Zoe alone with a very uncooperative Topkick.

Clicking at the keys, she growled when they still did not unlock the door. She jiggled the handle, pulled at it furiously and then slapped the door although her usual anger wasn't in it.

"Ironhide let me in!" She pleaded. Her voice broke as the emotions she had been hiding for moths resurfaced. "Come on, I need this break. I need this; I need to be with friends."

Her hand was still on the handle and she felt it heat up and then open. It swung open softly and she climbed in. Zoe slumped in the driver's seat thankfully and closed her eyes. Without looking, she fumbled with the key until she got it into the dashboard and turned it. Her Topkick gave a low growl before starting, the engine revving loudly. She heard a tap on her window and she unwound it when she saw Tony, grinning widely.

"Can you turn it around?" He asked, gesturing. "Then we can tie it round the hook at the back.

She nodded and clipped in her seatbelt, experience telling her the truck would not start unless she did. Turning in her seat, she back up Ironhide and managed to turn him around.

She reversed slowly, stopping a few feet away from the downed tree. She still wondered what the hell happenned to it.

Clambering out and making sure no one saw her, she whispered, "Play nice, big guy." Patting the door fondly when she closed it, she made her way over to Michael and Samantha who were standing in the trees.

"How did you and Tony decide who to drive my truck?" Zoe asked, smirking at the Samantha like sulky look on his face.

"Rock, paper scissors." He growled, crossing his arms and looking pointedly away from Tony climbing into her Topkick.

The clearing really was as breathtaking as the boys had made it seem, Zoe decided, staring into the camp fire from her perch on a log.

It was surrounded by trees but it was large enough to accommodate two large tents, their two vehicles, a roaring fire and a small stream. Zoe could hear it gurgling but didn't turn her head, captivated by the dancing of the sparks emitted into the air whenever the wood crackled and snapped. Samantha and Michael had called it a night and although Zoe was tired, she didn't want to sleep just yet. She was in her pyjamas; a thin blue cotton top with matching three quarter length bottoms.

"Can I join you?"

Zoe jumped and laughed nervously when she saw Tony settle down next to her. The calm firelight made him look younger, more towards her seventeen then his actual nineteen, illuminating his hair and reflecting off his eyes, making the pupils dance. She smiled and nodded and returned her gaze to the fire.

After a couple minutes of comfortable silence he spoke again. "Your truck handles like a dream you know. You must keep it in really good nick Zoe."

Startled and surprised by his random comment, Zoe turned quickly but felt her heart leap to her throat when she saw how close he was to her. They were almost touching noses.

"Th...Thank you," She replied, smiling at Tony, happy that her Topkick had actually behaved himself.

"Samantha said you'd called it something, but I can't remember what." He continued, moving closer; shuffling slowly, unnoticed by Zoe.

"Ironhide, I call my truck Ironhide." She said, returning her gaze to the fire. Refusing to allow herself to become a play thing for a boy she hardly knew in the middle of a 'lonely' forest.

Tony seemed to get the message because although the intention was still clear in his face and he knew that this girl was not willing to play ball, he stopped advancing and stared at his hands. "Cool name, better then Sting at any rate."

Zoe laughed, yawned softly and stretched. She blinked wearily at him and stood up, stretching her arms above her head. "Night Tony, see you tomorrow." And with that, Zoe made her way to the tent she shared with Samantha, unzipped it and entered.

Tony watched with longing clear on his face. He wanted her so bad. He knew Michael wanted to take her here and now but Tony could wait. He would make friends and then take her for himself. If she was as good as she looked he would keep her for a while. As he was about to turn in, he could swear he saw the Topkicks headlights flash. The light had been tinged with red.

It was a warning.