CHAPTER FOUR

Hottokenai Yo

***

Meg: The chapter's name means I Can't Leave Her Alone. That's all I'm allowing anyone to say here.

Sideswipe: But we…

Meg: No!

Sunstreaker: Can I just…

Meg: No!

Bumblebee: Whyisitnamedthat?

Meg: You'll see!! :)

***

Bianca had a complaint.

"Emma," She said, when we were in English class together on Monday. "I never see you anymore except in English class…"

"Why?" I whispered back. Our teacher has a strict no-talking rule.

"Because," Bianca said, but she didn't sound at all accusing. "You're almost always with either Zikya…"

"Because she's a new friend," I hissed.

"Or Bumblebee." Bianca finished.

"Oh." I couldn't think of anything to say to that. I turned back to my paper, and began drawing a picture in the margin. It was true, what Bianca was saying. Bee and I had been nearly inseparable after the fight with Starscreamer. I didn't know why, but when I was with Bee, I didn't have that empty, hollow feeling in my chest, like I did when I was by myself. And the empty feeling was horrible. I didn't like it at all.

Bee was only too happy to spend time with me, and we would have been together 24/7 if not for…well, a number of things.

Like this.

But, other then that, Bee and I were becoming very close. We played video games together, went driving together, we had even gone shopping together, although granted it was only to get some things for Nenona to make a pie with, but it was still shopping.

I looked at Bianca, my beautiful, strong guardian, and saw hurt in her eyes. I gulped. I loved Bia, and I didn't want to hurt her, and so I said: "Okay, how about a girl's night out this week? Just you, me, Zikya, Arcee and Elita1? Okay?"

Bianca's eyes lit up, and she said: "Oh, Em, great! We can go shopping!"

"And see a movie!" I added, feeling excited.

"We still need to go shopping for the ball," Bianca reminded me. "Oh, did the twins tell you? They invited Arcee and Elita1 to the ball with them."

Now, my eyes lit up. "Bia, that's great…isn't it?"

"Well…sort of. Sides' made it clear that they were only going as friends…" Bianca stressed.

I groaned then, and slammed my head down on to the desk.

"Careful Em, that's fragile…" Bianca told me.

*

On Thursday, we had out girls night out.

Ooh, uh-huh, yeah
Something 'bout your friends are always there for you
Help you with your bedtime and they'll see you through
Being with a man is never quite the same
Cos we just have some fun and really play the game
I don't know where will go
But I know we're gonna start the show
Girls are on the town tonight
Nothing can stop us
You can see it in her eyes
That we're not gonna sleep tonight
We're gonna get down tonight
See if we can make you blush
We can be mysterious
And we're not gonna sleep tonight
Tonight, we're not gonna sleep, yeah
We will find the time to party all night long
Now that we're together we just can't go wrong
Dancing in the street and making lots of noise
People wanna join us, especially the boys
There's no way, it's just the girls
For tonight, we're in our own world
Girls are on the town tonight
Nothing can stop us
You can see it in her eyes
That we're not gonna sleep tonight
We're gonna get down tonight
See if we can make you blush
We can be mysterious
And we're not gonna sleep tonight
(We're not gonna sleep)
(We're not gonna sleep tonight)
Tonight
(We're not gonna sleep tonight)
(Yeah-hey)
(We're not gonna sleep)
Girls are on the town tonight
You can see it in her eyes
That we're not gonna sleep tonight
We're gonna get down tonight
We can be mysterious
And we're not gonna sleep (yeah)
Girls are on the town tonight
Nothing can stop us (can stop us)
You can see it in her eyes
That we're not gonna sleep tonight (woo!)
We're gonna get down tonight (gonna get down tonight)
See if we can make you blush (see if we can make ya blush)
We can be mysterious
And we're not gonna sleep tonight
We're not gonna sleep tonight
(We're not gonna sleep tonight)
We're not gonna sleep
We're not gonna sleep tonight (tonight)
(We're not gonna sleep tonight)
We're not gonna sleep tonight…

"I haven't had a girls night out in my life," Zikya informed me, as we road downtown with Bianca, listening to that song.

"Me neither," I replied, and we grinned at each other. She was wearing her favourite colours of white, blue and yellow – a nice blouse, and three-quarter-length jeans. A snake pendant hung around her neck. I was wearing blue jeans and a new blouse – it was red with silver designs on it. I loved it. Bianca didn't seem to like it, though, although she didn't say anything.

But I could tell.

All these thoughts vanished, though, when we pulled up on the side of the road where the girls were waiting for us.

"Hi guys!" Arcee called.

"You guys look great!" Was my reply, as Zikya and I got out onto the footpath, and Bianca transformed into her holoform, which was wearing black jeans and a pretty white blouse.

Arcee was wearing a blue jeans skirt, a blue top and a pink leather jacket.

Elita1 was wearing a cute gold jumper of blue jeans, and both of them were wearing makeup, although in my opinion their holoforms were so pretty that they didn't need makeup!

We went shopping first.

"Are you going to the ball?" I asked Zikya, as we stood around in the dress shop, which was a mass of lace, bows and satin.

She looked at the ground. "Well…you see…I don't think I can afford to buy a new dress…"

"We'll find something you can afford," I said firmly, before grabbing her arm and pulling her towards the second hand dresses. "Come on, I'm buying one, so you're not getting out of it that easily!"

She grinned. "Okay!"

So the five of us hunted for dresses.

Arcee found a sea-green gown.

"You look like a mermaid." Bia said bluntly.

The dress went back on the shelf.

Then, Bianca found a bright orange dress.

"You look like a pumpkin." Arcee said flatly.

The dress went back on the shelf.

Then, Elita1 came up with a beautiful red gown that had layers, and a red bow hanging from the back.

"Hey, that looks like it'd fit Arcee!" Zikya said cheerfully, as she emerged from behind a display case with this gorgeous gold gown with black-netting and pretend roses on it.

"That'd suit Elita1 to a T!" I had to say, jut as I came up, holding a beautiful blueish-black two-toned gown with off-the-shoulder sleeves.

"Bianca, you should try that on." Arcee said when she noticed the gown. She had just come out of the dressing room, and we noticed a white gown in her arms, it had a blue trim and a yellow bow on the left hip.

"And Zikya should definitely try that one on." Bianca said, as she held up a low-cut black gown without sleeves.

"Emma, you should try that on," Elita1 said with a smile, and with that we all took the dresses that had been assigned to us and went into the dressing rooms.

*

"What movie did you guys want to see?" I asked, as we arrived at the movie theatre. "They're showing Harry Potter at the moment…"

"Yeah, let's see that," Zikya was in a really good mood, as she swung her hopping bag from her hand.

So, we bought the tickets for The Half-Blood Prince and, for the next two hours, we sat in silence watching this really scary movie.

"It had a good plot though," Bia admitted, when we left the theatre.

"Did you see when Harry and Ginny kissed?" Arcee said. "Classic teen romance."

We were silent for a moment, and then Bianca said: "I'd better get the girls home, okay?"

We agreed, and so we all said good night to each other, and then Bianca transformed. Zikya and I climbed in, and Bianca drove us away towards our homes.

"So, Zikya, I've been meaning to ask you," I said, as the radio played quietly in the background. "Do you live with your parents?"

Zikya was quiet for a second, and then she said: "I ran away from home when I was twelve, because my parents abused me."

I didn't mean to gasp but I did. Happy little Zikya, a child of abuse? "I'm so sorry…" I whispered.

She turned to smile at me. "It's okay," She said. "You didn't know. So, what about you? Aside from the giant robots," (Bia chuckled). "Who's your family?"

"Umm, well…" It was my turn to reveal the shaky past. "I don't know who my real parents are. I was adopted by Nenona and Jerome when I was very young…"

"Do you like living with them?" Zikya questioned me.

I nodded vigorously. "Yes! Absolutely! I love Nenona and Jerome very much! What about you…do you regret running away from home?"

"No," Zikya was still smiling. "I like living by myself – I have a lot of freedom, and I can experiment in my basement as much as I like."

We both laughed at that, and then were quiet for a moment.

Then, out of the blue, Bia said: "Opti and I are going to the dance together."

Both Zikya and I jumped. Bia had been very quiet during our conversation, and now she'd just gone and said this!

Then, I recovered. "You're going with Optimus!? Oh, Bia, that's wonderful! You two make a great couple!"

"Em!" She said, but I could tell that she was pleased.

Then, I turned to Zikya and said: "You know, you should go with Wheeljack."

Zikya blushed. "Really? You think so?"

I nodded. "You two get along great – I reckon he really likes you…and I know that you like him!"

Zikya looked embarrassed, but then she smiled. "Well…okay then, I'll ask him and see! What about you – who're you going with?"

I jut shrugged. "No one yet…both the twins asked me, but I couldn't say yes or no, so they're going with the other girls…as friends, according to 'Sides…"

"Hmm…I see…" Zikya said, and then turned to look up at the sky. "We'd better hurry…it looks like there's a storm coming…"

*

Bia and I dropped Zikya off home, and then made it home just before the storm hit! I ran inside, just as the rain began to pour.

"Wow!" I exclaimed. "Made it!" I knew that Bia would be okay out there – the Cybertronians are really tough cookies. I was kind of worried, though. Storms aren't really my forte. I closed my eyes, and remembered something – flashes of light, and a painful feeling. What was that?

After I said goodnight to Nenona and Jerome, I went upstairs – and was surprised to find someone in my room.

"Bee…is that you?" I asked, recognizing his holoform even in the dim light.

"Em, I've been waiting ages for you to get home," Bee was sitting in my old rocker chair, from when I was a baby. I switched on the light. "Did you have fun tonight?"

I nodded, as I began to search around for my nightgown.

"It's over there," Bee pointed.

"Thanks," I said, as I retrieved the nightgown. I put the bag containing my dress and accessories in my wardrobe. "Yes, I did have fun tonight…but, Bee, what are you doing here?"

"Emma?" I suddenly heard Nenona's voice coming down the hall.

I turned to Bee, my eyes wide with panic. "Quick, hide!" I hissed at him, and he shot across the room and into the wardrobe, pulling it shut just as Nenona came in.

My heart was pounding. Nenona, who was Christian, would murder me if she found out there was a boy in my room…at night.

"Are you okay?" She asked, eyeing me. "I know you don't really like storms, so…"

"I'm okay." I lied.

"Do you need some help getting changed?" She asked, looking at my arm, and then picked up my nightgown. "I'll help you…"

What could I do? So, keeping my back to the wardrobe, I let Nenona help me get changed.

"Just call me if you get scared during the night." Nenona said, just as a bolt of lightning crashed overhead.

Despite myself, I shivered. "O-okay. Goodnight Nenona."

"Goodnight Emma." She smiled at me, before closing the door and going downstairs.

Bee came out of the closet then, just as I turned around. "You don't like storms?" He asked me, not quite looking at me.

"No, not really…hey, what's that?" I asked.

"Oh, this?" Bee held up something silver in his hand. He shrugged. "I found it on your wardrobe floor…"

"Let's see…" I reached for it – it looked like a silver heart necklace – I think it had a ruby and a sapphire on it, too.

And that's when the lights went out.

I froze.

"Em?" Bee's voice sounded very near.

"A b-blackout…" I said, and I remembered something else – something very bad about a blackout. Something terrible had happened…tears welled up in my eyes, and I let out a quiet sob. I couldn't believe it. Why was I crying so much lately?

"Em…" Bee's arms found me, and I felt myself being pulled into his hug. "What's the matter?"

"I don't like storms…and I don't like blackouts…" I whispered into his jacket. "Something very bad happened during a blackout…I just can't remember what…"

Bee was silent for a moment, and then he said: "Do you want me to stay with you?"

Even the rain seemed to be quiet, as it waited for my answer.

At last, all I could do was nod. Then I said: "Yes…please stay with me…" I felt him pull me gently towards my bed, and lay me down. He laid down beside me, and I put my head on his shoulder, on the part that doesn't hurt no matter how hard you lean on it. He pulled the covers up around us and then I heard him begin to sing quietly, in a voice so soft it was soothing.

"Fai la nanna principino,
Fai la nanna cuoricino,
Dormi bene nel lettino,
Che la mamma e' qui vicino.

Chiudi gli occhi dormi tanto
E vedrai tutto e' un incanto.

Rosso, verde, azzurro e oro
Son piu' belli, mio tesoro.
Viola, arpa e mandolino:
Tutto e' suono per il mio bambino

Fai la nanna rosellina,
Fai la nanna bambolina,
Dormi bene nel lettino,
Che la mamma e' qui vicino.

Chiudi gli occhi dormi tanto
E vedrai tutto e' un incanto.

Rosso, verde, azzurro e oro
Son piu' belli, mio tesoro.
Viola, arpa e mandolino:
Tutto e' suono per il mio bambino!"

"Bee…" I whispered sleepily. "How did you learn the lyrics to Ninnananna Dei Suoni Dei Colori?"

I sensed he was smiling as he replied: "The internet…"

"Oh, of course…"

"Em…will you go to the school ball with me? Please?" I heard the pleading in his voice, but there was also something else there…

I drew in a deep breath, and nuzzled my head against his shoulder, thinking. At last, just before I drifted off to sleep, I said: "Yes."

***

Meg: That song means Lullaby Of Sounds And Colours.

Bianca: Also, what was the song from before that?

Meg: We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight, by Emma Bunton.

Emma: Cool.