Eventually, Amanda, the genius that she is, forgot to call the pizza guy so we ended up eating half the leftovers inside her fridge. She put on my favorite movie, the Lion King, which she knew by heart now and we started to quote the sentences.

We had a blast doing so, and I, being the genius that I am, forgot to call my uncle. I managed to fall asleep on the floor along with Amanda.

Now, I was trying to wake up and I noticed my vision didn't need adjusting anymore. Thank you, God.

I got up from the floor, only to find Amanda's sleeping figure over me. I shoved her legs away and got up and stretched. I should probably call my uncle.

I found Amanda's phone in its hold and dialed my uncle's number. A couple of rings later, my uncle answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Will, it's me, Melissa. Listen, I'm at Amanda's, I'm sorry I didn't call you earlier. I forgot."

"Oh, that's okay, Mel. Ironhide told me you arrived safely."

"He did? When?"

"Mel, you know he's not from around here." He said on the other line. He knew as well as I and the whole world, that everyone's conversations were being listened in. But, luckily, I was smart enough to take the hint and understand that he probably said it over a message or code or something, to evade the government from listening in on conversations they shouldn't.

"I know. Well, that's it, I'll be staying here for a while. Talk to you again later?"

"Sure Mel. You know the number. And don't tell anyone about them."

"Don't worry, never. Hear from you soon, Will. Tell Sarah and Belle I said hi."

"Sure thing." He hung up and I put the phone back into its place. Soon the alarm clock went off and I looked around, going to Amanda's room where the ringing sound was coming from. I took the alarm clock and turned it off. It was eight am, now and it was best if I woke up Amanda. After all, the alarm was on for a reason.

As I got to her, I shook her gently until I heard her groan. Yep, she's awake.

"No… No go…" She muttered.

"Come on, show me around." I offered. She made another groaning noise and eventually complied. She got dressed and I changed my clothes, but I was in the pretty much same outfit since yesterday, wearing jeans, a shirt and sneakers. Once we were set, she took her purse and all that she needed and we got out of her house.

I almost greeted Ironhide when I passed his hood. Amanda got inside and shut the door, so I whispered and tapped his fender, knowing she couldn't hear me. "Good morning, Ironhide." I said before I got inside the truck. Then, I pressed the engine start/stop button. The engine roared to life and we moved out of the driveway in front of her house. "Where's the college?" I asked as she gave me the address and we started driving. "Am I just going to be following you like a dog?"

"Well yeah. I don't know. I'm going to ask my mom to enroll you." She did her hair in the truck as she spoke to me.

"Sounds great." Ah, I didn't ask my uncle about this. Again, I forgot.

After about 15 minutes of driving, we arrived at our destination. I parked in the college parking lot and we exited the truck. "Do you need to lock it?" Amanda asked me. How should I know? Probably not...

"No, uh, it has automatic lock. It recognizes the key when its near and automatically unlocks. When the key is away, the truck locks itself." I swiftly lied. Ironhide is so dead. But I have to get used to it, don't I? "So, where to?" She made a motion with her hand and I followed her. Soon we got in the main building and Amanda dragged me over to her mother's office. I guess she worked there or something.

As we got inside the office, Jennifer, Amanda's mother, turned to us. When she saw me, she gave me tight hug, whispering "I'm so sorry." I made a humming sound of acknowledgment and she let me go. "I heard you were interested in enrolling into this college." I didn't even respond, she already got me and Amanda by the arm. "Consider it done. I'll tell your uncle about that and Amanda will give you the tour."

"But-" I was dragged out of her office and the door was shut.

What the hell did I get myself into? How was I supposed to get back if I'm going to college in Texas? Amanda took my arm and we went down a long hallway, until we stopped in front a door.

"Class is about to start. Come with me, we have math." She said as we got inside a classroom. I took a seat next to Amanda and the teacher came in as I noticed that this wasn't a kind of amphitheater college. It wasn't really big and it reminded a lot of high school. "Just do the tasks and keep quiet. Don't tell the correct equation. He'll smother you later." Amanda added.

"You have your tasks in your notebooks. I'll go get the grading book, be quiet." The male mathematics teacher said, getting out of the classroom.

Amanda opened her purse and got out a notebook and a piece of paper for me. We started doing the tasks. They were so easy. By the time the teacher got in, I finished two of the equations and went on to the third one.

Eventually, after I've finished all of the tasks, the bell rang. How my classes do we have left?

XxXxXxXxX

By the time all the classes were ended, I was done. I couldn't think straight.

"How on Earth did you get through that?" I asked Amanda as we got inside the truck.

"Your ass has gotten lazy. You need to keep up with school." Amanda replied.

"Yeah, I guess I do. Let's go home." I said as I pressed the button again and the engine rumbled to life. We rolled out of the parking lot and I got a few looks from the boys. I guess they liked the truck. Or maybe they just liked seeing a girl driving a truck.

"I see your truck has gotten the attention of some boys." Amanda chuckled, looking out the window, too.

"My truck is awesome and you know it." I chuckled back.

"You know, I've noticed something." I froze, but tried not to show it. I hope she didn't notice what I think she noticed. "You're praising the truck and you'd never say such things normally. I'd say such things. Which leads me to assume…" I gulped. What could she assume? "You're in love with the truck, aren't you?" She said, all serious. I think Ironhide's engine sputtered.

"Er…" My mind stalled at her statement. Hell, I should lie probably. "Yeah, sure." I shrugged as I took a turn to the right.

"Ha! I knew it!"

"Knew what?"

"You're starting to be like me!"

"Am I?"

"Mhm! First it's cars, then in no time you'll be crazy about robots!"

"Oh, lucky me." If only she knew. I turned on another corner and we arrived to her house. We got in the driveway and I turned off the truck. "This time, please order pizza. I'm hungry." I said as she got out and shut the door behind her, leaving only me in the cab. "You were good today, Ironhide."

His holoform turned on, sitting on the passenger seat. "I am no pet." Ron said.

"I never said you were. You were good. You didn't go off scaring people or something while we were in college."

"That you know of." A malicious smirk is what his face held.

"Shut up." I said casually. "Listen, I gotta go inside. And don't take my and Amanda's conversations personally. Or my actions. Please." I got out before he could retort. I got inside her house and we started to make our little movie night, once again. "Did you get the pizza?" I asked her once I saw her sitting on the couch.

"Yeah, it's gonna come any time." She replied. I didn't know what movie we were watching, but it was a comedy of some sort. Our speaker volume wasn't set on something really loud, but we could hear commotion outside. And the pizza didn't arrive.

"Amanda, do you hear that?" I asked her worriedly.

She turned the volume down until it was completely muted. We could hear something outside and it sounded like, "What business do you have here? What is in that box?"

"S-sir, it's just pizza!"

My eyes widened. It was Ron's voice interrogating someone. "Oh shit!" I exclaimed as I jumped from the couch and went straight towards the door. I opened it and I saw Ron tugging the deliver man's orange and yellow shirt as the man struggled to keep the pizza in his hand. "Ron!" I caught his attention as I jogged towards him and the man. "Let him go! What is with you?!" He looked at me and then to the pizza delivery guy, but finally complied. I quickly took out a couple of dollars from my jeans and handed it to the man. "Keep the change." I said as I took the pizza from his trembling hands. The man scrambled out of here.

"Mel? Who is this guy?" Amanda asked as she came down. We were right beside Ron's truck as I gave her the pizza box.

"Wait a second, Amanda." I turned to Ron. "What are you doing? You're not supposed to be here! Now she knows about you!"

"I know what?" Amanda asked confusedly and worriedly.

"She doesn't know anything." He huffed. "He could have been a potential threat."

"What, he could kill us with pizza?" He growled at my remark when I made him look stupid. "Listen, now you can't take this form down, okay?" He nodded almost imperceptibly. As Ironhide was parking into the wide, L shaped driveway, his alt was on the vertical part, we heard another car approaching. It parked on the horizontal line and then the driver turned off the car and got out of it.

"What is going on here?" Amanda's mom came out of the car. Oh dear…

"Oh, hello Jennifer." I said. She nodded at me. "This is Ron." I introduced. "You better tap into those human customs of yours." I whispered to him. He gave me a silent snort as he approached the woman, almost striding. I couldn't not say it. He looked epic.

"Good evening. I am Ron Hide, Melissa's legal guardian." He said, shaking hands with her. Even Amanda's mom seemed to be dazzled by him.

"Oh, hello Mr. Hide." She looked at him with wide eyes that were slowly started to become infatuated. "W...Would you like to come in? My name is Jennifer, by the way. Oh, I can be so forgetful." She nervously smiled to him. I wanted to throw up. At first, it might have been weird for Amanda's mother to like Ron, but Amanda's father was an ass. But, he was her father nonetheless, even though he left them when she was little. That's why Jennifer 'flirted' with my guardian. I never met her father, but Amanda said that for my good, it would be best I didn't.

"Thank you for your offer. I would, but I must have a discussion with Melissa." He said, his proud voice literally giving her shivers.

"Mel, where did you get this guy? He's like, uber-hot!" Amanda said, so that only I could hear her. I couldn't help but laugh.

"I got him from my uncle." Gosh, it sounded like Ironhide was a toy of some sort that you could buy at any store. "Now come on, Ron and I need to have a little talk." I said to her as she nodded and she and her mom got inside the house, leaving me and Ron outside in the poorly lit driveway in the night. I looked at him.

"Ron… I don't even know what to say. They're going to expect you to sleep inside the house or something."

"Is that a bad thing?" He asked as he sat on the hood, his feet on the matte black bumper. He patted the hood as if for me to sit on it. I complied and sat next to him.

"Maybe." I shrugged. "I don't know. They weren't supposed to know unless absolutely necessary, remember?"

"I do, but this was a necessity." Fighting with him would be pointless, I figured by now, so I just complied.

"Right, better safe than sorry. " I gave a slight nod. "Though, pizza delivery men don't attack people, they just deliver pizzas."

"They could carry bombs." Ron retorted.

"That never happened."

"It might."

"No. Shut up." I laughed as I gave him a gentle push. A thought made my smile fall and my gaze fell to the ground.

"What is bothering you?" He noticed immediately.

"I'm going to college here. I can't go home to Will. How am I supposed to tell him that? I'll be in college for four years! Shit, shit, shit…" I put my head in my hands and my elbows rested on my knees. I threw my hair back as I lifted my head up and put my hands over my mouth and nose.

"If you want, I could call your uncle and tell him." He put his hand on my back, giving it a reassuring pat.

"Thanks, but no. I'll figure this out on my own. You just be here and try not to attack any more people." He chuckled.

"I'm not making any promises."

"Ha ha, not funny." I got down from the hood. "Be good." I batted a finger at him. He huffed and got in the truck, but at least he didn't disappear into midair in front of Jen and Maddie. He had more sense than that.

I got inside the house, the pizza had been served and I had a pile of questions waiting for me. I took a seat next to Amanda and took the pizza and ate a bite. Jennifer decided to break the silence with questions and just as she did, Ron got inside the house and sat in the living room.

"Ron Hide is your guardian, right?" She asked. I nodded and since I was chewing, it would be impolite to speak with my mouth full. I swallowed. "Is he single?"

As soon as that question slipped from her mouth I choked on my pizza. I began to cough wildly and lose my breath. Killed by the pizza, right? Amanda started to pound my back with her hand, but nothing. I couldn't breathe normally as the chunk of pizza got stuck in my throat.

"What happened?" Ron was by my side, obviously perturbed by the suffocating sounds and he lifted me by the elbow from the chair. I gripped his shirt and coughed like a maniac, and I was sure I was starting to go blue. I couldn't even hear straight, my ears started to buzz. I thought I was going to die, I couldn't even stand on my two feet.

Suddenly, strong arms embraced me and started to squeeze my plexus. The first time didn't work, but the second time, the pizza bite slipped from my mouth and fell down on the floor. My legs were too weak and didn't support my weight.

I started to fall, but Ron wouldn't let me. He picked me up bridal style and muttered something. I couldn't hear him well, though. Next thing I knew, I was on the couch and Amanda came behind him with a glass of water. He took the glass and gently placed it on my mouth and I had to drink from it. Now, I could hear properly.

"Are you alright? Do I need to call Ratchet?" He asked as he sat next to me on the olive green couch.

"No need." I coughed in between the two words. "I'm fine. Thanks." I smiled to him and he smiled back. We looked at each other for... who knew how long. Ron suddenly snapped out of it, clearing his throat.

"No more pizza for you. I told you it could be deadly. I was right." He proudly stated.

"No, you were not. I choked, it was my fault." I retorted immediately.

"No, it wasn't."

"Yes, it was."

"Was not."

"Was too."

"Was-"

"Stop!" Amanda yelled. "You two argue like an old married couple. Just shut it. Mel, do you need more water?"

"I could use some, yes." There was a silence and I could hear Jen's heels moving away into the kitchen. Ron and I were alone in the living room. "Thanks for saving me, again. I think I would have died." I admitted. He ruffled my hair and finished by putting a strand behind my ear.

"You're welcome. It's what I do, anyway." He shrugged as if it was nothing.

"Can you give me the phone? I want to call Will." I said as he got up and took the phone from its holder. He gave me the phone and I dialed the number with ease as Amanda came back with the water and I drank it quickly. I returned the glass to her and my uncle answered the phone.

"Hello? Annabelle stop that." I chuckled.

"Hey uncle Will." I said. Well I should just get it over with. "I have something to tell you."

"Yeah? Shoot."

"Um, I'm not going back. I can't." I put my hand to my face. I had no idea how I was supposed to do this.

"What do you mean?"

"I… Amanda's mother enrolled me into college here." My hand fell to my lap. "I'll be going to college here." There was a pause at the end. I began to doubt whether this was a good idea. I clenched my jeans and shirt with unease.

"Oh… well, you could have told us sooner. This is… quite unexpected."

"I know, I'm sorry…" Ron saw my inner turmoil and took my hand in his and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. I smiled a sad smile at him.

"No need to be, Mel. It's your life and you need education. You can come here anytime you want. Ron will be there for you if you need anything. Will you be staying at Amanda's?"

"Yeah, thanks Uncle Will. You're the best." I glanced up at Ron. My God, his eyes were so stunning. He was stunning.

"Don't tell me what I know." He huffed, but laughed with me. "Be good, okay Mel? And be sure to visit."

"Always uncle Will, always." I hung up and laid the phone on my lap, my hand still in Ron's. "Well, that went well." I squeezed his hand back as I spoke to him. "Thanks."

"For what?" He asked.

"For just… being here." I looked around and found Jen staring at us. When did she come back from the kitchen? I took my hand to myself. "Uh, is Ron going to sleep on the couch or something?" I asked her. It would be weird not to ask, but it was even weirder to be the one asking this.

"Sure, I mean, if he wants to?" Jennifer offered.

"That would be good." He said to her, straightening up as he stood up. The he turned to me. "You rest and try not to kill yourself in the process."

"Yes, you rusted rust bucket." I said amicably as I stood up from the couch.

"Oy. I told you to rest. And that's no way a lady should talk." He smirked when my height reached just below his eyes.

"Bye Ron." I teasingly said as he stayed in the living room and I got into Amanda's bedroom. Apparently, she was spying on us through the little key hole. "Um, invasion of privacy much?" I asked her as she sat on the bed.

"It's my living room so you're privacy deprived. What's between you two?"

"What do you mean? There's nothing between us." Maybe. I don't know. We haven't really talked about the kiss part that was quite some time ago.

"You seem close." She said as she pulled a piece of paper and a pen from her bag.

"He's just my guardian. Don't worry."

"You know, when mom asked if Ron was single, you kind of died there." She said, drawing a couple of lines on the paper.

"I choked, okay?" It was embarrassing, if anything.

"And then you go holding hands with him? It's gotta be more than just a guardian thing." Maybe it is, but I'd have to ask Ron first.

"It's not. What are you doing?" I answered.

"Playing hangman. Come on, pick a letter."

And just like that, we started playing hangman. The night was spent by laughter and some pretty perverted words, thanks to Amanda. I certainly hoped Ron slept on the couch, because I ended up sleeping on the floor again, instead of the bed, with Amanda's legs over my stomach. I did have a blast with her tonight and brought back old memories of pure happiness.

I hadn't felt this good since… since the day Ron and I kissed.