Everything around me burned in a fire but the fire didn't burn. I wasn't in my body, I watched as a spectator and I watched my body run from a menacing shadow. It swung a shadowy sword at my body but a transformer that greatly resembled a female blocked the attack. The transformer looked at me, not at my body but where I was observing, and screamed, "Get the Matrix out of here!"

In my hands suddenly was a metallic, almost spiraling-looking object with a bright blue light in the middle. It looked beautiful! I got lost at the sight.

I woke with a groan. My once broken rib, which was still sore when I fell on it, was inflamed. The doctors kept trying to convince me it was all in my mind and maybe they were right. Slowly I sat up and waited until the pain receded into its dormant state. The door slammed and Alisha squealed with pleasure. Her feet made hollow sounds in the stairs and she flew into the room like Hermes might if he were real.

Alisha spoke too fast and at too high of a pitch for me to understand. I lifted a hand to stop her. "First of all too fast and too early. I need my coffee. Second, you're talking at a pitch only a dog can hear! Slow, breathe, and…" I put my hand down when she inhaled and exhaled slowly.

"Tyler asked me to the dance and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, who's Tyler and why haven't I met him?"

Alisha rolled her eyes. "Sis! Stop and listen! Okay so Tyler asked me to the dance this Saturday so can I go?"

"Can I ask my questions now?"

"Only after you answer mine."

"No. Now who's Tyler?"

Alisha made a disgusted sound. "Why not?" She groaned.

"I don't know Tyler and I know nothing of this dance. Aren't you in, like, 6th grade?"

"8th. I was in 6th grade when I first ran away from that foster home, remember?"

"And this Saturday is your birthday. It's only the second birthday we have together."

Alisha exhaled through her lips making an exasperated horse sound. I sighed and rubbed my head and remembered what it was like for me when our parents didn't allow me to go to things like dances. "Rules, I have to meet him and Bee has to help approve. If Bee doesn't like him then I don't either. After that he can supervise…" I thought carefully at the sentence. "Rewrite, after that someone more mature than Bee can supervise. Deal?"

She grinned from ear to ear and tackled me. My rib became inflamed again and I made a sharp inhale through my teeth. Alisha pulled away from me quickly and we waited to hug until the pain subsided.

While I made coffee Alisha got ready for the day. The "autumn" we often got in September was still hot and a little humid this year. It kept people from coming out and enjoying the cooler air. Everything was still green in autumn there was no such thing as fall here. The only change was that the sun disappeared earlier and earlier each night and rose later and later.

Alisha, who was now nearly thirteen, was ready to go. "Oh and I have to stay after late for band," she informed as I poured the milk into my coffee. "And I have a drama meeting tomorrow."

I groaned and rubbed my head. "You have too many activities."

"That's because I don't have as many responsibilities as you did." Her grin was playful but I wanted to tell her how wrong she was. When I was her age I chose not to partake in after school activities. Why would I when I could come home, finish my homework and chores, and spend the night staring up at the sky or playing piano?

I kissed her head, informed her that I had to stay late at work and that I'd see her in the morning, and then watched as Bee drove her to school. The house grew quiet and peaceful. I walked to the beautiful, black, grand piano and checked each note to make sure the strings hadn't gone bad. I set the coffee cup on top of it and played a soft and slow song.

When I brought it out of storage Alisha was excited to hear me play again. I was rusty from years and years of only playing in piano shops. As the summer went on I practiced and honed my skills. Now my playing was smoother and I was able to buy new sheet music and slowly practice the new songs. I played every morning because the sound woke me up and made me remember that our luck and our future was changing. Whenever I played or listened I could swear I heard the piano speak to me in a way nobody has spoken to me before. It was an intimate whisper and a cry of anger and pain and the happiness of a child. I loved the sounds the piano made.

After an hour of playing I started getting ready for my day. First thing after I changed was clean the kitchen and then start the laundry. While that was going I swept and vacuumed the house and maybe watch a little bit of TV but I needed to keep moving to keep myself from being bored.

In the afternoon after I ate lunch I got ready for work and walked outside where Bee waited. The other autobots came and went whenever they pleased but Bee always stayed to protect us.

I got in the drivers seat and pulled my hair back to the start of my hairline on my neck and held it back with a hair tie. While we drove the long way to the city I told Bee of the conversation between Alisha and me. Bee made a sighing sound.

"I know. My little girl is growing up!" I faked a sniffle and this made Bee laugh. "So I'm counting on you to approve or disapprove!"

He stopped in front of the small coffee shop in between a grocery store and a pet store. I got out and waved as I walked in and bump right into Liam. Liam was tall with white European skin that seemed lighter with his black hair that grew out so much he had to tie it back. Unlike most guys with this style hair it made Liam's face look much older than he was. His laugh was warm.

"You okay?" His accent was lost under the American accent he adopted after only two years!

"Y-yeah," I stammered. Running behind the counter I tried to hide my blush. How clumsy could someone be? Now that my complete focus wasn't on getting my sister back I was able to enjoy things like the tall, handsome adults about my age. Sometimes, however, I doubted that he thought of our relationship as nothing more than employee and customer. It frustrated me.

My coworkers snickered when I glared and told them to shut up and I got to work. I tried to bury myself in the sea of espresso shots and flavorings but to no avail. Liam leaned across the counter and started talking. We talked of small, mundane things like the change in weather, new movies that were coming out, books we've read. It wasn't long until I handed him his drink and he took off out the door. I watched him for longer than I should have.

One of the barista's elbowed my ribcage. I grimaced in pain and grunted at him before flitting behind the wall so nobody would see me in pain. He followed me. "Why don't you ask him out already? Some guys love that."

"I have too much to do. I don't have time to date." I sat on the stepping stool. "Geeze, try aiming at that spot again."

He rolled his eyes. "Not my fault you were dumb enough to climb a tree."

I opened my mouth but decided it was better to not correct him. I never told a soul about Bee or the other transformers and they never really paid much attention to whether Bee was still out in the parking lot or if I was even getting into the same care. Everyone else thought it was better this way. Alisha said I needed better coworkers but it was better if they didn't notice otherwise my house may be flooded with strangers and I'll become a tourist attraction.

"Whatever," I growled finally. We started to get to work again. Alisha's friends dropped her off an hour before closing so I stood by the table she was sitting at and talked about her day. By this time almost everyone was clocked out for the day and almost everyone left for the evening. As soon as midnight hit Alisha helped lock up for the night and we walked to Bee who was parked in the same spot I left him.

As soon as we were driving home Alisha asked, "What day did you want to meet him?"

"Friday. I have the day off. We can all go out for a nice dinner or something."

She rolled her eyes at me. I didn't care. "How's Liam?" There was an evil grin to her face.

I blushed. "How did you know about him?"

"You kept your journal open on your computer."

"Who's this guy?" Bee finally interjected.

I huffed and looked out the window. I didn't want to tell Bee just in case what Crosshairs told me about him was true. That Bee was over protective. That Bee wouldn't like him.

Alisha giggled and we stopped at the house. We got out. "Go to bed!" I yelled but this only made her laugh louder.

Friday's morning routine was the same. Get up, have coffee, talk to Alisha before she ran out the door, make breakfast, play the piano, clean the house, but today I didn't have work so I got to wait for Alisha to get home for lunch. Every Friday she was let out early. She hardly greeted me when she walked inside. She just walked straight up to her room and shut the door, speaking quietly on the phone. I didn't bother her with it much instead I walked outside and put my hands on my hips.

"It's quiet. Where's Crosshairs, Bee?"

Bee got down as close to my level as he could and shrugged.

The wind kicked up the dust in a quick motion. "Nothing about Galvatron?"

He shook his head.

No, of course not. That would be too easy on his part to suddenly appear after a year. Maybe he really was done being a decepticon. "And nothing from Prime?"

Bee answered with a worried sound. I stood on the tips of my toes and patted his head to try and calm him. Truth was that I was worried too. We hadn't heard from Prime in half a year.

The noise of a car came from the start of a long driveway. Bee walked in the oversized garage and sat there while I watched the car drive up. The boy that stepped out wasn't like anyone I expected. He had almond eyes and spoke to the driver in a language that sounded harsh on the throat and some words sounded very angry. He wasn't pale like I expected, he was dark skinned and his eyes were so dark I almost mistook it as black. When he closed the door and looked at me he looked too kind and innocent for words. Who could ever hate a boy like this?

I didn't hear him the first two times he greeted me. I snapped myself from my trance and shook my head, half expecting my brain to rattle. He repeated himself in a perfect American accent, "It's very nice to meet you, Miss…uh…"

"Call me Elsa. You are?"

"Tyler." He looked nervous.

Alisha ran outside. "I told you that you didn't need to come until tonight."

Tyler shrugged. "I thought your sister needed to get to know me a lot better than a few hours."

I couldn't hide my smirk. "Smart kid," I muttered just loud enough to earn a dirty look from Alisha. "Come inside for a while, Tyler, while I make some tea." Alisha looked nervous that Tyler had come way earlier than expected. She stomped into the kitchen after showing Tyler the family room.

"Don't do anything embarrassing!" She pleaded.

"Now why would I do something as evil as that?"

Alisha huffed, "Because you are evil!"

I rolled my eyes. The water took several minutes to boil and as it turns out Tyler wasn't a fan of tea. I made the tea for myself and sipped it while we chatted a bit about mundane things like school, their teachers, their personal lives, and his family. After James I didn't trust people who seemed innocent. I guess I didn't trust most people in general.