AN: The song Barricade plays is Anxiety by Black Eyed Peas. For those who have been through this before, the next chapter is entirely new content! Fasten your seatbelts.
Barricade spent a few days alone. Physically alone, anyway. It seemed that after he had texted Miles on Friday it had given the teen some sort of signal that it was okay to text him whenever he wanted. Now he got several texts through the day from him; some more interesting than others.
He found himself displeased by how much he enjoyed it. Between Megatron's habit of sending him out on solo missions and the fact that he hadn't gotten along with many of the Decepticons he had been stationed with, he had grown accustomed to silence and being alone. Frenzy had been a welcome change in that regard, but even that mech hadn't bothered him like Miles did.
He always got at least a good morning and good night text, as well as a message saying whether Miles would be able to join him or not. He had been alone for so long that someone going out of their way to communicate with him left a warm feeling in his spark and he absolutely detested it.
When the organic wasn't bothering him, he spent his time watching movies and TV shows. He had seen two episodes of Buffy with the teen while at his house and had decided to finish the show in between other viewings. Miles would occasionally text him and ask what he thought of a particular plot point, which gave him someone to rant to when he got angry over the end of season two when Buffy had to kill Angel.
He'd found out quickly that Miles was surprisingly amiable if he placated him just right. He was reluctant to admit that he had gotten the idea from Miles himself when he had discussed training some inferior organic species, but it came with good results. The teen was easier to handle if he used his name, insulted him less, and even if he growled less frequently. If Barricade was nice enough for an extended period of time the organic didn't even bother him with questions when he ordered him around.
Barricade also figured out that an easy way to pacify Miles was to just play music. The organic seemed to enjoy singing whether he was elbow deep in Barricade's internals or just sitting by and watching as Barricade did something, and it was an easy way to keep him occupied.
On Thursday, Barricade surprised Miles by texting him in the middle of school, causing his phone to go off loudly and getting him detention. Outside of the skunk incident, he had never bothered to initiate a text conversation so Miles had grown lax and forgotten to mute his phone when he should have. Once Miles had gotten home he had angrily texted Barricade and told appropriate texting times, letting him know that his fast response to the skunk conversation had only been because of something the teen called 'study hall'.
Barricade texted Miles around the same time on Friday but after about an hour he received a smug reply that informed him that his phone had been muted and that he hadn't gotten in trouble that time. Amused, Barricade had continued to randomly text the teen throughout the day but he had been ignored up until the end of the school day when Miles was waiting for his bus to arrive.
In the middle of Barricade teasing the fleshling for his slow typing skills, Miles abruptly stopped responding. He was mildly annoyed but didn't think much of it until he didn't receive his normal good night text. Then when night turned to morning and he didn't receive a good morning text on Saturday, he couldn't help but to wonder what had happened.
He wasn't worried about the young organic at all, he was merely curious as to what would cause the fleshling to change his behavioral pattern so suddenly. Or so he told himself.
By that point, Barricade was used to working alone and being alone, little more than a useful pawn on Megatron's chessboard. He'd once been a commander of his own team, back before the Decepticons had really even been more than an idea, and that was what had drawn Megatron's attention to him. After one failure where he had prioritized a teammate over the objective, Megatron had separated them and Barricade had been left working on his own.
Towards the end he had been paired with Frenzy off and on, the only one able to stand the crazed minicon outside of Soundwave and also one of the few who Soundwave trusted with one of his cassetticons. Barricade had never said it to Frequency, but he had enjoyed his company and the reprieve from the monotony that he had provided. If he was going to admit to anything that led to having any sort of feelings for Miles, it would be that the fleshy was like an entertaining pet he kept around, always returning to it's master without him having to call. Naturally he would wonder what was keeping his pet from him, he told himself.
Aggravated at the way his processor was running in circles, Barricade wanted nothing more than to drive free of his little shelter and find the fleshy and yell at him. When he checked the locater app to find the teen's location he was unable to get any sort of signal, which indicated that something had happened to Miles' phone. Without knowing for sure where the organic was there was no way Barricade was going to risk moving.
He didn't have to wait long before Miles showed up. Barricade was surprised to see that Miles had a badly swollen and bruised left eye.
"What happened?" Barricade demanded, rolling a few feet closer to the teen.
He formed his holoform directly next to the organic, taking some small pleasure in the way that Miles jumped and shifted slightly away from his holoform but closer to his alt mode because of it. He grabbed the teen's chin and held his face still while he examined the eye.
"'Tis but a flesh wound, Barry." Miles grinned and shoved at the hand holding his face until Barricade let him go with an irritated growl. "Pissed off another kid at my school."
"Who?" Barricade asked.
"'Who?' he asks, as if he'll actually know who I'm talking about," Miles rolled his eyes. Barricade transformed with a snarl and glared down at the teen, letting Miles know he wasn't in the mood for any joking around. Miles frowned and continued, "The resident cool guy asshole, Trent DeMarco. I was sitting near him while waiting for my bus."
"Why did he hurt you?"
"Uhm, well…" Miles hesitated for a moment, bringing a hand up to rub at the back of his neck. Barricade knew this to be a nervous gesture for humans, but hadn't seen Miles do it before this. "I may have… provoked him?"
Barricade stayed silent, waiting for the rest of his explanation. Miles grimaced.
"We've never really liked each other, I guess, but he's hated Sam since the beginning of sophomore year. It got worse when Sam 'stole'-" and Miles went as fair as using air quotes to emphasis how stupid he thought the phrasing was, "-Mikaela from him. I was sitting near him for bus dismissal and heard him bad mouthing them and I sort of, maybe, kind of… insulted him and his intelligence? And his appearance. And his masculinity. It wasn't my brightest moment. So he punched me and I ended up dropping my phone and stepping on it and it broke. I did punch him back, but the dude is like a brick wall and I just ended up hurting my hand."
"And did you get him that detention thing you complained so much of?"
"Uh… no?" Miles winced a bit as he said this, running a hand through his hair. "It was at the end of school with no teachers around so no one saw it. I'm kind of dreading seeing his smug face on Monday, but at least Sam won't be there either."
Barricade narrowed his optics, ignoring Miles' verbal vomit. He had long since learned that when the human was uncomfortable that he talked even more than usual, which was saying a lot because Miles already had a habit of never shutting up. He scanned him thoroughly just to be sure, but as he didn't find anything all that concerning he just sat down and pulled out the tool kit he had no intention of returning to the organic.
Miles took this as a sign to continue his rambling, and explained that Mikaela had mentioned Sam going out of town for some kind of event he was going to and figuring the Autodolt would be going with his precious charge gave Barricade an idea. After that he barely listened to Miles, instead formulating a plan to get back at this Trent organic. He hacked into the Tranquility police database and started to put his plan into motion.
The small surge of protectiveness he felt towards Miles was unwanted, but ultimately not a cause for concern. It was nothing more than not wanting anyone else to play around with his pet. Miles couldn't be useful to him if he was injured for some reason.
When Monday finally rolled around, Miles was reluctant to get out of bed. His face was still sore despite the swelling having gone down and he was certain something was going to happen at the school. He figured public humiliation was the most likely and the thought made him feel a bit queasy. He contemplated faking sick for a few moments but then recalled Sam's mom asking him to pick up his homework and forced himself to get up.
An hour later, after almost missing the bus, he was even more convinced that today was just going to be one of those where nothing seemed to go quite right. When lunch came around and nothing else had happened, not even a run in with Trent, Miles started to relax and actually enjoyed his last few hours of the school day. When the bell rang to go home Miles took his sweet time. He had already collected Sam's homework but he knew if Trent or any of his jock buddies saw his eye that he would be laughed at and he didn't want his good mood ruined.
When Miles finally made it outside he saw an unusually large crowd of students. By this time most should have dispersed to their cars or their buses, so the fact that they were all still around the main doors and pointing, whispering, and laughing at something obviously meant someone was having a terrible time. Miles couldn't see what was going on through the crowd so he elbowed his way to the front, ignoring any glares as he went.
The sight of Trent's precious blue truck being towed away as Trent yelled at a policeman made Miles laugh. There were two police cars next to the tow truck but only one of the officers was out and talking to him. The cop had his arms crossed and a blank expression on as Trent continued to claim he didn't have any idea where those parking tickets had come from or the other misdemeanors they were accusing him of.
Miles grinned to himself, happy to see that karma seemed to be paying Trent back for the miserable time he had given some others. The second police car pulled out of its parking spot and neared the gathered group of students and it caused even more whispering to break out. Miles' grin faded quickly as the police car came closer. At this point he could easily recognize Barricade's alt mode even though the mech had changed the slogan on his side. Barricade drove up to the sidewalk and stopped in front of him, the passenger side door popping open.
He narrowed his eyes at the holoform inside the vehicle. It looked like it normally did, except this time the eyes were brown instead of the dark red that they usually were. Barricade beckoned Miles to enter. Miles could hear the large group of students go mostly silent and he knew without needing to turn around that he was being stared at. He groaned and slipped inside the mech as quickly as he could; what he thought to be karma was now looking like a meddling alien with too much time on their servos.
"What did you do?" Miles kept his tone hushed as he took off his backpack and put it on the floor between his feet.
"Buckle up, organic." Barricade's holoform chuckled, "It's the law."
Despite the mouth moving and the holoform even looking like it was laughing, Barricade's voice seemed to come from all around Miles. Miles glared at the dashboard and buckled up.
"Well?" Miles turned his glare to the holoform, "What did you do?"
"I simply decided to punish the human designated as Trent. From your tale the other day he obviously deserves it," Barricade replied.
The mech's amusement and smugness was more than evident in both the tone of his voice and the look on the holoform's face. Miles looked out the window at the gathered students as Barricade pulled away from the curb and caught Mikaela's eye, grimacing a bit at the girl's jaunty wave.
"I don't even want to know how you pulled this off," Miles grumbled. "It's more than a little terrifying to know that you can somehow falsify evidence against someone and makes me really happy I'm not on your bad side. What if you had been caught?"
Barricade laughed, "Your organic police force would have no reason to suspect it was falsified, but they should still be able to figure it out in a couple of hours. Since you so kindly told me that Sam wouldn't be here it was obvious that the Autodolt wouldn't be either, so I was able to come personally."
Miles heaved a large sigh. While he was pleased to see that the 'con was taking a more active interest in his life he had never imagined something like this happening because of it. Miles wasn't sure how to feel over the Trent thing, as he did think the jock needed to be taken down a peg or two but this seemed to be too far. He reassured himself that once it was looked at a little bit more the officers would find out something was wrong and let Trent off. More than anything, Miles was worried. This seemed like a needless risk to him.
Barricade pulled out of the school parking lot and started driving down the street. All at once, Miles realized that this was the first time he'd actually ridden around inside of Barricade like this. He'd been inside of him to clean him after he got sprayed by that skunk, but he'd not been able to sit in a seat like this before.
It wasn't as weird as he had imagined it would be. Barricade felt like a normal car, only now Miles was all too aware of the fact that he wasn't and was paranoid about moving around too much and bothering him.
"You can drop me off at home," Miles told him. "Judy asked me to bring him his schoolwork this morning, so I'll just walk over once you do."
He gripped the edge of his seat as Barricade pulled a quick u-turn and his stomach dropped as he realized they were taking the way to Sam's house, "I can just deliver it on my own time, Barricade! There's really no need for you to take me there! What if Sam and Bumblebee are already back?"
"Weren't you the one who suggested that I should do what I want?" The face on the holoform remained unmoved, but Miles could practically hear the fucker's smirk. "This is something I want."
"This seems like an unnecessary risk," Miles hissed.
"And some risks can be fun to take," Barricade responded. "I scanned the area and haven't picked up the insect's signature. What's that phrase… ah, yes, are you chicken, fleshling?"
Miles took a shaky breath, trying to calm his sudden nerves. He liked Barricade, but the thought of Sam realizing he had befriended what he would see as an enemy made him queasy. To make it worse, he was also scared of Barricade being caught.
He felt closer to the mech than he did to Sam now, and that thought distracted him so much he didn't even remember to protest the direction they were travelling in anymore. They pulled up to the Witwicky house all too soon for Miles' liking and he was relieved to not see the yellow Camaro in its normal spot. He quickly dug Sam's homework out of his backpack and got out of Barricade, rushing to the front door.
Judy opened the door before he got there and smiled at him. He saw her gaze go over his shoulder and her eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't have to glance back to know what she was seeing. Barricade's holoform was still in the front seat, sitting with a lazy smirk on his face and one hand casually resting on the steering wheel. Miles just hoped that there was no way for Judy to guess that he was a Cybertronian even if she did know about Barricade from Sam and Bumblebee.
Mentally cursing Barricade in his head, Miles couldn't help but think the smug bastard deserved a Bee shaped scare. He had been hoping to get to the door and block Judy's line of sight to the 'con but that obviously wasn't going to happen now.
"Hey, Judy." Miles greeted, showing her the homework in his arms. "Got Sam's homework here."
"Thanks a lot for going to the trouble, Miles. I'll make sure he tells you thank you as well," Judy gave him a warm smile, her gaze going back over his shoulder to Barricade even as she took Sam's homework from him. She gave Barricade a wave, "Who is that?"
Miles glanced back and was amused to see Barricade's holoform return the wave. For a brief moment he wondered what Judy would think if he told her the actual truth, but it was nothing more than an idle thought. As precarious as his position with Sam was at the moment, he enjoyed still being able to talk to Judy and Ron as they had always been like an aunt and uncle to him. He was sure if his little secret got out he would no longer be an honorary Witwicky.
"Oh, that's a-" Miles had to stop himself before he said 'friend of the family', almost forgetting that Judy would know that wasn't true. "A new friend, Officer Ticon. I met him at a school thing and since he was in the area he was nice enough to give me a ride. Thanks again for watching Masey, by the way."
"Mason isn't any trouble, darling. And that's awfully nice of him. What happened to his police car? It looks kind of damaged…" Judy said as she leaned out the front door and scrutinized the cruiser. "What's the slogan say? 'To punish and bring justice'? Don't think I've seen that one before."
Luckily, Miles had given some thought to this conversation before. He had expected to have it with his own parents and not Sam's, but nonetheless he had some answers prepared.
"He got it at an auction," Miles explained. "Apparently it was used for some movie. Since it's road legal his boss said he could use it as his official cruiser even though it doesn't look the best. Anyway, I'd love to stay and chat but I should get going. He needs to get back and I have some homework I have to do."
"Oh, of course! Sorry for keeping you," Judy smiled gently. "Have a nice day, sweetie."
"Thanks, you too."
Miles didn't sprint back to the Saleen police cruiser, but it was a close thing. He opened Barricade's passenger door and closed it as soon as he slid in the seat. Barricade snorted at his fumbling as he failed to buckle up twice. Miles was surprised when music started to play instead of Barricade actually saying anything.
"I don't fear none of my enemies, and I don't fear bullets from Uzi's. I've been dealing with something that's worse than these, that'll make you fall to your knees and that's the, the anxiety the sane and the insane's brought me to my knees. Lord, please, please, take away my anxiety."
Miles turned a glare on the holoform next to him, knowing the mech was using the song to tease him. He remembered something Barricade had mentioned about Bumblebee and decided to poke at the 'con.
"Taking a page out of Bumblebee's book?" Miles asked, letting himself smirk. "That's cute."
The radio cut off with a staticky squeal as Barricade snarled so deeply that Miles could feel the vibrations underneath him. Miles dared a glance over at the holoform, regretting what he said as soon as his eyes came into contact with furious red ones. He had obviously crossed some invisible line and he almost regretted it since Barricade had obviously been in a good mood. He absentmindedly wondered just when Barricade had changed the color of his holoform's eyes, the dark red definitely more intimidating than brown, and he quickly looked forward again, and then right so he could stare out the window.
"...where are we going?" Miles asked when Barricade took a left turn out of Sam's neighborhood instead of the right turn that would have taken them in the direction of his house.
"For a drive. I've been mostly stuck in one spot for how long? I think I can enjoy some time out and about. Or do you have a problem with that?"
There was a warning tone to the mech's voice. It was obvious he was practically daring Miles to say something, anything, his holoform even glaring at the teen instead of pretending to watch the road. Miles quickly shook his head no. He wasn't that stupid.
After a quiet minute where both teen and mech took a second to calm down, Miles leaned back in his seat. It felt surprisingly different from when he had first sat in it, as if it was changing to better adjust to his comfort level. After a second of thinking he realized that it might actually be doing just that, since it was all Barricade. He tried not to grin to himself as he thought Barricade might actually be showing he cared despite how red-eyed and snarly he had been moments ago.
