By: Tor

Ami stomped up to her room.

When she got home, the Watts had left (thankfully), leaving Ayron alone to receive Ami. In her opinion, the reception committee could use some work. Ayron spent half a mega-cycle yelling at her.

Luckily for Ayron, and unfortunately for Ami, Conner had still consented to bond with Ami. Ami was furious, but nothing she shouted at her dad made any difference. He was convinced this was the best thing that could happened. He told her she was going to be bonded to Conner and that was final.

“Slagging stupid father,” she muttered, still fuming.

She threw herself onto her bed and went into stasis.

She woke feeling hot and bothered. The sun was beating down on her, heating her body. Overheated and irritated, Ami went downstairs. She was in desperate need of someone to talk to, like a mom. She reached for the phone.

The phone rang, and rang, and then went to voicemail.

“Hi, you’ve reached Vix-” said Vix’s voice from the speaker.

“And AJ!” another male voice butt in.

Vix’s voice laughed, “And AJ. Sorry we couldn’t reach the phone-”

“‘Cause were probably makin’ out on da couch,” interjected the male voice. Ami noticed he had a funny accent.

“AJ! So we’ll get back to you as soon as we-”

“Stop doing somethin’ dirty in da-”

“Please leave your name and number after the beep!” Vix’s voice hurried on before AJ could say anything else. “Have a great day!”

It was the weirdest outgoing message Ami had ever heard, but she left a message, “Hey Vix, it’s Ami. Um, we gotta talk real soon, ‘kay? Call me back. Bye.”

Ami hung up the phone, slumping back onto the couch, “I have a whole day to kill. Whoopee.”

Ami dragged herself into the kitchen. A sticky note was posted on the refrigerator. It said, “Ami, I will be working late tonight. Conner will be by to pick you up at two. We will talk later. Love, Dad”

“Bite me,” Ami glared at the note. She took the note off the fridge and ripped it in half, throwing the pieces onto the ground. Then she realized something. Glancing at a clock hanging above the counter, she gleaned it was one fifty. Ten cycles until Conner would pick her up. She had to get out of the house.

Ami practically ran to the door. It opened with a hiss. Conner was waiting for her, leaning against the white limo Ami had seen the day before. He was eyeing her like a hungry hawk.

“Oh, you’re early,” Ami said, contempt dripping from every word. “How… delightful…”

“Well of course, I couldn’t stand to be apart from my bonded.”

“Hold your horses, Buddy, we aren’t bonded.”

“Yet,” Conner said smugly. Ami was ready to punch him. “Shall we go?”

“…I guess so,” reluctantly, Ami got into the limo. Conner sat right next to her.

“Where to, sir?” the limo asked.

“Pizza Pan,” Conner said promptly. Pizza Pan was a pizza joint famous for its fruity fuelshakes and mouth-watering pizzas. Ami had only been there twice, because it was so expensive.

The ride there would have been fun, if Conner wasn’t trying to get to third base on the first date. He kept trying to place an arm around her, tickle her, and even kiss her (Ami slapped him extra hard that time).

Finally, they arrived at Pizza Pan. In short, the date was a disaster. Conner had no manners at all, besides spilling his dinner all over his lap, he stole food from Ami’s plate without asking. Ami got so annoyed that she nearly walked home, only the fact that her dad would kill her upon arriving home kept her in her seat.

The drive home was exactly like the ride to the Pizza Pan. Finally, they arrived at her house. Ami was glad to get out of the limo.

“Bye, Love Cake!” Conner called from the limo.

“Gag me,” Ami muttered. The limo drove out sight.

The lights were on and the silhouette of her father was pacing back and forth in the living room.

“I think I’ll skip Dad’s ‘talk’,” Ami said, and turned down the street.

The sun had set a long time ago, the blue sky was light black, the lights of Cybertron outshining any and all the stars. Ami’s feet walked her to a café, Monsieur Bean. It was empty except a few loners sipping at mugs of coffee. Then she saw a familiar face, and she entered the café, smiling.

“Hello, Speedstrike,” Ami chirped.

“Oh, its you,” Speedstrike looked at her with distaste. “And just call me Speed.”

“Aw, it’s so nice to see you too,” Ami said with mock politeness. Then her tone softened, “Look, I didn’t come in here to fight with you. I wanna say,” it took an enormous amount of willpower to say it, “I’m sorry for what I said to you. I-I was real rude.” Ami looked down at her feet.

“I guess, I’m sorry too,” Speed mumbled. He put out a hand, and Ami took it. As they shook hands, Ami felt a swooping sensation, like if she missed a step going downstairs. She let go of Speed’s hand very quickly. She sat down on the seat opposite from him.

“So…” she began dumbly. “Are you sure you should be here? This is in Maximal territory, if someone called the police…”

“No one’s here, we can relax,” Speed said, and leaned back in his chair.

“So, er, why are you here anyways?” Ami asked.

“Um, look, Ami was it?” Speed leaned forward again, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

Ami nodded.

“I’m gonna meet Megs, and if he sees me, with you…” he trailed off, looking uncertain as well as uncomfortable.

“Oh, right,” she got up and went to a separate table, a little ways from Speed’s.

A few cycles later, Megatron’s hulking frame filled the doorway. A few of the Maximals dropped their mugs. Megatron gaze swept the room, daring any Maximal to make a scene. Ami lowered her own gaze to the table, so Megatron wouldn’t recognize her.

“Hey, Megs,” greeted Speed.

Megatron smiled and sat across from Speed. They began to talk, there voices growing louder and louder.

“And then Zoombot rams into stupid Maximal, and we got away,” grinned Megatron, though several bots, who were Maximals, glared at him.

One bot, with a shadowy face, got up and went outside. Ami saw him pull out a mobile communicator. He spoke into it, his face still in shadow. Ami had a bad feeling about that bot…

Megatron and Speed didn’t share her uneasiness, they continued talking. Ami listened to them talking about a femme named Anne or something, who worked as a barmaid.

“…lucky to have met her,” Megatron was looking at Speed.

“Yeah,” Speed shrugged. “She’s the-” he stopped in mid-sentence. In the silence, Ami could hear a faint high-pitched siren in the distance. There was only one reason the Maximal police would journey so close to Predacon turf. Ami rushed over to Speed and Megatron.

“What?! How did they find us?!” hissed Speed, optics darting to the Maximals sitting in the café. Under Speed’s furious gaze, they hurriedly left the café, while the sirens got louder.

“Blasted Maximals!” growled Megatron.

“One of those ‘blasted Maximals’ is gonna save your sorry butts,” Ami broke in, eyes on Speed, who had gotten up and was listening intently to the sirens, trying to discern which way the sirens where coming from.

“What are you suggesting, femme?” Megatron leaned toward her, optics narrowed.

“I can hide you,” Ami grabbed Speed’s arm and tried to pull him to the door. Since Speed was larger than her, it didn’t work well.

“Why would you help us, Maximal?” Megatron asked, still glaring suspiciously at her.

“My name is Ami,” Ami returned Megatron’s glare, “and Speed saved me from you, so now I’m going to save you two from them.” She jerked her head in the direction of the sirens.

“I don’t trust her,” the larger Predacon stated.

“Whatever! Just come on!” Ami tugged hard on Speed’s arm, and he finally moved. They slipped out of the café, Megatron following reluctantly behind them.

The journey to Ami’s house was tense, but luckily short. Ami knew the streets well, and kept the group to the shadows. Occasionally a police officer, in vehicle mode, would roll slowly past, and for a few fluid-pump stopping cycles, the three of them would hold their breath till it passed. Finally they made it to Ami’s house.

Upon arriving, the lights were on the living room.

“Slag!” whispered Ami.

“What?” Speed looked concernedly down at Ami.

“My…er… dad’s home,” Ami said, uncertain of how the Predacons would take it.

“See? A trap!” Megatron snarled, drawing his blaster from subspace.

“Cool it, Megs,” Speed said. He looked at Ami, “I guess we’ll just risk getting back onto Pred turf alone.”

“No! I want you to stay with m-” Ami noticed Megatron was watching her, optics narrowed again, and Speed’s had a slight frown. “I mean, I can sneak you in, and besides, with the Maximal police around, you’ll be lucky to even make it halfway to the border.”

“A reasonable argument,” Speed said slowly.

“Well, here’s my plan,” Ami began to whisper into Speed’s audio.

“Hey, Dad,” Ami greeted Ayron.

Ayron got up from the couch, to carry out his inspection of her. Ami moved to the kitchen door, and slipped inside the kitchen.

“Ami! What are you hiding?!” Ayron followed her into the kitchen.

“Nothing,” Ami said evasively, sitting down at the table. She listened hard, she thought she heard footsteps in the living room, walking toward the stairs.

“Why are you making that face? Are you sick?” Ayron asked, the familiar worry line appearing on his face.

“Uh, yeah, actually I feel kinda queasy,” Ami lied, still trying to hear the footsteps.

“I left the thermometer in the living room,” her dad looked worriedly at her, before turning toward the door.

Ami swore she heard the footsteps stop on the stairs. She had to buy the two Preds more time.

“Wait!” she yelled abruptly.

Ayron spun quickly around, panic written across his face, “What!?”

“I don’t feel queasy anymore. I think that it was just a two-cycle sickness.”

Her dad looked disbelievingly at her, repeating, “‘Two-cycle sickness’?”

“Yeah, totally,” Ami said, nodding sagely. “It’s rare, but it happens. Especially to teens. Especially to femme teens.”

“Alright…” Ayron looked puzzled, but settled down at the table. “So how was the date?”

“Oh, it was cool,” Ami replied distractedly, she was listening to the footsteps above her head.

“That’s great, honey,” Ayron smiled happily. “I knew Conner and you were a match made in the Matrix.”

“Wha-?” Ami snapped back to the conversation. “Oh, no, no, no. I don’t like him at all. I despise that little creep.”

“You just said the date went well…” Ayron said slowly, looking questionably at Ami.

“I did? I lied.”

“Hmmm… You’re not well, Ami. Bed,” her dad pointed toward the door.

“Okay,” Ami didn’t notice her dad’s frown. She just hurried upstairs into her room. She locked her door. Then she turned to her closet. Muffled noises were emanating from behind its doors.

“Get off my foot!” hissed one voice.

“Then get your fist out of my face!” snarled the other.

With a relieved sigh, Ami opened the closet. Instantly, Megatron fell onto the ground, followed by Speed.

“Oof!”

“Get off!” Megatron shoved Speed off of him. “Well, that was not the most enjoyable times I’ve spent in a closet.” Then he looked at the pile of junk that had accompanied him from the closet. He picked up a small yellow object, “What is this?”

“Oh, er, my rubber ducky,” Ami answered quickly, blushing slightly.

Megatron squeezed and it responded with a friendly high-pitched squeak. He smiled at the duck, “Hmm, I like you, yesss!”

“You two should be safe here.”

“What makes you so sure?” Megatron snapped while, slyly slipping the duck into his subspace pocket.

“Because no Maximal would take in two Predacon criminals.”

“Thanks,” Speed said sourly.

“No, I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” Ami amended, mentally hitting herself. She didn’t want these Predacons mad at her. Especially Speed. She liked him. In fact she liked him a great deal. In fact… Ami pushed away the thought, refusing to admit it.

“Ami?” a voice from outside her door called.

“Hide!” Ami hissed. Megatron shoved himself into the closet, and Ami closed the door. Speed dove under Ami’s recharge bed. Megatron shifted in the closet, and Speed sneezed. “Shut up!”

Ayron poked his head in her room. Ami sat innocently on her bed, a slightly forced smile on her face, “Hi, Daddy.”

“Hey, Pumpkin. Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Ami answered a little too perkily.

“I thought I heard voices. Hmmm,” Ayron looked around the room.

“Voices? Huh?” Ami adopted a look of concern. “Are you okay? ‘Cause I didn’t hear anything.”

Ayron sighed, then withdrew his head, with a gentle, “Good night.”

Ami listened to her father’s footsteps go into his room, then his door open and shut. She gave a big sigh of relief. Soon she heard soft snoring. Her dad had gone into stasis.

Speed came out from the bed, peeking his head out cautiously. He looked up at her from his spot on the floor. “Your dad…” he said pityingly.

“I know, I know,” Ami said grumpily. She helped Speed get to his feet. The swooping sensation returned to her stomach as they touched. Ami gazed into Speed’s optics.

A sudden pounding broke the moment.

“Let me out of here, Maximal!” Megatron’s voice shouted. Ami smirked as she let Megatron out of her closet.

“You should clean your closet some time soon,” Megatron complained, brushing old bits of old toast off his shoulders. He pushed past her, and left the room, saying over his shoulder, “Come on, Speed, we’re leaving.”

Speed shook his head and wearily followed Megatron. Ami darted after them. Megatron was already half-way down the stairs, Speed right behind him.

“Thanks for all your help,” said Speed, looking back at Ami.

“Oh, no problem,” Ami felt the swooping sensation again. She tried to ignore it.

“Yesss, thank you, Maximal,” Megatron said, not even looking at Ami.

“Why do you always say that, Megs?” Speed asked tiredly.

“Because, every super villain has a saying or catch-phrase,” Megatron replied stubbornly.

“And yours is ‘yesss’?” Ami giggled.

“Yesss,” Megatron answered with dignity. He walked to the door, nose in the air.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye,” Ami said a little forlornly, opening the front door.

“Farewell, Maximal,” Megatron stepped outside, and transformed into a sports car. His engine purred as it started.

“Bye, Ami,” Speed said quietly, not looking at Ami. “Thanks for everything, it was real… nice.” Speed looked at Ami’s face. She got big Amazon butterflies in her stomach this time.

“Yeah,” she felt captivated by his fiery optics. She took a step closer to him, a part of her processor egging her on. “I really…” she trailed off as she got a hairbreadth away from him.

Then, she stood on tip-toe and kissed him. A tingling sensation spread to the tips of her fingers, and she closed her optics, lost in the moment. The only real thing in the world were Speed’s lips on hers. Suddenly he pulled away, and the kiss was broken. Ami grinned nervously up at Speed.

Speed did not smile, on the contrary, he looked deeply troubled, “I, I shouldn’t have done that.”

Ami’s smile vanished, “Why?”

She was interrupted by an engine revving. Megatron had clearly not been paying the two any attention.

“Come on, Speedstrike!” he commanded edgily, slowly rolling forward.

Speed transformed, and sped off after Megatron, leaving Ami alone.

To be Continued…