Invisible String

Out Of The Woods

"It's still warm to the touch. I hope they don't scar too much." You rubbed your arm without realizing it. Dorothy gave you a look but didn't say anything else.

The ranger station came into focus, as well as a certain robot you didn't know you would be running into today. Megatron was standing in front of the Ranger Station with his back to the road. You felt you heart skip a beat and you averted your eyes. You wouldn't stare at him this time.

'Get ahold of yourself. You're being rude!' You screamed to yourself in your head. You glanced over to Dorothy to see she was giving you a weird look again.

"Everything ok?" She asked you as she parked. You nodded without saying anything and exited the truck as quickly but quietly as you could. You had already raced to the stations doors before she could close hers. You made sure not to look at the Mech as you did. You didn't want to see the look of disgust on his face for a second time. Once you had regained your composure, you looked around and noticed the station was dusty and cluttered. You knew about Dorothy not being a real ranger, but you figured that they would have given her a cleaner place to work in when she didn't have to go on missions.

You heard the door open and looked over to see Dorothy watching you as she propped it open. She had a confused look on her face, but you tried to play innocent. Like you didn't just become the fastest human on this planet for 20 feet.

"I know you just got here but trust me, nothing in this place is that interesting." She smirked at you.

'Does she know? I don't want her to think I'm weird.' Your thoughts were running a million miles a minute.

"Um. I'm just really enthusiastic about nature..." You reached for a random book that was sitting on the shelf.

The Art of Taming a Wolf. How fitting. You thought. You looked up at Dororthy. She looked like she wanted to ask you something. But you could tell she was holding back.

"You know, sweetheart, you can talk to me about anything..." She crossed her arms and leaned against a piece of furniture. You nodded to her and pretended to read the book you had grabbed. You were really trying to use it to cover up the blush that was forming on your face.

"Did he say or do something to make you so uncomfortable?" Dorothy whispered. You didn't want to tell her the truth, you hardly could admit it to yourself. It made you feel hopeless to think of some stupid unrequited crush on an alien robot. You shook your head and sighed.

"He didn't do or say anything. I just get the impression that he doesn't like me." You glanced from the book to Dorothy's face. Her mouth was downturned in a frown, and you could tell she was very confused. You didn't want to go through the trouble of explaining why you felt the way you did, so you backed away further into the station and found a chair to sit in. It was made of a hard plastic and wasn't comfortable, but it was something to sit on. You could feel Dorothy's stare on your back. She was a mother at heart so of course she could tell you weren't telling the full truth.

You felt the ground vibrate as the robot standing outside kneeled down. You had hoped he didn't hear the conversation. He looked at you for a second before speaking to Dorothy directly.

"There is a faint Decepticon signal 4 klicks from here. If it's this faint they could be hurt. We should get there before Prime, he won't be so easy on them." His voice was deep and a little rugged. Dorothy gave you a look as he stood back up. You met her eyes for a second and swore you saw the smallest smirk start to grow on her face. You ignored her and looked back at the book you had been faking reading.

"Well," she said your name, "Would you like to come with? It could be a fun little adventure." You looked up at the woman like she was crazy.

"The last "little adventure" I went on will keep me satisfied for the rest of my life. I will decline. Plus, this place is a mess, no offence, and I want to help out by cleaning up a bit." You set the book down and let it close without keeping the page. Dorothy looked like she was about to say something but instead, she bit her lip.