Invisible String

Untouchable

"And you! You were going to go out in the storm weren't you!?" Dorothy's voice was soft but stern.

"No!" You lied. She pointed to the flashlight, umbrella and jacket that was sitting on the floor near the hallway and sighed.

"I told you to stay here; one because if they made it while I was gone, they would have an adult be with them; and two because I didn't want you to get hurt." She rubbed your arm as you speechlessly tried to explain yourself.

"You're a bad liar, hun." She said with a smile. You scrunched up your nose in denial and shook your head.

"Nuh uh." You almost forgot that Megatron was present until you heard him let out a breathy laugh. You felt your knees get weak at the sound of his quiet chuckles. It threw you off having made him amused but you stood frozen, not looking at him like you wanted to.

Dorothy broke you out of your spell by patting you on the shoulder.

"Well what are your plans for the day then Hun?" You thought for a second and side eyed Megatron who looked disinterested in the small talk.

"I was going to go help people clean up their yards. Can't leave all the fun for the kids." You waved your hand to where the group of kids had devolved from cleaning up sticks and leaves to roughhousing around a pile, trying to push each other in it. You stifled a laugh as one of the kids had succeeded and a chorus of laughter erupted from the group.

"Well Megs, looks like you got some community service today." Dorothy joked with the mech.

" And here I am, without my punch card." He quipped back sarcastically. You unexpectedly let out a choked laugh that you tried to cover up as coughing.

"Smooth." Mo whispered to you. You glared down at her and shushed her.

Before you knew it (or could stop it) Dorothy was piling the kids in her truck and waving goodbye, leaving you alone with Megatron. Before he could say anything, you rushed into your house to gather up some garbage bags and gabbing some gloves that would protect your hands from any sharp edges. You hopped over and shut the screen door to the balcony, leaving the main one open to let fresh air waft through your house.

Your legs felt like they were going to give as you walked down the main stairs of your entryway. You felt the ground rumble and watched as Megatron stepped into view. You had hoped he would just stick by your house on alert, but it looked like he was going to be following your every move instead. You couldn't tell if it was out of concern for you or of you but you quickly got used to his constant presence as you picked up your landlady's yard. You piled up the sticks that surrounded the store and bagged any garbage or leaves that covered the ground.

It only took you about an hour to get the plot of land looking as good as new, if not better. You watched as Megatron bundled up the sticks and branches that were too heavy for you to lift and walked them over to a man in the park that had been sawing them up for easier handling. Some people were grabbing them for projects or firewood. You admired the small towns sense of community.

Some kids were walking around with glasses of water and lemonade, and you graciously accepted a glass of either when one of the kids offered you one. You played with the colorful straw as you found a soft spot of grass to sit down on. You felt sweaty and gross, it didn't help it was starting to get warmer the later the afternoon got. You balanced the cup on your forehead as you laid back. The ground rumbled slightly, and you watched the gray robot make his way towards you.

"Are you ok?" You couldn't tell if there was real worry in his voice or not.

"No, I'm dead." You couldn't stop yourself from joking. Megatron just rolled his eyes as you, but you could've sworn you saw the slight hint of a smile on his face.

You let out a silent sigh as you felt your body cool off in the shaded part of the grass and you relished in the quiet breeze. Your stomach grumbled unexpectedly, and you released how hungry you were from only eating a few pieces of bacon that morning, but instead of acknowledging it you decided to ignore the feeling and continue to lay in the shade. The sun was high in the sky by this time, and you could feel the rising temperature make sweat droplets form and fall off your face and arms. You felt like a mess. Sticky and sweaty and covered in leaves and dirt. But you felt accomplished for helping your new community.

"It looks like everyone is done for the day." Megatron's voice broke the peaceful silence you had been basking in. You simply hummed in response and sat up. You pushed yourself to stand and let out a small yawn as you stretched your arms above your head. You grabbed your phone and saw you had some pictures from the family group chat you had been added too. One was Mo and Twitch making a leaf pile, the next was Robbie and Thrash sneaking up behind them, and the third was the inevitable jump into the pile. You giggled at their shenanigans and started walking to your building.

You felt the small tremors from the ground as Megatron followed you. To you it felt like you were a prisoner being walked by their guard but unbeknownst to you, others would describe him as a lost puppy following someone who coxed him into trusting them. You didn't hear the whispers of your new neighbors. Some of them thought you bribed him; others thought you blackmailed him. In the grand scheme of things, it didn't really matter. Marjorie saw it though. She saw how he had helped you all day with menial labor tasks that he didn't have to help with. The woman watched as you tiredly walked back to your apartment. She watched as the metal giant followed you and how his eyes never left your direction.

She watched as you tripped on seemingly nothing and how Megatron's face immediately turned to worry as he attempted to help you up. She chuckled as she watched your face grow redder than a rose as the embarrassment set in when your eyes met the blue ones of the shopkeeper. Marjorie just waved you off and looked away, but her attention was brought back from the sound of hearty laughter. She watched as you crossed your arms and glared up to the bot, and even let another round of chuckles out when she looked at your speechless face.

The sound was muffled because of the closed doors but she could hear Megatron apologize and offer you, his hand. That way you wouldn't have to sleepily stumble up your flight of stairs and could instead relax on your balcony. His words not Marjorie's.

She heard you shyly accept and busied herself as not to pry into any conversations you and the mech would have. Instead the woman just thought to her most beloved.

"Ahh, young love." The woman muttered to herself as she arranged a bouquet of red and pink roses. She was inspired to move on to a red carnation and tulip one as she heard the sound of your laugh waft down from your terrace and make its way through the cracks under the doors and windows. She had almost wished it was the season for lilacs or hyacinths. Two popular flowers representing new love. The woman thought back to the moment when she had met her true love for the first time. She hummed to herself as the sounds of conversation filled her heart with inspiration and nostalgia.