𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 ━ transformers

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

Alfonzo wakes me the next morning, all barks and yelps to go to the bathroom. Sluggishly, I open my eyes, realize I'm alone. The covers are thrown over me, tucked in and warm against the chill of morning. My mouth parts in a yawn and, with deep regret, I heave the covers off me, leggings fending off some of the cool but not much. I shiver and stand, feet heavy as I walk to the door and head downstairs.

The clock on the kitchen stove tells me it's twenty past nine in the morning and I suppress a groan. No one should be up before noon on a weekend. It's unjust and just wrong.

I sit on the stool and listen as Alfonzo runs amok outside, brain slow and body feeling like lead. A frown takes over my expression as last night comes back to me in flashes.

A storm. A nightmare. Ron comforting me. His odd expression before he demanded I go to bed. The warmth he radiated. His soft tone, gentle and caressing as he held me.

My cheeks heat up involuntarily. Extenuating circumstances aside, me and Ron... snuggled last night. Like, whole arms encasing me, warm cuddly feeling snuggle.

How did he even know I was having a nightmare, I wonder. Was he just standing at the window, blending in like a shadow, waiting for his moment to come and play vigilante? I shudder thinking about it.

Or maybe it was a coincidence. Maybe he got home from the base late, carried me over to the house (because someone had to, I didn't just teleport to my room, but the thought of it being Ron makes me oddly squirmy), and then I woke up just as he was about to leave. Yeah, that's probably what happened. No weird creeping necessary.

I grab a cup of vanilla yogurt and mull over my thoughts while shoving spoonfuls of it into my mouth. First things first-I have questions. Serious and oddly suspicious questions. For Ron. Who seems to be holding something back from me. Something potentially life-changing and I need to know what that is.

Perhaps I could bring it up in a passing conversation. Say, "Oh, hey Ron, remember when I told you about the psychotic robot that might be alien and you had this pinched expression like maybe you had more knowledge about it than you were letting on? Yeah, what the hell was that about?"

I figure that might not go too well. He'll probably give me answers in the form of grunts and pressed eyebrows. And then after that he'll probably stay in sight of my dad or Will because there's no way I'm bringing that subject up around them and Ron knows it. So my one and only option is basically a no-go. I sigh.

Theo would know what to do, I think with a angry scoop of Yoplait. Actually, no, Theo wouldn't have to do anything because if he were here, he'd be in the military and therefore in the know about all things mysterious. (Which he would tell me about, I hope, because I would most definitely tell him.)

But, hypothetically, if he did not go into the military and he had serious and suspicious questions, like me, he would just go for it. Just rip that metaphorical bandaid right off and hound Ron until he spilled the beans. Theo was brash that way, and Mom told him countless of times that he shouldn't push matters when he had no clue of what was truly going on. Said one day it could get him in serious trouble.

(And it did. Sophomore year--his junior--he asked too many questions and got a bruised lip and cracked ribs in retaliation. Mom said he deserved it, grounded him for three weeks and took away truck privileges. It was hilarious.)

I toss my yogurt in the trash and let Alfonzo in. The Topkick is not outside--nor is Mom's Tahoe. The Tahoe being absent is usual because Mom goes in for a half a day on Saturdays, but the trucks vacancy is weird. As far as I'm concerned, Dad and Will and Ron don't need to go to the base on the weekends unless an emergency comes up. So, they should be home.