2. Charge (A TFP Fanfiction)

Chapter 17

"And I will have to inform Optimus about your spark," Ratchet droned. 

The last word woke me from my trance and I looked away from the door window, nodding my head. His review mirror turned towards my face and I heard his engine hum slightly as he continued to drive down the road. 

"Are you alright?" he asked me, his voice gentle and cautious.

I gave him a small smile, but it didn't feel real. "Yeah," I replied with a sigh. "Just... I have a lot of stuff to think about. I hope it doesn't distract me from school." I put my chin back in my hand and continued to gaze out the window.

I could sense his worry over me as he pulled over in front of the school. I saw Bulkhead, Bee, and Arcee all arrive with their charges as well. They jumped out or off and waved them goodbye. Arcee would remain parked until no one was looking, and then speed off with her holoform. With another sigh, a grabbed my bag and reached for the door handle.

"..Taylor," Ratchet said quickly.

I stopped mid swing and looked up. "Yes?"

He paused, thinking over his words. "If.. if you ever need to say anything to me.. while at school.. I believe you have my hailing frequency on your phone?"

I blinked a few times, registering what he said. After a few moments, a real, bubbly smile played my lips and I covered my mouth slightly as I laughed. He sounded so unsure of himself, and rather embarrassed. I felt the seat beneath me heat up as I giggled, wiping my eyes and slinging my backpack over my shoulder. 

"Yeah, I do," I replied, stepping out. "Thanks, Ratchet. I'll.. call or text you if I need something." My face lit up a little bit, my brain going into anime schoolgirl mode. 

He hummed in response as I closed the door. I waved at him as he started his engine up again and drove away. I was truly happy and grateful for that; it meant a lot to me. At the same time, it made me too hopeful for something more with him. I lowered my hand as he turned around the corner and disappeared. I heard someone running behind me and turned to see if Miko needed something.

"BOO!!"

I yelped in surprise and jumped back, stumbling over and landing on my butt on the cement sidewalk. Jay, apparently the one who had frightened me, starting laughing, bending over and holding his knees. Though my heart was going a thousand miles a minute, I scowled at him in mock anger. 

"Jay!" I groaned. "You know I'm jumpy!

"I know!" he assured me, still laughing. "That's why it's funny!"

I shifted on the ground, my tailbone aching slightly. "Ugh.. it wasn't that funny."

He chuckled one last time, shrugging his shoulders. "Aw, don't be like that. You know you love me." He bent over again and held out his hand for me to take.

I raised an eyebrow, my cheeks heating a little. I took the hand with an overdramatic roll of my eyes. "Okay, maybe it was a little funny..." I admitted in a mumble.

He hoisted me up easily, the force of it so strong I slammed into his chest. He stiffened, letting go of my hand. I jumped back a second later, flabbergasted. 

"Sorry!" I apologized quickly, shaking my hands. "I wasn't ready for that." My eyes darted back up to his face, widening a little when I saw that he was beet red from ear to ear.

"N-Neither was I.." he muttered, shaking his head to compose himself. He scratched his head in embarrassment, throwing me a wide smile. "No big deal!" he shot at me.

Though I was a little confused by his behavior, I shrugged my shoulders and began to walk into school. "We're going to be late to class."

He sped up to match my pace as he followed. "So, when am I gonna get that ride?" he asked, his voice teasing.

"Jay, we've talked about this!" I said, but I was smiling cheerfully. "I said I'd tell you when they're ready!"

He grinned broadly again. "Maybe you're not telling me so you can keep your boyfriend all to yourself. Afraid I'll steal him away?" he asked, making mock kissing noises and fake cute faces.

My entire face and shoulders heated up, my eyes quickly darting away to avoid his gaze. "No! You've got to stop going on about that.."

"I saw your friend's bike!" Jay said, changing the subject quickly. "It was sweet! Even Mr. Ambulance has some nice rims."

I still hid my embarrassed face. He had no idea how close he was when he said 'Mr.' "M-most of them aren't ours. Our friends just pick us up. That is Jack's bike, though," I added quickly.

He slapped me on the back as we reached my locker. "So, your boyfriend is a doctor, then?" he said with another smirk and chuckle.

I scowled into the locker as I shoved my things inside. "So what if he is?" I retorted, immediately regretting it.

His face lit up and he laughed as he darted away quickly. "You called him your boyfriend, you called him your boyfriend!!" he screamed as he made his escape down the hall.

"I did not!!" I shouted after him, regretting that too. Now everyone in the hall was staring at me.

Luckily, Miko and Jack came to my rescue. Miko darted over, jumping up and down as if something excited had just happened. "Taylor!" she said, taking my shoulders and forcefully leading me away. "How's about we ditch class together?"

Jack decided to play along. "She can't do that! She's already been absent a lot because of all her injuries!" I wasn't sure how pretend he was being, though, when he playfully slapped her across the head. 

She returned it with a hard punch to the shoulder. "Whatever! Class is never any fun!" she retorted as we rounded the corner.

"Thanks you guys," I laughed quietly as we escaped the eyes of all the teenagers. 

Miko beamed and patted my back. "No problem! Seriously, what is with that guy, though?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, whenever he's around us, he's always trying to talk about them," Jack said, dropping his tone at the last word. 

I flushed in embarrassment a little and nodded. Miko also nodded and shoved my shoulder. 

"And he hangs around you, like, a LOT!!" she said. Behind us, Jack nodded.

My face lit up even more when I realized what she meant and I stuttered to reply. "M-Miko! We aren't like that! He's just a friend!"

"Even so, you should probably be careful," Jack said. "He seems really interested in you, and in the bots."

I sighed and nodded as the two headed off to their next class. I understood that, and I was careful.. but I did like being around him. He was a funny guy, but I didn't think of him in that way. My heart belonged to my guardian, which, unfortunately, was a one-sided love for now. I turned and held out my phone in front of me, wondering if I should just tell him today. 

Maybe I'll just text him during class...

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This chapter was kinda short.. and dull... but it needed to be in there, so I had to write it.

I probably won't be on much after this for today (and possibly tomorrow) because of the paper. I'm still not done with it. This is a hard one. 

SIIIIIIIIGH

See ya..

*waves lazily*