Too tall.
All of them were too tall. It was terrifying to consider one wrong step from them-
Nope. Don't you even think about that.
I felt like I was going to be sick.
"I could have just taken her to see my mom, you know." Jack's voice was quiet as he talked to Arcee. Despite her being the shortest of the three in the room, she scared me just as much. Her easy glare sent me into a smaller ball where I sat.
I didn't want to hear what Arcee was saying in response. We were waiting for one of them to come back from something, I couldn't really remember what.
The medic of their group was extremely grumpy. Honestly, I would have rather taken my chances with Arcee than him. I didn't care if he could help. The green one, at least, seemed pleasant enough compared to the other two.
"Please just let me go home..." My voice was barely a whisper as I hugged my knees to myself. I'd managed to find a small corner that felt the most safe on the platform, against the wall next to the tv.
I just wanted to feel safe.
I could hear the massive doors to the hidden base open, the same ones that the three of us drove through that nearly made me pass out again. I shuddered at that thought. Even with being warned about it, it still scared the utter hell out of me.
Moments later, the largest red and blue semi I'd ever seen was pulling into the main room. I didn't often see them, and definitely not up close. I noticed how everyone seemed to stand a little straighter at their appearance. I merely curled into my little ball a little further. I just didn't care how visibly scared I was anymore. Any sane person would be at least a bit scared at this point.
I watched as the semi broke apart, contorting and twisting into the form of a towering robot. For the first time today, I was just a little mesmerized by watching it happen. He didn't feel quite as scary, or dangerous, though his height against the others had me almost unable to breathe. I watched as his blue eyes scanned the room, meeting the other's gaze before stopping when his eyes landed on me.
The moment shattered. His entire attention was on me, and me alone. It was utterly terrifying, to have all that attention solely on me-
"She got caught in a 'con ambush with us." Arcee was the one who broke the brief silence, despite it feeling like forever. "She hasn't left that spot since we got here."
"Noted."
He was clearly the leader. There was no doubt about it. I shrank further into my arms, hugging my legs a little tighter to my body. I closed my eyes and just wished that everything would go away.
"Are you injured?"
The mechanical being was speaking again, to me now; that same deep baritone that couldn't be mistaken for anyone else but that red and blue semi.
For a moment, I debated whether I wanted to answer or not. Why did they care, anyways? I was a nobody, and these guys were clearly the opposite, whatever they were.
"...I don't think so..."
I'm tired of hiding everything...
I slowly pulled my head out from my arms, surprised to see that the same robot that asked the question had now stepped towards me, his full attention on me from across the guard rail. His eyes were piercing, electric blue watching me intently with concern.
"It would be best if our medic confirmed your health," he quietly rumbled.
My hands gripped at my arms a fraction tighter, and I rested my chin on them. I couldn't keep eye contact any longer, but at least his presence wasn't as intimidating as the others, surprisingly.
"...I don't want to be by myself...please.."
Because Jack had to go home early because of his mom, their leader opted instead to stay in my presence. As the only one of the robots present that made me feel the least anxious, the process of having their medic check me over was slightly less stressful.
Slightly.
Once their medic was done, using what they called a holoform, I was cleared. No signs of serious injury, just the pretty run of the mill cuts, scrapes, and bruises that you would expect. I let out a silent sigh of relief when they didn't press further. I knew not all of them were from today's little incident.
"The Decepticons will be looking for you now."
There was that rumbling voice again, somehow gentle. My arm twitched as I slowly looked up towards the leader's towering metallic frame, avoiding his direct gaze.
"I'm... assuming those cars that ran us off the road were these 'decepticons', right...?"
The leader nodded. "Of many others, yes. You are no longer safe alone. I will appoint you a guardian to watch over you to make sure you are safe."
"I-I don't think that's a good idea, my family-" My heart was in my throat again, starting to beat too loud, too fast, phantom bees buzzing through my head.
"I will make sure we are not seen, if that is what you are concerned for."
I wanted to believe his words, but no matter how hard I tried, I wasn't fully convinced. Not even by a towering alien robot that I had just met. Ryan had his ways if something was out of line and he found out.
But... I didn't have much choice, either way, did I?
If I had to be honest with myself, I would rather take my chances with them than without. Even if they were...scary. Maybe they'd be safer than Ryan himself.
"...okay."
It was a quiet drive back to Ryan's house. Their leader, Optimus, offered to take me home since it was pretty obvious I felt the safest around him. It still confused me how, since he was the tallest of them all. Maybe it was his stance, who knows.
But whatever the case, it didn't make a difference on how well Ryan would take my excuse for why I was so late. I just hoped that it went well.
The Prime let me ride in the driver's seat, which if I had to be honest with myself, a part of me really enjoyed it. For a brief, quiet moment, I felt safe, untouchable.
A quiet rumble came from the speakers. "I apologize if we scared you today."
I looked towards the steering wheel in front of me, watching the Autobot symbol in the middle. "It's okay." I paused, wondering if I should try to start a conversation.
Do I dare? I bit my lip.
"At least you are infinitely less scary than those Decepticon guys..and nicer, too..."
The Prime, surprisingly, took a few long seconds to finally respond. When he did, his voice was a little softer than before. "I am pleased to hear that we made a better impression."
At his words, I couldn't help the soft, little smile that came. But the smile only lasted so long, once I recognized where we were.
We were close to home.
"Um... Left at the next stop sign," I muttered out. My fingers ran through my hair, toying with the ends repetitively. The emotional whipash I felt was awful, my hands beginning to shake.
"Your heartrate is elevated."
I jumped in the seat at the sudden voice.
"I don't really want to go home..." I blurted out, fingers pulling at my hair in distress. I could see our street now, and suddenly I felt sick to my stomach.
He'd be so angry, I don't know how he'll respond when I get home...
I barely noticed the semi slowing to a stop, just passing by my street.
Too close, too close, too close, please-
By the grace of whatever that was holy and good, maybe Optimus had heard my thoughts; but he started to move forward again, going further down the road and turning on another street before stopping.
"Mika."
His baritone voice pulled me out of my scattered thoughts, my nails digging into my palms to help ground myself into reality.
"I do not feel comfortable sending you home. You are in distress."
My heart jumped into my throat at the sudden voice, then shortly after his words.
No, I have to go home...! It'll be worse if I don't!
"I-I'm sorry, I just-" my voice was shaky as I scrambled for a lie to cover me. "I-I messed up, I broke the TV a-and I don't have the money to replace it-my dad doesn't know yet..."
There was a concerned, quiet rumble. My hands shook as I tried to control my breathing. I shouldn't have reacted, I should've been prepared...!
I tried as best as I could to control my breathing, anxious for his response. I didn't know what to do; my emotions were in too much turmoil to allow me to properly form full sentences.
After several long moments, his idle engine finally came back to life as he switched gears, moving into drive.
"I will stay nearby tonight."
Something did not sit right with him about the situation. This small, fragile human in his cab was constantly in high stress. Much too high than normal, his sensors could tell even with limited understanding of human anatomy. This kind of external show of distress was easily noticeable, even without knowing.
Something was clearly wrong.
He wasn't sure why he decided to stay for the night, to watch over me from a distance. His signature, while it was cloaked, wasn't perfect and staying out in one place for an entire night could run the risk of more Decepticons showing up.
But moreso, he felt compelled to see that I stayed safe. A desire to protect had almost instantly coiled within his chest when he first saw me, resembling somewhat like the earth creatures when they are scared and backed into a corner.
He really didn't like that image. No one should look like that.
I, meanwhile, was somewhat relieved at the Prime's compromise. While the worst of the situation was avoided, I knew something was going to happen when I got home.
I just hoped I could bullshit my way through a good enough excuse to limit the fallout.
"Thank you," I managed to mumble out, giving a slight smile that didn't quite meet my eyes, looking out the window to the stars. There weren't many showing, given the splotches of clouds, but what I could see gave me a small sense of peace for a moment.
It quickly dissipated as we began to move, forcing me to come back to reality once more and give directions back to my house. As we got closer, I started second-guessing my choice, my anxiety beginning to rise again. What if it went really bad? What if it really was safer back with them, at their base, even if I barely knew them?
I didn't know which was the safer option. They were both two wildly different unsafe options, and yet seemingly safer in others.
Thinking about it made me dizzy, and we nearly missed my house and went onto the next street over. I jumped in surprise, my heart suddenly beginning to pound in my chest. That pit in my stomach was back, my fingers gripping at my clothes absently.
"You can stop here." I paused, trying to come up with a decent explanation, trying to not sound like I was hiding what happens at home. "My dad will find it really concerning if he sees me coming out of a semi.."
"Ah. I had not considered that. I apologize."
Optimus's formal tone actually kind of amused me in that moment, and a small smile curled my lips.
The driver door next to me opened on its own, surprising me, bringing me instantly back into reality once again.
I had to go home now.
My feet felt like bricks as I gingerly slid out of the cab, careful of the worst of the bruises I had. Still, I managed to hit the one on my elbow, causing a hiss of pain to escape me as my feet landed on the ground.
"Are you alright?" The Prime's quiet inquiry came as I gingerly rubbed the area.
"Just a bruise from earlier, I accidentally hit it.." I let out a soft sigh and let my hands fall after a moment, reaching for my phone and then realizing yet again it was dead. Another wave of nausea hit me, and I had to swallow the spit that suddenly accumulated in my mouth nervously.
This was going to suck until I could put it on a charger. I couldn't immediately fall back on my phone for comfort once Ryan would be done with me, or if something went wrong.
My eyes fell onto the semi next to me. While most of me was wary, a small part of me wanted to cling to any hope of getting out, a second chance.
"I, um... I gotta go," I said after a moment, realizing we'd both been sitting in silence for a bit now. "Thank you, um, for taking me home."
"You are welcome."
With that, the Prime switched gears and began to pull forward. I assumed he was going to find a stop to stay in for the night, given his promise.
Which meant I needed to start walking.
Here goes.