Farrah stared in horror. She looked from the side window of the car to the front windshield.
Just in time to see metal contort painfully, unnaturally. It screamed as it was bent and broken. Her mother’s screams echoed her own as they stared at the wreckage. Fay hadn’t even felt the seat belt as it jerked at the sudden application of brakes.
The car ahead of them was broken, and now it was burning. Fay screamed, jumping out of the car and rushing forward. She was stopped by the officers again, her screams leapt from her throat against her will.
“No!” She called, reaching for the obliterated hunk of metal. But where had the officers come from? They hadn’t been her that quickly before. Fay’s mother had kept her contained in the vehicle originally.
That was when Fay realized she wasn’t herself. Not the way she was during the crash. She was the way she was now. Fully grown. She pulled past the officers with a burst of strength and they reached after her, but she was too fast this time. The words tried to escape her throat, but nothing came out as she closed the distance to the car.
She stopped at the edge of the burning, broken metal. She stared at the bodies inside for a moment, watching. She swore she saw his eyes flicker . . .
Fay reached for the door, pulling hard. It was wedged shut from the impact.
Why weren’t the officers coming to stop her? She shook her head. It didn’t matter. ‘I’ll save you this time,’ she thought, pulling harder on the door. She ran to the other side. In the impact, the car had been spun around in a 180.
Fay pulled hard on the driver’s side door, but it was in worse condition than the passenger’s. “No!” She screamed, pressing her lips together as she realized the fatality of the situation.
That was when his eyes, bright blue, opened slightly. Looking straight at her. Fay’s heart leapt into her throat. “I’m sorry . . . I’m so, so sorry. I tried. I really did.” She banged her fists against the glass, lowering herself to look at him directly. “I’m sorry . . . I failed you. I . . . I wish I was better . . .” She wiped her eyes, the tears slipping down her cheeks.
The tracks the tears left clear stains on her face. Fay’s skin was already coated with a layer of soot and dirt, giving her a filthy appearance. She banged on the window, wishing that by some miracle it would break and she would be let in. That she would be allowed to save them. His eyes stared blankly at her. Wishing he could reassure her.
“It’s all my fault!” She screamed, hating herself, hating everything in this moment. In the back of her mind, a thought nagged her. ‘Why aren’t the flames burning me?’ If anything, they left black marks that would wash off. They were warm, but never hurt.
That was when Fay realized how warm she actually was. She suddenly felt uncomfortably warm. Sweat dripped down her brow, but it didn’t change anything. She kept his gaze, wanting to take in as much of him as she could.
“I’m sorry I failed . . .” She whispered, wishing she could at least hold his hand one more time. The body next to him was already limp. Lifeless.
He shook his head, slowly, weakly. It was a barely discernable gesture, and Fay’s eyebrows creased. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off.
~~~
Farrah was back in her room, and woke with a slight jolt, but stayed laying down. She didn’t have much of a choice really. She was wrapped tightly in a cocoon of blankets. She took a deep breath, trying not to think about the dream. It had been too real this time. Too frightening. She curled up tighter, pulling her knees up towards her chest, but they didn’t make it past her waist in the tight bundle.
Fay sighed. ‘Why do I feel like a stupid caterpillar?’ She thought, glancing around the room, trying to recall the last thing she remembered. Falling at the river, trying to get away from that Optimus character. Had she hit her head? No . . . Surely that wasn’t right. She didn’t have a headache. She was a little light-headed but she hadn’t eaten in . . .
How long had it been now? She looked to the window, where the rain was still falling in dark sheets. It appeared to be the same day, but she didn’t know for sure. Carefully, Fay inched her way out of the blanket-made cocoon. Was Charlie home? She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself as she sat up on the edge of the bed.
She was in a nightshirt and shorts . . .
Wait, what?
They were both a little damp, indicating that her undergarments hadn’t been changed, but the outer layer was. And of course she’d had a good amount of time to dry since they were no longer soaked . . . but . . . who . . . ?
She shook her head, grabbing her robe from the closet. It was heavy, and probably a bit too warm for the weather, but Fay was still chilled, and if she got too warm, it was an easy fix. With a deep breath, she exited her room and went down the stairs, glancing around. She heard a bit of noise in the kitchen, but in the living room . . . she saw him.
Optimus. She froze, staring at him. He waved casually,wrapped in a blanket that had obvious wet spots.
Optimus. Optimus had been the one to take her home. Optimus had wrapped her in those blankets. Optimus had been in her room. Optimus had . . .
“Oh, hell no!” She stormed over to him, slapping the side of his face. “I cannot believe you did that! What is wrong with you? Really? You’re a creep and I want you out now!”
Fay was breathing heavily, her face was flushed, and despite the blow, he just looked up at her calmly. “I did not do anything to cross boundaries, Farrah.”
~~~
Optimus watched where Fay was on the bed, teeth clenched together, her shivers a little less intense, but she still had to have those wet clothes removed. He frowned, not wanting to do this sort of thing, especially as a Prime. He couldn’t imagine what Fay would think. It could cause real issues if she put the pieces together.
That was when he heard the door open. “Fay? I’m home! Work was called out a little early! Fay?”
He took a deep intake. This was the better choice. The Prime left her room and stood at the top of the stairs. “Charlie . . . ?” He called cautiously.
“Whoa!” She yelled, yelling to the foot of the stairs and spotting him. “All right, now you’re crossing a line! You can sit in our yard but you can not barge into our house!” She stormed up the stairs, and the Prime stood still, backing up just enough so they could stand on equal ground. She stuck a pointed finger to his chest. “I don’t care who you are, you don’t just-!”
He cut her off, pointing to the bedroom on their right. “She needs a change of clothing to be warm and I’d rather not invade her personal space. I apologize for interrupting you, but it’s not what it seems.”
Charlie looked, eyes more curious than angry now. She saw Fay curled up on her bed, shivering. “Where was she?”
“I’ll answer all your questions later. Please change her so we may properly warm her.”
The blonde nodded. “Of course. Just, um . . . There’s a few extra blankets in the closet,” she instructed, pointing to a door near the end of the stairway. Optimus nodded in confirmation, and Charlie immediately strode into Fay’s room, closing the door behind and taking care in her task of changing the drenched clothes with dry ones. She opened the door once Fay was in a clean shirt and shorts. She would’ve liked to put her in something warmer, but with her friend unable to cooperate, it would’ve been more of a pain than it was worth.
Charlie sighed, going to the door and opening it, letting the Prime in and they set to work, wrapping Fay in a few tight layers of blankets. By the time they’d finished, she’d stopped shivering, and her breathing was closer to a normal rate. Charlie crawled onto the bed, holding her friend close in her arms. “It’s all right, Fay . . .” she whispered. “I’m here. It’ll be okay . . .”
Fay shuddered against her, groaning. Charlie looked up. “Go in the bathroom and grab a towel. Make it two.” Optimus nodded, crossing the floor in front of the staircase into the tiled bathroom, grabbing two towels off the hooks, promptly returning to the bedroom and and handing them to the blonde girl. She nodded slightly, taking one and wrapping it around Fay’s hair, handing the second back to him. “Get yourself dried off. As much as you can manage, anyway.”
Charlie stayed with Farrah until her hair was dry and she’d warmed considerably. Optimus sat at the desk, unsure of what else to do in the situation. “Will she be all right?” He asked cautiously as Charlie slipped off the bed.
She nodded quickly, ushering him out of the room, leading him back downstairs to the main level. “She’ll be all right. She just needs to rest and warm up.” She tossed the dank towel into the basket at the bottom of the staircase. “Now will you answer my questions?”
The Prime gave his affirmation, and was given the blanket on the couch as he sat down, and answered as Charlie asked, careful to work his words around the part about being a Cybertronian from another planet, and that Fay was sought after for reasons that would become a plague.
~~~
Charlie came into the room, a couple mugs of hot cocoa in her hands. “Fay. He didn’t do anything. I changed you when I came home.”
The black-haired girl glanced between the man in front of her and the girl she considered a sister to her side. “So he . . .” Fay bit her lip, closing her eyes, and a bit of humor rose into Optimus’s eyes.
“I will accept an apology for your striking me,” he offered.
“Hah! You wish! I will never apologize to you, you creep. How do you keep finding me, anyway?” She demanded, eyes sharp as she stared down at him.
“He was at the park ‘n ride near the river,” Charlie offered.
“Oh, so now you know what those things are?” She snapped, crossing her arms. “Would’ve helped before.”
Charlie sighed, and Optimus spoke to her calmly, though a smile danced around his blue irises, not quite making it’s way to his mouth. “Your suggestion proved quite helpful, Farrah.”
She groaned. “Just go away. I don’t need some creep in my life.”
“Even if that ‘creep’ made sure you got home safely in the pouring rain? You could’ve frozen out there.” He explained flaccidly, his voice steady.
Fay sighed, realizing he was right. In the rain, next to a river, the moisture had been sucking away her body heat, and it could’ve ended horribly for her. “Fine. You helped. But you’re still a creep.”
His smile was slight, but it was there. Fay huffed unhappily, turning away from him.
“I’m going back to my room. If you hurt Charlie I swear I will end you,” she warned before walking out of the living room and stalking back upstairs. Charlotte watched her go and shrugged, sitting down and handing a mug of cocoa to the Prime.
“Don’t mind her. She’s rather . . . moody, this time of year.”
The Prime’s head tilted at the insinuation. “What’s wrong with this time of year? The rain?”
Charlie laughed, shaking her head. “The rain is her favorite weather right about now. What she hates is the sun. It’s okay if it’s cloudy, but once we hit . . . oh, ninety or so and some serious sun . . . she hates being outside. Avoids it like the plague once we hit that point.”
Optimus’s eyebrows stitched together in curiosity. “Why would she hate warmth and sun?”
“Not warmth and sun in general, but a very specific kind . . . high humidity, low cloud coverage . . . The kind that sends everyone into an AC frenzy. She honestly can’t stand it.” Charlie thought about it and sighed. It was all because of some idiot’s carelessness . . .
Optimus nodded slowly. “What caused it . . . ?”
Charlie shook her head. “That’s not information I can release. Not without consulting Fay. Not a lot of people know about it. Especially not strangers. You may have helped her, a few times now, actually, but you’re still a stranger. If you’re not adopted family, you’re a stranger, actually.”
His helm tilted slightly. “Adopted family? Doesn’t that require paperwork?”
Charlie laughed. “Not with Fay. When she calls you family . . . She trusts you. She loves you like you were her family. And that’s when secrets come out . . . She’s ‘adopted’ me as her sister. You’ll be lucky if you ever make it to that point, but if you keep bothering her, it may happen.” She sipped from her mug cautiously. “That girl won’t admit it, but when someone refuses to give up on, just keeps coming around of their own free will . . .” She smiled, green eyes shining. “Just do me a favor, Mr. Optimus.”
His face was questioning as he looked at her, and she met his eyes firmly.
“Either keep coming around or leave now and never look back. If you don’t plan on sticking around, even just as Fay’s friend or a shoulder to cry on, you need to leave immediately. If there’s one thing Fay doesn’t need, it’s someone coming around and bothering her so much that she actually thinks they care and then waltzing away like it was no big deal. If you give a flying shit about her, you need to make sure you’re around or vanish as soon as possible. Got it?”
The Prime nodded slowly, left with more questions than answers. “But . . . why . . . is this of such importance?”
“Doesn’t matter. If you stick around, you’ll find out.” Charlie took another drink from her cocoa, ignoring his questioning stare. He wasn’t going to get any answers. Not from her.
~~~
Fay curled up in her bed, facing the window, watching the rain slap against the glass loudly. “I miss you,” she murmured under her breath. A flash of lightning and rumbling thunder were her only answer.