Drum Roll, Please

Chapter 22: Old Habits

Summer was in a great mood the next morning. She woke up early and changed her clothes, grimacing as her bra dragged across the bruises on her back. She glanced at Ultra Magnus, who was recharging, still slumped over the berth her couch was on. She finished changing and patted his finger.

"See you later," she whispered before climbing down and leaving the room. The rest of the base was quiet and only Ratchet was out. He was working on something off to the side, his brows furrowed in concentration. Summer decided not to greet him just in case he got scared and decided to throw something at her.

Up one of the ladders, on a landing where the human stuff was at, Summer found a bunch of video games, instruments, computers, and other things teenagers needed to survive. That included a mostly empty fridge, but Summer was lucky enough to find a second minifridge in Fowler's office. It had a disturbing number of gummy worms inside, but it was good enough. She grabbed a handful of bags, one of Miko's guitars, and left the building.

Fowler briefed her on their new base. He didn't hand over the location, for safety reasons (Summer honestly didn't care), and explained they were in a military base. The Autobots had two hangars to themselves. One where the Autobots and their charges stayed and another for Ultra Magnus's ship. They couldn't just leave it outside because plenty of private companies and other countries had satellites, not to mention Decepticon surveillance.

The other hangar sounded like the perfect place to avoid interactions. Summer headed across the space between the hangar she'd been in and opened the one next to it. Luckily enough, she'd found it. Ultra Magnus's ship was sitting inside, completely isolated from human and cybertronian minds.

She sat down under it and started fidgeting with the guitar.

Sure, she'd been rescued by the Autobots and they definitely made her feel at home, but Summer wanted some time to herself. She needed to recharge, remember who she was, and the perfect way to do that was to play a little music.

The guitar wasn't as familiar as her old one, but that was okay. Summer tuned it a bit and tested it a few times before clearing her throat. She'd have preferred some drums for the song she was feeling today, but of course, where was she supposed to find drums in a military base? She was lucky enough that Miko had instruments.

Then she played. She sung until her vocal cords were dry. She strung the strings until she wrist fell off. Summer fell right back into herself as the music danced through the air. Sometimes, she closed her eyes and sang quietly, and sometimes she stood up, throwing her head around, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Summer rounded the end of her final song (she knew it was the last because she was certain her voice would go out if she did another). It's the same song I've thrown up at the top of the chapter because I feel like it fits her mood right now. Feel free to read the lyrics. I ain't writing garbage like Throw Your Axes again, XD. It's basically her new attitude toward the Decepticons.

She finished off the the end of the song and let her arms fly free of the guitar. It dropped down, hanging from the band around her neck. Summer panted heavily and grinned, her heart racing and adrenaline rushing. It was an amazing feeling.

Still, it had to end. Summer wasn't particularly upset. She'd probably spent the better half of the hour in here and the Autobots might start looking for her soon. Summer packed everything back up, wiped her sweaty hair back behind her ear, and headed for the door. She opened it up and stopped dead in her tracks.

"WHOOO!" a round of applause smacked her in the face as a group of soldiers saw her. They were running laps around the compound and the group closest was cheering at her. Summer squeaked in surprise and her warm face became warmer. They ran past and Summee quickly went across the space to get back to the main hangar.