You sat peacefully on the school steps, listening to music on your cassette tape player; your parents couldn't afford a new modern day music player, so while cleaning the (rather dusty) attic, you found this unusual gem. Granted, you could only find four cassette tapes to go with it, three of which were actual songs, while the fourth was an audiobook version of the Bible. Why your parents had it, of all people, was beyond you. Either once upon a time your mother was actually religious, or one of your freaky aunts gave it to her one day and your mom just tossed it into the attic.
So there you sat on the fourth step of the concrete stairs in front of Memorial High, listening to a song that you've heard about ten times. Trent and his gang were sauntering down the steps next to you, seemingly unaware of your presence. They were laughing obnoxiously at something, probably making fun of some unfortunate soul, before one of Trent's gang members had looked over his shoulder and spotted you. Smirking, he stopped and kneeled down, shoving your shoulder to get your attention.
You reluctantly pulled your headphones off, looking up at the brute expectantly.
"Do you need something?" You asked cooly.
"Yeah, actually," the teen snarled. He leaned down and gripped the front of your shirt. He pulled you up just centimeters away from your face; on instinct, you began to thrash about, all in vain to try and escape the bully.
Trent must've noticed one of his absent "friends", seeing as he turned around to look for him. Seeing the teen holding you by your shirt, he smirked.
"So, the blue-blood freak has shown their face again, " Trent spat, pushing through his crowd of friends to reach you.
You snapped your head towards him in fear. Just by hearing his voice, fear washed over your body. The teen who was currently holding you tossed you over to his leader, barking a laugh as you yelped.
This boy had hurt you.
Emotionally scarred, mentally abused. Your soul bore scratch marks if one were to look close enough.
It was a continuous battle against yourself; one with two armies. One of your morals, the other built by the teen holding you.
He snickered.
"Look at you. You're scared of me, aren't you? Good."
Since when did this guy get so aggressive? You found yourself thinking. Since when did he turn so violent?
Trent gripped onto your shirt, his muscles tensing as his eyes burned with the passion to see you break. He turned around so you were dangling just above the other steps leading down to the sidewalk. Trent smirked as he saw other students gather around to watch the possible fight commence. You squirmed in his grasp as he leaned close in your face. A bit too close for comfort, some would say.
Just as he was about to drop you, a loud, deep horn had silenced the crowd. All heads had turned to the source of the sound. It was none other than your guardian, Optimus Prime. You questioned how he found the time to pick you up since he had told you last night how busy he was. You quickly pushed the question away as you smiled at the sight of the red and blue semi.
"Who in the hell?—" Trent began, his brows furrowing at the semi. You managed to pry his hands off of your shirt, leaving you to topple down the school steps. You ran behind him and grabbed your belongings before making a run for the semi that was waiting for you. You could hear your bully calling after you, as the anger in his voice was eminent. You desperately opened the door of the semi, clambering in once it was open and slamming it behind you. You were breathless in the Prime's eyes as you turned to look at his steering wheel, clutching your bag.
"Please, I need to get away from him," you begged, sitting back into your seat as a familiar seatbelt snaked around you. The Prime revved his engine before backing out of the school parking lot. He sped down the road until he found a U-turn, where he turned around and headed for the base. The cab was silent for a few moments before Optimus spoke.
"I must ask, (Y/N), who was that boy?"
You remained silent. You were questioning if you could trust this alien-robot enough to tell your secret. He was the leader of the Autobots, after all. He is also your guardian, sworn to protect you from the vicious Decepticons. You took in a deep breath as you began to explain.
"His name is Trent. He's been targeting me for his bullying. He usually picked on me for my... Energon. It was harmless at first, but today... he suddenly turned really violent. And it's weird because the last time he saw me, he shoved me into a stop sign. I don't know if I did something wrong, or maybe I said something at some point to make this all happen, but I just—" you couldn't continue. You couldn't. The scars this stupid hormonal teenager had afflicted upon you were too deep. You found yourself crying, clutching your backpack like your life depended on it. Tears slid down your (S/C) cheeks, falling down to your jeans with a light thud.
The Prime watched painfully as sorrow filled his Spark. He knew he couldn't do a single thing to make this broken human feel even the slightest better. He wished in vain that, somehow, for just a few seconds, he could be a human and do something to comfort you. Of course, he didn't know much about human culture, and to him, there's a very foggy line between using friendly human customs and using romantic customs. It's something he'd have to dig into a little more.
The Prime willed his alt form to slow. He pulled over to the side of the abandoned road they drove on and drove down the dreary orange tundra, finding a secluded space hidden between two rocky cliffs. Optimus opened his door for (Y/N), pulling the seatbelt off her quivering body. She had stopped crying, despite the excess tears that ran down her cheeks. She stared out his cab, deeming it safe to crawl out of; sliding off the chair, she took a few steps back as she watched her guardian transform.
Optimus kneeled down to you, placing his large hand down on the ground. It sat there, palm open to you. The Prime stared at you expectantly, waiting for you to do something.
The realization hit you like a ton of bricks; he wanted you to step onto his hand. You risked a glance at his face, your eyes questioning the safety of his request. A small smile had found it's way to his faceplate, giving him the look a father would have as he witnessed his child take their first steps.
"I can assure you, (Y/N), you will be perfectly safe,"
You breathed out a nervous sigh as you nodded. You assured yourself that he was trustworthy as you stepped onto his hand.
You swung your backpack over your shoulders as you gripped onto one of the Prime's large digits. His unoccupied had cupped itself around the hand you stood in; you gasped as Optimus had begun to stand, his bright azure eyes trained on you. As he stood to his full height he brought his hands closer to his face.
"Why are you afraid of him?"
"What?"
"You said that you're afraid of Trent. If you do not mind me asking, why are you afraid of him?" His blue eyes bore into your (E/C) ones, flicking back and forth between them, searching for an answer.
You let your back slide down his finger as you looked for an answer yourself.
"Well, probably because he's strong enough to hurt me,"
The Prime's brows furrowed at this. His charge was giving him very vague answers.
"I believe you misinterpreted my question," he said slowly, choosing his next words carefully, "I believe that you should not listen to his comments, even if they seem threatening. You are much stronger than him." he affirmed, his posture straightening as he spoke. You sat shocked, slowly digesting his words. He believed that you were stronger than your high school bully. You could say that you believed him, but how could you say that you believed yourself?
Optimus frowned at (Y/N)'s expression. A frown adorned her face, brows just ever so slightly furrowed. He deemed that it was best for the both of them if he were to just let her down and head back to base. And that's exactly what they did. (Y/N) stared out the window of his alt form as they drove away in pure silence. And for once, it wasn't entirely awkward.
But much little did they know, a certain Decepticon had seen everything.
