2. Charge (A TFP Fanfiction)

Chapter 16

"Hey, Taylor! You wanna ride to school with me tomorrow?" 

I turned and smiled kindly at the team's newest recruit. Smokescreen was always the excited kind of guy, and while I thought it was sweet and funny, it was also exhausting! 

"Sorry, Smokes, but Ratchet said he would be able to take me," I said, giving him an apologetic look. 

He deflated a little, but smiled anyway. "Oh, alright. Maybe Arcee will let me take Jack!" he stated as he hurried off.

I shook my head, deciding it would be better if I didn't state that she probably wouldn't after all he had done with Jack and gone through with the Cons. So much had happened in such a short amount of time, it felt like. It was only shortly after I and Ratchet had been retrieved from MECH that things started getting messy. Using the human factor to their advantage, the other three kids and Agent Fowler had infiltrated the Nemesis and gained access to four records of Iacon, which allowed them to find relics located here on earth. I had been ordered to stay behind by Ratchet. While different groups went off in search of the ones located, they got access to the entire Iacon database. Unfortunately, Bulkhead had been severally injured during his retrieval, and the whole team suffered in silence for a long time. I got to meet his best friend Wheeljack for the first time, but I had a feeling that he wouldn't be showing up again any time soon, especially after what he did with Miko. It had only been a short time after that that Smokescreen had arrived, along with a whole new set of adventures afterwards. The entire team was now in search for the Omega keys, which could hopefully one day restore their planet.

What if he leaves you once he has his home back? What if they all do?

I sighed, once again pushing that thought into the back of my mind. I wanted to be happy for them; I was excited for them. Yet, at the same time, my fear of losing them battled those emotions. Still trying to read emotions could sometimes be a problem when they always seem to be conflicting one another. 

Another thing: I could tell, ever since MECH had taken us captive, that Ratchet was hiding something from me. He knew something I did not, and wouldn't tell me. I didn't push, and I had a pretty good idea what it was. Whenever I was around the Autobots, as in very close, I could feel some sort of.. energy emitting off of them. Like I was sensing their very being. It was always stronger whenever I was with Ratchet, and I could tell that he could feel it, too. I wasn't sure if the other Autobots could, and I didn't really know how to bring it up to them. I wanted to know what it was, but at the same time, I was scared. If even my guardian was afraid to tell me, who knows what it meant!

I sighed to myself again and shook myself out of my thoughts. I was the only kid in the base for once. Jack was at work, Raf was spending "quality time" with his family at home, which basically meant he was with the Bots too much, and Miko was out with Bulkhead. The two had been wanting to hang out more after Bulkhead's recovery. I could understand that; I was always with Ratchet, and my home was at base, though, so it wasn't harder for me like it was them. I got up off the couch slowly. My body felt achy and tired, and for a moment, I wondered why. Then I realized that I probably needed Energon. It had been so long since I'd last filled.. probably when I had been captured in the hands of MECH. I rubbed my upper left arm, which was where the ache was most profound, and turned to the monitors. Of course, my guardian was there, busy with his work. He had working a lot more as of late, which I couldn't blame him for. Still holding my arm, I strode over to the railing. Ratchet saw me approaching and stopped. 

"Is something the matter?" he asked, looking at where I was rubbing my sore arm. 

I grinned a little to assure him it wasn't so bad. "I think I need a refuel.."