*I don't own Transformers or anything affiliated with Transformers. I only own my original characters and plots. All rights go to Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg.*

My eyes opened slowly and I rolled over, but was stopped by the headphones entangled around my arms. Sighing, I unwrapped them and unplugged them from my phone before throwing them onto my bedside table. I grabbed my phone from beneath me and hooked it onto the charger, no doubt in my mind that it had died during the night.

Getting up, I strolled over to my open suitcase to pick out something to wear for the day. Without the anticipation that I was going anywhere today, I picked out my orange and grey Princeton hoodie, a pair of black leggings and my grey Ugg boots. After changing out of my pajamas, I threw my blonde hair up into a messy bun and headed downstairs.

The smell of bacon and other breakfast foods lead me directly into the kitchen where my mom and Adalyn were, wrapped up in their own conversations. My mom turned away from the simmering food just long enough to shoot a smile my way. I returned it and walked over to the fridge to retrieve a bottle of lemonade before going to sit down at the island beside Adalyn.

"Are you okay?" she asked me. I smiled and nodded, remembering the dream I had last night.

"What happened last night anyway? You completely ignored me when I tried to talk to you," my mom spoke as she dumped the finished bacon onto a covered plate.

"Ironhide basically told me that I was at fault for Braelynn's death. No big deal," I croaked out.

My mom laid the plate of bacon down in front of us, a frown on her face. "Why would he say that to you?" she inquired.

"Because he's an impulsive fuck-wad." I took a piece of bacon off of the plate and shoved it into my mouth. "So are he and dad at the base?"

The kitchen door swung open and my dad strolled in, a big smile on his face.

"Nope. I have the day off," he chirped as he reached over me to grab a piece of meat. I raised a brow at him.

"Why are you in such a good mood?" Adalyn laughed.

He smirked at her. "Because I haven't had bacon since Lea left for college. Sarah refuses to make it unless she's here," he grumbled.

I laughed and took a drink of my lemonade. "You're so dramatic."

He laughed at me. "I like both of your hoodies. Care to get me one?"

I looked over to see that Adalyn and I were basically dressed the exact same way. She wore her grey and orange Princeton hoodie, a pair of black pants and grey Ugg boots. I made a shocked face and covered my mouth. She laughed and I looked at me dad.

"Yeah. I'll get all of you one, even baby Annabelle."

I shoved another piece of bacon into my mouth and the kitchen door opened. My smile faltered as Ironhide made an appearance inside our overly sized kitchen. He met my eyes for a fraction of a second before I turned to look at my family.

"Hey, Hide. You ever had bacon before?" my dad chimed. I rolled my eyes and let a small laugh escape. My dad was having to much fun with this.

"Not particularly and I don't plan on trying it any time soon," Hide retorted.

My dad frowned. "You're missing out."

I looked at Adalyn.

"How much money did you bring here with you?" I asked her.

She thought for a moment before answering me.

"I have about five thousand from graduation plus another two thousand from my parents and I couldn't exactly leave it in the dorm room so I brought it all here," she told me.

My eyes widened. "Damn."

"Why do you ask?" she chuckled.

"Do you want to go shopping? I need to get out and do something," I lied.

I just didn't really want to be within the same vicinity as Ironhide at the moment. His presence just left me to ponder over what Braelynn had tried to convince me wasn't true.

"Where are you going to go shopping at?" my dad asked.

I tensed up as I felt Hide sit down beside me, but, otherwise, kept my attention on my dad whose mouth was stuffed with bacon and eggs.

"There's plenty of malls here in Washington. I'm sure we'll find one," I responded as I got up from my seat.

"How do you plan on getting there?" he asked.

I gave him a dumb look. "My car? What else?"

He shrugged. "Maybe Ironhide, just in case your little friends show up again. It's only a suggestion."

Hide grunted and I growled.

"I don't need a damn bodyguard. If they get me then oh-fucking-well," I countered.

"Lea," my mom scolded.

"What? I'm just saying. I'm almost twenty years old. And who knows? They may actually be nice. Maybe they'd actually be considerate enough not to blame me for my best friend's death," I said as I went to walk out of the kitchen.

A strong hand pulled me back though and I glared at Ironhide. He opened his mouth to say something to me but his focus immediately shifted to me cheek, as did Adalyn's, my mom's, and my dad's. Instantly, I remembered the way Starscream had hit me before Ironhide showed up. There must've been quite the decent sized bruise on my face.

"What happened to your face?" Hide asked. He reached up to touch it but I shoved his hand away. He sighed.

"Lea, what happened?" my mom asked as she slowly walked toward me.

I shrugged. "I got slapped. It's not a big deal."

I tried to pull my arm out of Ironhide's grip but he was too strong for me.

"Did he hit you?" Hide growled.

I let out a sigh. "Yes, he hit me. Are you happy now?" I retorted.

"We'll talk later," he told me.

I rolled my eyes and he let me go before walking out of the kitchen and, I presume, outside to his alternate form. I just sighed and sat back down beside Adalyn, shopping now seeming incredibly irrelevant to me.

"He's seemingly angry," my dad stated.

I shrugged. "He's not the only one."

My dad gave me a look. "You're still mad about that?"

My mom slapped his shoulder and I sighed.

"You would be mad if someone you cared deeply about told you that your best friend's death was your fault, wouldn't you?" I inquired.

He nodded slowly.

"Exactly," I retorted as I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room.

I didn't know where Ironhide went and I didn't know when he would be back, but for some reason, my heart yearned to talk to him. I was still incredibly mad at him for what he said, but after being separated for three months without any communication whatsoever, I was feeling very stupid for trying to ignore him. Hopefully he would be back soon enough.

*Please vote and comment. It'd mean so much to me. I wanna know what you guys think.*