*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.*

"We're going to be okay, huh?" my dad retorted from the front seat of Ironhide's alternate mode.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. Adalyn and I were in the back seat and we were currently on our way home from the base. For the past fifteen minutes, my dad and Ironhide had been scolding us for the incident that happened, and needless to say, I was pissed the fuck off.

"How the hell was I supposed to know that would happen?" I exclaimed.

Surprisingly, after the encounter with Starscream's holoform and his two stooges, I had gained about thirty seven percent of my voice back. It wasn't much, but for now it would definitely suffice.

"We didn't want either of you to walk by yourself in the first place, but you insisted, claiming that you would be okay," Hide remarked.

Though Adalyn was fairly new to the family, she had managed to grow on them really quickly, especially Ironhide. He claimed he liked her excessive amount of charisma and the way she dedicated herself to the people she cared for. In a sense, she had reminded him of Optimus Prime and Ratchet merged together. In my mind, his need to protect her was for her safety, but it was also for me, considering the fact that he hadn't gotten the chance to save Braelynn from the Decepticons two years ago. He had told me many times that he felt bad for not being able to save her that day and I felt he was trying to make up for that with Adalyn.

"You're lucky Dino and Hide showed up when they did," my dad said.

I rolled my eyes, the anger increasing inside me. Here they go trying to treat me like some defenseless little girl. I honestly didn't know if I could take it any longer. Their protective ways meant a lot to me, but right now I just felt suffocated.

"You know, I'm so sick of the two of you treating me like some defenseless little girl. I'm almost twenty years old! I shouldn't be denied the right to walk a few blocks at night and I especially don't need a damn curfew," I countered rather loudly.

I heard Ironhide grunt. "Lower your voice. Yelling won't get you anywhere, kid," he instructed.

I rolled my eyes again and crossed my arms.

"We're just saying, Lea. Maybe it would've been wise to take Bumblebee or even Sideswipe," my dad replied calmly.

I clenched my fist. "Shut up. Had you thought that at the moment and insisted on it, we would have never come into contact with the slagging Decepti-forms. Quit trying to blame the ordeal on me."

"No one is blaming anything on you," Hide responded nonchalantly.

"Well, I'm just stating the facts. The Decepticons are still after you and you choose late at night to walk with Adalyn to get something to eat? Are you dumb?" my dad retorted.

I frowned. What the actual fuck was this?

"First and foremost, it wasn't exactly a spontaneous decision. You were all busy and we didn't want to bother you. Secondly, I thought the Decepticons had fled after the Egyptian battle. I had no clue three of their holoforms were going to corner us in an alley. I had no clue they were going to threaten to hurt Adalyn or I if we didn't cooperate," I told him, bitterness in my tone.

Ironhide sighed.

"I'm starting to think it wasn't the wisest idea for you to inform Adalyn of your invovlement or of Autobot and Decepticon existence for that matter," he told me.

I raised a brow.

"Why not? Galloway pissed me off and I was feeling exceptionally rebellious. I could trust her too so I felt there was no problem in telling her," I retorted.

"That's just it, Azalea! You don't think about the consequences that could follow your actions. I don't care if you were angry or feeling rebellious. It is so much safer for Adalyn not to know," he scolded me.

When did this whole thing turn into a concern for what knowledge Adalyn held inside her head? It was too late anyway. She knew and there was no un-knowing.

"It's fine. She's fine."

He grunted again.

"For now. But, what's going to happen when she accidentally gets caught in the middle of a random Decepticon attack? Do you really want to be responsible for the death of not one, but two of your friends?" Hide spat.

My heart sank when I realized what he had just said. The air in the cabin of the truck shifted as everyone processed what he had said. Ironhide himself even realized what he just said to me, and turned back to look at me, the truck coming to a halt. I could already feel the tears running down my face. Quickly, I pushed the truck door open and hopped out before slamming it shut.

I basically ran into the house, slamming the front door shut behind me. My mom was sitting on the couch with my little sister, but I ignored their presence and ran up the stairs. Once I got to my bedroom, I ran inside, shutting and locking the door behind me. I strolled over to my suitcase and pulled out a piar of sweatpants and a t-shirt. I quickly changed into them and got into my bed. After turning the light off, I cuddled into my comforter and let out a sob into my pillow.

How could he even say that to me? He basically blamed me for the death of my best friend. A small part of me had spent the better part of two years believing that I was part of the reason she had died. Had I not ever spoken to her about the Autobots or even let her meet them for that matter, she would still be here but she's not and it was my fault. Ironhide had repeatedly told me that it wasn't my fault and I believed it, but there was always that smaller part of me that didn't. Now that he had just confirmed it, I knew everything I needed to know.

A small knock on my door caused me to pause for a fraction of a second. I clutched my comforter tightly and waited for the hand behind the door to speak.

"Azalea. Open the door," Ironhide instructed. I only closed my eyes and covered my head. The knocking continued.

"Azalea Grace, please open the door. I didn't mean what I said and you know it."

I didn't believe him though. Sometimes people may say things they don't mean, but there was nothing but pure blame in his voice as he said it.

Instead of further listening to him, I grabbed my headphones and my phone from my bedside table and plugged them into my ears. I went to my music app and scrolled through until I came to the song I wanted: "You've Got a Friend In Me" by Randy Newman. I smiled softly and clicked on it, remembering the memory of why this particular song was my absolute favorite and why it would always remain my favorite.

Braelynn and I were only about nine years old and had only been friends for about two years. Being the Disney nerd that I was, I insisted that we watch Toy Story. Once we heard the song playing on the movie, we immediately fell in love with it. It became our 'anthem' as she liked to call it. I was her Woody and she was my Andy. My mom even wrote 'Andy' on the bottom of several of my shoes because of how seriously we took it.

By the time we were in the seventh grade, though, our little stage had sort of died off but the two of us never once forgot our little anthem.

I wiped away my tears as I recalled the memory but soon enough, I was drifting off to sleep to the sound of my favorite song.

____________________

The scenery was all too familiar for my teary eyes. I had seen it but once before and though it was a good three months ago, I would never forget this place. The flowers shone brightly beneath the sunlight and the knee-high grass flew with the breeze. Sighing, I sat down on the ground, waiting for my best friend to make an appearance.

"You've got a friend in me. Oh, you've got a friend in me. When the road looks rough ahead and you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed, you just remember what your old pal said; you've got a friend in me," I heard her sing behind me.

I turned my head and smiled at her as she skipped over to me before sitting down beside me on the ground.

"So, why are you here this time?" I chuckled.

She gave me a dumb look. "Seriously? You haven't listened to that song in years, Azalea. And I know what happened. I'm always with you remember?"

I gave her a curt nod. "How could I forget?"

She hugged her knees to her chest and laid her head against them.

"It's not your fault, Lea. I promise you that," she told me softly. It was almost as if my heart dropped into my stomach. I wanted to believe her words but I just couldn't do it.

"I wish I could believe you. But if I had never even said a word to you about knowing the Autobots and meeting them, then you wouldn't have wanted to meet them. That would have resulted in you still being alive, Braelynn. He was right; I'm responsible for your death."

She groaned and smacked me in the back of the head.

"I've about had it with you, Azalea Lennox. And your boyfriend. Do I need to come back and jerk a knot in his tail?" she chuckled.

I smiled. "You need to come back period."

"It's not possible. But still. Stop beating yourself up over that day. It isn't your fault, girl. I promise, and have I ever broken one of my promises?" she inquired.

I shook my head. "But, why would he say that to me?" I squeaked.

She shrugged. "I don't have an answer to that but I can say that I'm more than upset he would even think to say that to you in the first place. It made me so upset to see you get so hurt over it. If my boyfriend said that to me about you, I wouldn't know what to think," she answered.

I sighed sadly. "Speaking of boyfriends. Do you know how Eric has been? I haven't talked to him in a couple of years."

She huffed. "I believe he's doing fine. I know that he has a girlfriend now. But in all truth, you, your family, and my family are really the only people I bother to hang around. I shouldn't, but I honestly have nothing else to do since I'm dead, and looking after you guys gives me some sense of sanity," she replied.

I chuckled. "Just do me a favor and don't ever leave. Okay? I need you around," I remarked.

"What about Adalyn, Leo, Sammy, and Mikaela?" she smiled.

I pursed my lips. "I love them all to death, but you are and always will be my best friend."

She giggled. "Aw, you're too sweet. I feel the same about you, sweetcheeks."

I gave her a side hug which she happily returned.

"What do I do about the Ironhide situation though? He really hurt my feelings."

"I understand and you have every right to be upset with him. Just go with the flow. You may not forgive him for what he said right away, but in a few days everything will be back to normal. I promise," she told me as she squeezed my side.

I let out a sigh. Normally, I forgave people fairly easily, especially Ironhide, but this was going to be slightly different. He had never said something to hurt me so much.

"I guess I could listen to you."

She scoffed. "You always listen to me. But listen. You need to wake up and you need to stop crying. I'll be here whenever you need me, Azalea," she told me as she stood up.

I followed her actions and wiped my eyes, obviously not aware that I had been crying in the first place.

"Okay. I'll see you soon. I love you, Braelynn."

She hugged me tightly. "I love you, Azalea."

I smiled and squeezed her small body. Before long, she disappeared and I was left alone in the dark.

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