*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 winter break sped by, much to my despair. On the bright side, I had a fantastic time back home with my family and my Ironhide.

Since the incident on my birthday, things had been relatively calm. The Decepticons hadn't made another appearance after that and I was more than pleased with it. It left me to enjoy the rest of my break peacefully and I couldn't have been anymore thankful because of it. Plus, I was left to live my life with at least a chunk of normality for the first time in a while. .hopefully.

Nothing relatively interesting happened after my birthday either. It was just like a normal December. We managed to land a few feet of snow which kept us locked in the house for a few days and also made Ironhide immensely upset; he feared the incredible amount of ice and snow was going to freeze his circuits, but I assured him that he would be more than okay.

Christmas was productive enough, though it was utterly ordinary. I had received a good amount of presents, and since Adalyn's family was really never around, my parents took it upon themselves to buy her a shitload of presents, most of which included clothes from all of her favorite stores. In all honesty, I was beginning to think that they loved her more than they loved me. It didn't bother me much. I actually loved the fact that my parents and Annabelle loved Adalyn so much; they saw her as one of their own and it made me exceptionally happy to see her so happy being around my family. She explained to me that night that she had never felt more at home in her life.

New Year's Eve on the other hand was pretty crazy. Sam, Mikaela, and Leo flew out again and from there, Bumblebee drove the five of us down to Virginia Beach. All of us, including Bumblebee's holoform, went to a party down on the pier that night. Bumblebee had really only tagged along to keep a close eye on the five of us since we were going to be a little bit under the influence. For that single night, the police had allowed anyone over the age of eighteen to consume alcohol, which I thought was kind of stupid, but I didn't complain about it.

There were tons of drunk teenagers running around up and down the boardwalk and someone even fell off of the pier which I thought was just so hilarious in my drunken state. I didn't normally drink much, but since I was getting a free go around, I decided to go all out and be as crazy as I could be.

The only problem was that I got too drunk; I was drunker than Adalyn, Mikaela, Sam, and Leo put together. The only thing I even remembered doing that night was streaking down the boardwalk in my underwear. It was freezing cold, especially with the oceanic breezes blowing on me, but I didn't have a care in the world; it was 2010 for crying out loud!

My drunk state did cause several problems for me though. I was told that I was nearly arrested and before I could get into actual trouble with the law enforcement, Bumblebee had to forcibly remove me from the boardwalk. I spent the rest of that night locked inside his cabin while he left me alone to take care of the others. I did receive a good punishment though, not only from Ironhide, but from the massive hangover I woke up with the next morning. It was bad enough that I didn't ever want to drink again.

Just a week later I had to return back to New Jersey for school, much to my despair. Currently, I was laying down in the backseat of Ironhide's cabin while Adalyn sat up front. My parents had offered to take me, but my mom ended up having to work and my dad was sent back to Washington state with Epps on some sort of classified NEST mission. I had made sure to say my goodbyes to my family and assured them that I would be back for spring break, though that didn't seem to go well with my mom. I absolutely hated leaving my family and friends behind, but I had to.

My stomach's loud rumbling tore me away from my thoughts. We had been driving for an hour and a half and I hadn't eaten at all today aside from a couple pieces of bacon, but that didn't do much to fill me up. I was absolutely famished.

"Hey, Hide. Do you mind getting off somewhere so I can get something to eat? I'm feeling a tad bit famished, baby doll."

He grunted.

"I'd very much appreciate it if you didn't refer to me as 'baby doll'. I understand it's typical human lingo, but it just makes me feel strange. It's very demeaning," he replied.

Adalyn laughed and I rolled my eyes.

"Can you just stop, please?" I whined.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked me.

"McDonald's," Adalyn and I answered in unison.

He just sighed and I felt him speed up only slightly. I closed my eyes and opened them about ten minutes later when I felt Ironhide pull to a stop. Quickly, I sat up. After grabbing my wallet from my purse, I hopped out of Ironhide's alternate mode and nearly ran to the door. The very familiar smell of grease filled my nostrils and I smiled. Considering the way I was always training, you would think that I ate healthier than this, but I was a sucker for anything McDonald's. If it weren't for training all the time, I would probably be incredibly fat.

"It smells horrid in here," Hide exclaimed as he walked into the lobby with me and Adalyn.

I just laughed and stepped up to the counter.

"What do you want to bet the fat ass orders the whole damn menu?" Adalyn mumbled.

Hide chuckled and I shot them a glare before turning back to the cashier. I ordered my usual, a large ten piece nugget meal, and paid for it before skipping over to the drink bar to get my drink.

"Too much sugar is bad for your processors," Hide said from behind me. I smiled and finished filling my cup up with sweet tea.

"Too bad I lack the processors that you're speaking of," I chirped.

I took a sip of my tea before turning around and pecking him on the cheek. He followed me to the only seat available, which was unfortunately located across from a group of very giggly girls. I laid my drink down so I could go retrieve my food, but before I even took a step, Adalyn showed up, two trays full of food in her hands.

"Why thank you, dear," I chimed as I sat down beside Ironhide.

She placed the tray across from me and sat down in the booth across from us. I didn't hesitate to begin eating my food.

"You're going to get fat, Lea," Adalyn warned. I just shrugged and shoved a fry into my mouth.

"Slow down, soldier," Hide exclaimed as he took my carton of fries away from me.

I could feel eyes on our table as well as hearing a hushed conversation. Ignoring it, I reached over to grab my fries from Hide but he refused to give them back to me.

"Give them back."

He shook his head. "You need to stop eating such horrible foods," he scolded.

I scoffed and shoved a chicken nugget into my mouth. He went to grab the box but I stopped him.

"At least let me eat five and then you can do as you please with them, okay?" I chuckled.

He just smiled and rolled his eyes. As I went to take a bite of another chicken nugget, the sound of loud footsteps flooded through my ears and it seemed that they were only getting closer. I looked over to see one of the girls from the opposite table walking over to us, a small smirk on her face.

I grimaced as I looked at her. She was pretty, but the way she carried herself made her look fairly trashy. Her long blonde hair fell in loose curls down her back and the tons of eye makeup she wore made her blue eyes pop. Her outfit consisted of a pair of short-shorts and a hoodie with white converses. I had no clue why she was wearing shorts in the middle of winter, but I guessed sluts needed the attention all year round.

Her eyes never left Ironhide's form and I glared at her before looking at him out of the corner of my eye. Thankfully, he hadn't noticed her yet as he was too busy tossing the remainder of my fries at a very irritated Adalyn. I looked back to the girl and crossed my arms over the table.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked her.

That got both Ironhide's and Adalyn's attention and Adalyn sent her a disgusted look, which I smirked at. The girl shot me a look before turning her attention back to Ironhide's form.

"I just came over here to talk to your little friend. Is that a problem?" she asked me.

I could feel the possessiveness inside me taking over. I had never had to deal with some girl trying to approach Ironhide and I was quite thankful for that, but now I was just ready to rip this girl's head off for even looking at him.

"It is a problem, actually," Adalyn spoke.

The girl looked at her.

"Oh really? And who are you to say that to me? You look way too young to be his girlfriend," the girl retorted to my poor baby-faced friend.

"But I don't," I remarked.

"No, he just seems to be a bit out of your league. He looks like he could go for someone a lot less basic than you," she smirked.

Hide grunted and I quickly covered his mouth with my hand to keep him from saying anything to her.

"Basic? Do you even know the definition? I can most definitely assure you that I'm not that," I told her.

"Holding a hand over his mouth to keep him from choosing between you and the one he'd look best with? How mature of you," she countered.

Hide chuckled.

"No, but it's cute how you think he'd choose you. How old are you?"

She frowned. "Eighteen. Why does it matter?"

I snorted back a laugh and removed my hand from Hide's mouth. Luckily, he stayed quiet.

"Because. Being a slut at such a young age should be illegal, sweetheart."

She growled. "I'm not a slut."

"Says the little girl trying to get with another girl's boyfriend. That's trashy. But, did you know that because I'm twenty years old and since you're eighteen I can hit you without being charged for assault and battery on a minor? I may be charged for assault alone, but I'm not even remotely worried about it considering that not only my dad is in the military, but he is too," I exclaimed as I gestured to Hide's lesser form.

She scoffed. "You wouldn't dare hit me," she claimed.

"No, she won't. But even so, you deserve this," I heard Adalyn say.

The next thing I knew, the girl in front of me was drenched with soda. I looked to see Adalyn holding an empty cup in her hand and I let out a small laugh before standing up, pulling a still-silent Ironhide with me.

"You might want to put some pants on, sweetheart. It is the middle of winter after all. You don't want to catch a cold," I told the girl as I walked passed her.

I pushed the exit door open and stepped out into the cold winter air.

"I am so sick of nasty sluts!" I exclaimed, earning a few looks from other customers. I just ignored them and suddenly I was being pulled into a warm body. I sighed in content and wrapped my arms around Hide's waist.

"And that is exactly why I love you."

I chuckled. "Why? Because I'm crazy and a bitch?"

"No. Because you care. Although, I do wish you had allowed me to say something to the femme," Hide responded.

I laughed and pulled away from him.

"Lord knows what you would have said. All I was trying to do was scare her off. You probably would've scarred her for life," I teased.

He shook his head. "It would have been nothing too drastic."

I raised my eyebrows and headed for the back door of his alternate mode.

"I'm sure," I claimed as I hopped in the cabin.

It wasn't long before Hide and Adalyn piled in as well. I laid down in the backseat and stared up at the ceiling of the truck.

"I love you guys," I randomly blurted.

"That was random," Adalyn exclaimed as we pulled back onto the highway.

"I know that, but I just thought I'd let you know."

Hide chuckled. "We love you, Lea."

I just smiled and closed my eyes, the gentle hum of the engine sending me into an incredibly peaceful sleep.

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