*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.*

One shot, two shots, three shots, and so on. The core flute was nearly destroyed and soon I would have to replace it. Like I normally did to relieve some unwanted stress, I decided to come out and shoot. I had been out here since about seven o'clock and I could tell by the sun's position in the sky that it was nearing noon if it was not noon already.

My dad and Ron had already been gone when I woke up this morning and I was kind of thankful for that. Things were awkward enough as it was last night and I definitely did not want a repeat of that. My mom had left for work shortly after I came outside.

The shooting had been helping me quite a bit and it normally did. I wasn't as upset as I had been though the hurt was still there but that was understandable. It had barely been a day yet I was feeling a lot more open-minded than I had been yesterday. The only thing I wanted to do yesterday was bash Ron's head into a brick wall but that was only because I was sure it would hurt the wall more than anything else and plus I could be very fickle when angered.

One more shot destroyed the core flute so I headed out to change it before heading back to my post. I reloaded my gun and pointed it at the target but was cut off by a loud voice. Startled, I turned and shot instinctively and dropped the gun to the ground causing and even louder shot to go off. I heard a familiar clank from the first bullet hitting metal and my eyes widened.

Of course this shit just had to happen again.

I glared at my dad who was standing beside the truck I just shot, staring at me with an amused look. One day he was going to get himself killed doing that to me. I ran down the hill, nearly tumbling when I got to the bottom but I managed to steady myself. Ron came marching towards my father.

"I'm so sorry," I said to him.

Did I not say that shooting had helped a great deal?

He gave me a small smile but I turned to my dad and got into his face.

"I swear you are going to get yourself killed one day for doing that to me, so stop. I am not going to jail for you or anyone else," I growled.

He laughed nervously. "Trigger happy."

I rolled my eyes. "Why are you two home so early?" I inquired.

I trotted up the hill to retrieve my things and surprisingly they followed behind me. I grabbed the gun off the ground and headed over to put it in the bag.

"Um, Optimus released us," he told me.

There was something in his tone although I couldn't quite make it out.

"Ah."

It was still so weird to think that the man I had met only days ago was actually an alien robot as well. This whole thing was strange to me but I was now handling it with maturity.

I moved to grab my bag but my hand fell on top of another one. I looked up to see that it was Ron which caused me to blush and pull my hand away. He wasn't off the hook for anything but that still didn't change the way he made me feel inside.

"You seem a lot more lively today," my dad claimed as he picked up several guns.

There was nothing left for me to grab except my goggles. I frowned and picked them up off of the ground.

"And you seem exceptionally giddy today," I shot back.

He chuckled. "Not quite."

He followed Ron down the hill. I rolled my eyes and followed after them into the shed. I placed the gear I had into its designated spot.

"Somehow I find that hard to believe. You seem to forget that bad lying runs in the family dad," I baited as I walked out of the shed. They followed me out.

"I'm not lying though," he said.

His tone suggested otherwise. I shot a questioning look to Ron and he nodded. I chuckled.

"Starscream come back?"

My dad stiffened ever so slightly. Starscream had made several appearances after my accident yet disappeared fairly quickly, or at least that's what Ron had told me. I didn't expect the bot to stay away for long. From the looks of it he was intent on getting what he came for even though I had no clue what exactly that may be. Ron had told me a while ago that he had been after us but I was almost certain it was much more than that.

"No. Not yet at least. I just have a feeling something bad is about to happen."

I chuckled. Sometimes he could be such a pessimist. "I think you're going through a phase. It's okay, dad. Nothing's going to happen. Everything is going to be fine," I assured him.

He just sighed and walked into the house. I turned to Ron who was already looking at me. "Can I talk to you?" I asked him.

He nodded and I silently thanked the Heavens that we were now alone. I walked over and sat against the truck's tire and he sat next to me.

"I'm sorry, Lea." I perked up as the sound of his voice sent butterflies into my stomach.

"Sorry for what?" I asked although I already knew the answer. I just needed to hear him say it.

"For hurting you. It was never my intention, I assure you." I frowned. I knew he was sincere but that still didn't change the fact that it had happened.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I whispered.

"I wanted to but I got so caught up with everything. Your safety and well-being became far more important to me. It had merely slipped my mind. Sometimes I even managed to forget that I was what I was because I was so focused on you," he answered with a chuckle.

I looked at him, nothing but pure honesty in his blue eyes.

"Braelynn managed to talk some sense into me last night, so when you get the chance, thank her for it. It's very rare that I actually listen to someone," I started.

He chuckled. "Trust me. I'm aware."

I swatted at his chest. "No, but seriously. She's the only reason I even realized this."

"Realized what?" he pressed.

I looked at the ground and chuckled. "She helped me realize the real reason I was upset about over this. You may think it's because you're a giant alien robot but it's not. I don't really mind that much. I think it's rather interesting per se."

My eyebrows were knitted together as I thought of the right thing to say.

"I was upset because you let me fall in love with you without telling me about this," I said, lightly hitting the side of the truck with my knuckles.

Human Ron seemed slightly taken back by my words but I did not regret saying them at all. They were one hundred percent true and I needed him to know that.

"Fall in love?" He seemed to be questioning if he had heard me correctly.

"Yes. You heard right, Ron. Please don't make me say it again."

His facial expression suggested he was in deep thought and I was beginning to worry about what he may be thinking about. I laid a hand gently on his thigh and surprisingly he placed his over mine.

"Ron. ."

"Hm?"

"What are you thinking about?" I asked him.

He looked at me a smiled. "Nothing you need to worry about for now," he said.

His smile soon faltered and he curled his fingers around the palm of my hand.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Last night. I absolutely hated seeing you like that knowing that I was the reason behind it. You weren't you. It worried me quite a lot but I knew that you needed your space so I stayed away or at least I attempted to. The only reason I was even present last night was by your father's request," he said.

I frowned and squeezed his hand.

"My mind was so full of shit. I didn't know what I was saying nor did I know what I was doing, obviously. Never in my life has I ever thought to raid my parents' alcohol stash and plus I don't fucking drink. I never have and though I only took a few drinks last night still counted," I exclaimed.

"My apologies for driving you to act in such a rebellious nature," he chuckled though he was completely serious.

I scoffed. "For one, don't apologize. It was my own fault. And two, I've done things far more rebellious than that. You just don't need to know what those actions consisted of," I said.

"It was my fault though, Lea. Had I told you sooner we wouldn't be in this mess." He sighed and I leaned my head against the side of the truck. "Another thing," he spoke again.

I turned my head to look at him.

"I do apologize very much for messing with your feelings. I assure you that was not my intention either as I believe it was not yours to mess with mine. I want you to know that I care deeply for you. .more than I've ever cared for a living being in my lifetime and honestly it frightens me," he told me.

He had a startled expression on his face. "Why does it scare you, Hide?"

He chuckled at my use of Hide but went back to being serious.

"You live barely a percent of what my kind do. What am I supposed to do after you've passed on?"

I had never seen him so vulnerable. He was so deep in thought and I only assumed he had been imagining his life in the future. I placed a hand on the side of his cheek and turned him to face me.

"Hey. Look at me. Please don't think about that. And who knows? You may not even still want me when that time comes, believe me. Humans aren't really all that spectacular at the age of seventy," I tried to joke.

He frowned and I sighed. Before I knew it there was a warm pair of lips on mine. I smiled into the kiss. This was a great way to help fix our problems.

He pulled away and placed his forehead against mine and I smiled yet again when he placed a gentle kiss on my cheek.

"It may be strange to the both of us, but I can assure you that I will never want anything in my life more than I want you, Azalea," he told me as he wrapped me in a protective yet loving hug.

All I could do was smile.

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