AN: First foray into Transformers fanfic. Yeah, I've gone back to self inserts, but I'd like to think that this one isn't a total Sue, and that my writing has vastly improved since the days of writing awful DBZ fics. The rating, genre, and summary are all subject to change, and I know the title sucks bolts.

Hitchhiker

chapter one

If she had known what would follow after hitching a ride in a red and blue semi, would she have done it anyways? Definitely. Eventual pairings: Optimus/OC.

As soon as he saw her, the Prime knew what he was going to do. She looked way too young to be out here in the middle of the desert, miles from the nearest town. The only question in Optimus's mind was what exactly had conspired to leave a human teenager stranded in the Nevada desert. He activated the holographic driver before slowing and popping the door for the girl.

A backpack was tossed into his cab before the girl climbed in, a quiet thanks uttered as she buckled up. She looked young, about Miko's age, and again he wondered what she was doing out here.

"Before you start bombardin' me with questions, mister, I really don't care where we're goin', so long as we're not headin' back south. You can call me Maddie, no, my parents don't know where I am, no, I'm not goin' back home, and no, they don't care."

He was a little stunned. She sounded like she didn't even care either. He pulled back onto the road, watching her as she pulled out a small electronic device and started tapping the screen. Soft music filled the cab, vastly different from what he'd heard the kids play in the base. She glanced up at his holographic driver finally, looking slightly apologetic.

"Sorry. I'll turn it off if you don't like it. And um...I'm sorry for bein' so short. I'm just..." She shrugged and slumped against the seat. "I'm tryin' to get to Canada. I got a friend in Toronto, and...yeah."

"What about your family?" He spoke through the driver, watching her carefully. She sounded really unhappy.

"Trust me, they don't care." She muttered.

He was well aware of how soft-sparked he was, especially concerning the humans. And the kids. This one was already making his spark ache for her. "What happened?"

"It was leave or be kicked out, alright? I...flunked out of college. And they flipped out at me." She slumped further into the seat, and Optimus revised his initial estimation of her age...if she was in college... "I wanted to take computer courses. They told me to take something else. Y'have any idea how boring it is to listen to lectures on micro-biology and try to memorize the structures and functions of cells? Geez...somedays I just wanted to run out of the lecture halls, screamin'."

"I just...I had to get out. So I'm headin' to Toronto. I'll start over, find a job, an'...do my own thing." She flicked her finger across the screen of her little device, and Optimus immediately decided he was going to drop her off in Jasper. A soft, upbeat tune filled the cabin, a woman's voice singing something...he didn't bother to follow the lyrics, his attention more on how Maddie had smiled and started humming along to the song. She glanced over at the driver again and grinned a bit wider. "I really like this song."

He tried to focus on the lyrics then, something about enjoying life, and then something slammed into his side. Tires squealed, and he cringed internally at the sound of the girl screaming in fear. And then he heard Knockout's mocking voice.

'Scrap.' He thought to himself, revving his engine to pick up speed. His commlink pinged, no doubt it'd be Ratchet, and he just hoped Knockout was alone. He could easily take on Knockout alone while remaining in his alt-mode, so long as Knockout didn't transform.

As he failed to spot Breakdown anywhere in the vicinity, he briefly wondered if the Decepticon was glitching, taking him on alone. And then the noise in his cab took on a new tone, and he belatedly realized Maddie had tried to grab onto the driver, and discovered it was a hologram. ...Scrap.

As Knockout attempted to sideswipe him again, he locked his wheels and watched the Decepticon shoot ahead of him and pull a quick u-turn and transform, he sighed. Of course. The sudden silence in his cab was not reassuring. Optimus transformed as well, setting the stunned girl and her backpack behind him.

It seemed they were going to end up with another young human under their protection.