A/N: Just a quick note to say I don't own Transformers or any of their lovely characters that have so inspired me to write. Haydn, however, is mine. Rawr. You can't have her.

Oh, and I'd like to give a shout out to Vaeru for writing the lovely fic Juxtaposition that so inspired me to write a transformers' fic of my own. Go read it. And its sequel. And all its yummy little ficlets!

Also to those who have selective mutism or other such anxiety disorders, I am in no way attempting to offend anyone and I apologize if I do so. I myself suffer from an anxiety disorder, and this story is an attempt to show the strength in quiet people that might otherwise go unnoticed, not an attempt to make fun of them.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read my writing, please drop a review in the review box on your way out. :3 Oh, and if someone would like to volunteer to be my beta and help me find all my missing commas, I would be very grateful.

Chapter 1: Chapter the first

She didn't have to look up to know the cashier was staring at her as she fidgeted nervously in front of the register. It would be good practice, her therapist had assured her, attempting to work with her disability and attempt to do things normal people would. Ordering a meal at Burger Palace seemed normal enough. Even when she had to work up the courage to just hand a note with her order on it to the register and not even be able to make eye contact. Yeah, she was that messed up.

Baby steps... she reminded herself. The cashier finally finished reading the card attached to the note and then the note itself before pushing buttons on the register awkwardly. "So that's one number three, no cheese and a small ice water... Haydn?"

Haydn nodded quickly, placing a five on the counter as the cashier handed her her paper and card back. The cashier swiftly counted out the change with an ease that came with practice, and Haydn accepted it, sliding away silently from the till. She found a booth in the most out-of-the-way corner possible and sat down to stare at the card her therapist had given her to help her be able to do more things on her own. It read:

Hello, my name is Haydn. I have a social anxiety disorder that prevents me from speaking in public. I apologize in advance for any inconvenience and sincerely thank you for your patience and understanding.

On the back of the card were a list of important phone numbers people could call if she had a real emergency she needed help with. She and her doctor had worked together to word the card right, though Haydn still fretted that it would make people angry with her. She didn't like making people angry. They always seemed to think she was rude when she wouldn't meet their eyes or respond to them. She wanted to reply. She wanted to talk like everyone else, she just couldn't open her mouth or get the words out unless she knew them.

She reached up to finger the spherical pendant she had around her neck. Her grandfather had given it to her when she was little. It was barely larger than one of those large marbles, but it was pretty dense, maybe metal, and the weight felt comforting around her neck. Like an anchor of stability in her otherwise chaotic life. It was her own personal good luck charm. Not to mention it kept the headaches away, even if her therapist insisted that was all in her head.

She took out the pen she always carried in her bag and wrote a quick 'Thank you' on her pocket notepad while she waited for her order. Please and Thank you were very important to her, her grandfather had always stressed them to be the two most important words in the world. Since he'd passed on, she always tried to keep his memory alive through liberal uses of 'please' and 'thank you'. Even if she could only write them. She tore the note off just as her order was called and dropped it on the counter before she lost her nerve. She scooped up her bag and walked swiftly toward the exit.

Once outside, she took a deep calming breath and began walking home. She did it, she smiled to herself, she'd successfully done something normal people did. Even if she had to do it without speaking. She hadn't had a panic attack either. She took out her cell phone and began texting her therapist about it. Dr. Ross had told her she should tell her of any attempts she'd made, successful or otherwise, to overcome her disorder. She was very supportive.

She was almost home by the time she'd hit 'send'. She lived in a student housing complex not far from the college she was attending. Dr. Ross had set her up with a course of entirely internet classes and sent an email to the professors to get her excused from the group work if it became too stressful. She was still to attempt to do group discussions online, she was just allowed to excuse herself if it became overwhelming.

Her therapist had even helped her find a good roommate to live with. Tabetha was a senior studying psychology and was writing a paper on people with selective mutism, like Haydn. She positively jumped at the chance to have one as a roommate. Haydn didn't mind being studied. She liked helping people and it made her feel useful to be able to do something for someone that her mutism wouldn't get in the way of. Besides, Tabby always shared her thoughts and opinions on things and Haydn liked being able to understand herself and her difficulties better.

When Haydn walked into their shared apartment, Tabetha poked her head out of the kitchen. "How'd it go?"

Haydn held up the bag with a shy smile, and Tabetha grinned and clapped her hands excitedly.

"That's great, Haydn! So the card helped?"

Haydn nodded.

"That's wonderful, be sure to put it down in your journal as soon as possible, alright?"

Again she nodded and proceeded to sit down with her burger and water at the table. She had a journal she kept for Tabby's research. Haydn wrote in it everyday and afterwards would go through and black out any parts she didn't want read, and underline anything she didn't want Tabetha to put in her paper for others to read.

Dinner was nice, and afterward Haydn went upstairs to write in her journal and do some homework to send to her online professors. All in all it had been a good day.

The next morning promised to be good as well. Tabetha was already in class by the time Haydn was out of the shower at eight in the morning. Haydn packed a quick breakfast and lunch in her backpack with a bottle of water, her laptop and few other things she would need before she returned later that evening. She was going to try and spend the entire day out and about. Go to the library, maybe the park for a bit. It was very liberating having a laptop on a college campus with wifi wherever she went.

It was a nice spring day she thought to herself as she locked up the apartment. She glanced across the parking lot at the shiny new bright yellow Camaro one of their neighbors had bought just a few days ago. It was by far the most noticeable car in the whole lot. The license plate made her giggle inside too. BMBLBEE. It even looked like a bee with the black racing stripes down its middle.

She sighed, almost wishing she could drive, but thoughts of the lines and people at the DMV quickly drove that desire from her mind. She sincerely doubted she could handle that kind of social situation in her current circumstances. She gave one final backwards glance at the bright yellow car before continuing on to where she would cross the street to the library.

The campus library was nice, though she wished their fiction section was just a bit larger. She loved fantasy stories like the ones her grandfather used to read to her. She missed her grandfather, she didn't remember anything about her parents, her mother died giving birth to her and her father ran off afterwards, unwilling to take care of a child by himself. Her grandfather raised her, and she had a lot of fun. Now she was on her own, at least as best as she could manage. Tabby and Dr. Ross helped her when they could.

She found an interesting book with dragons and magic and checked it out before finding a quiet corner to curl up and read. It must have been a really good book because she read clear through lunch and only stopped because her stomach was beginning to complain loudly. She took her book outside to eat in the park and then got lost in it again. She was addicted to a good story.

She woke up hours later, having fallen asleep in the nice warm sunshine. The sun was no longer shining, and she was out way past the time she had meant to come home. Tabby was going to be so worried! She scrambled to her feet, brushing leaves and grass off her clothes as the rolled up the blanket she was lying on and began packing her things.

The sun was set, a glimmer of pink and purples highlighted the clouds to west. At least it was light out still, if barely. Last time she'd fallen asleep somewhere it was dark when she woke up. Fortunately that had only been across the street from her complex. Now she was a few blocks away, and it wasn't safe for a girl to be walking home alone past dark.

As if summoned by her thoughts, a car drove up and stopped in the road between her and her appartment. It was a police cruiser. She frowned uncertainly, had she done something wrong? Did the police need to speak with her? Oh, this could be bad. She swallowed nervously, feeling the beginnings of an anxiety attack. She took deep calming breaths and fumbled through her bag for her card.

The passenger side door opened eerily of its own accord and a oddly metallic voice spoke from the driver. "You're out late. Need a ride home?"

Haydn shook her head, and moved to walk around the car. It pulled in front of her, making an odd growl-like engine sound. "Get in, meatbag." Now the voice sounded threatening.

She turned to run, her anxiety attack beginning to turn into a panic attack. This was no policeman! She didn't know what this was...

Something snagged her ankle and she tripped, bruising her knee and elbow on the fall. She looked down to see a metallic cable wrapped around her foot, it began pulling her toward the open vehicle. If she could have screamed, she would have.

The low rumble of another engine was all the warning the police car received before it was rear-ended by another car. Haydn looked up as the cable released her and whipped back to strike the familiar yellow camaro. The police car's passenger door slammed shut as well. There was an exchange of revving engines that sounded almost like snarls, but Haydn didn't stick around. She pushed herself to her feet and dodged around the two cars toward her apartment.

Her ankle throbbed in time with her step, but she was too numb to feel the pain. She needed to get home. To the familiar four walls of her room. Did that police car just attack her? Why would it do that? How could it do that?

She didn't stop running until she was in her apartment, slamming and bolting the door behind her. She gasped for air, trying to remember her breathing exercises while her head spun trying to make sense of what had just happened.

"Haydn, sweetie, are you alright?"

She looked up into the worried eyes of Tabetha, her anxieties made her glance away quickly. She wasn't alright, a police car had just attacked and tried to kidnap her! Tabby would never believe her, Haydn hardly believed it herself. She turned around to look out the front window to check for signs of the cars fighting each other.

Outside was a disturbingly quiet night. The yellow Camaro from before was parked in the exact same spot she'd seen it in this morning. There was no sign of a police cruiser anywhere. Perhaps she had just imagined it? Her throbbing ankle protested otherwise. Grimacing in pain, the adrenaline wearing off, Haydn limped to the bathroom. She heard Tabetha follow.

"What happened? Did you fall?" Tabby asked, pulling the first aid kit out of the cabinet in the hall. Haydn nodded, propping her foot up on the edge of the bath, sitting on the toilet seat. Tabby handed her astringent and bandages for the scrapes on her hands.

"Poor dear, looks like a nasty spill! I'm glad you made it home alright. Next time text me instead of walking with your ankle like that," she scolded, leaving to get something cold out of the freezer.

Coming back with a bag of frozen peas and a dish towel, Tabby helped her limp across the hall to Haydn's room. She set her up on the bed with her foot elevated and laptop in reach while she took out a wrap for the ankle. "These red marks... did you catch your foot in a rope or something?"

Haydn shrugged in a 'kind of like that' manner, settling her pillow in a comfortable position behind her. She didn't know what else she could tell Tabby, she hardly knew what happened herself. Cars were not supposed to attack people.

"Well, I think that's what we'll do for now. I'll check it in the morning and take you to the doctor's if it's still pretty bad. Have you eaten yet?" Tabby asked, leaning on the door frame thoughtfully. Haydn shook her head. She'd read and slept through dinner.

"I'll go reheat some of that leftover lasagna then, alright? Text me if you need anything," Tabetha instructed. She waited for Haydn to nod a confirmation before retreating to the kitchen. Finally she could go on forgetting the crazy hallucinations of the day. Or maybe she dreamt it all when she fell asleep in the park? Either way, she just wanted to forget it all. Then her phone went off.

It was probably Dr. Ross, she thought as she fished it out of her jeans pocket. It wasn't, it was some a text from some number she'd never seen before. Maybe some advertisement spam text? She didn't really believe that. Hesitantly, she opened it.

You're still in danger, you need to leave. Come outside and get in the yellow Camaro, I'll take you someplace safe.

There was no name signed on it, and Haydn stared down at the phone. Tears of panic came to her and she could feel herself begin to hyperventilate. How-? Why-? The questions blurred in a nonsensical mush in her mind. Another message came right after it.

You don't have much time. They're sending someone in after you. I can't help you if you don't come outside. Hurry!

She slammed the phone shut and dropped it on the bed beside her. They were sending someone in here? Who? Her mind was a jumble of panic and confusion, but somewhere along the way her mind decided she would pack. She still didn't know if she was going to go out or not, it could be a trap, but at least she could pack bag just in case.

Fortunately most everything was in arms reach. She shoved her laptop back into her bag that was still packed from the day. She pulled out her heavy text books she'd brought just in case she felt like studying, and was just fishing her phone out of her blankets when movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. In the tree outside her window, red glowing eyes gleamed maliciously at her.