A faint knock was heard from outside, and a worried mother opened the ebony door to find her beloved daughter standing in front of her; mouth turned up in a smile, guitar slung on her back, and stark white cane in hand. The reddish hues of the evening sunset cast a warm glow upon the teenager, and the woman cried, "Kayla!" She was instantly wrapping her arms around the girl; hugging her for all it was worth, "Where have you been all day?! I was ready to call the cops!"

The red-head gladly returned the embrace; happy and thankful to hear her mother's voice again, and be home again as well. She then let out a nervous chuckle, "Chill out. Me an' my new friend here just got a bit…sidetracked…"

Her mom put both hands on her daughter's shoulders and pushed back to look her right in the face; alarmed no less, "Sidetracked?!" The lady paid no heed to the footsteps coming from around her house as she exclaimed, "Young lady, you have some serious explaining to-" But her sentence terminated abruptly when her gaze shifted upwards at the sound of approaching feet…and she gasped in shock.

Standing before the frightened woman, was a very large…no, gigantic robot. His black and white paint job glistened in the setting rays of the sun, and he had his hands on his hips in a relaxed manner as he looked at the pair with slight amusement. Although a blue visor hid his optics, much like the girl's sunglasses, a playful grin was plastered on his face; a subconscious gesture that tried to say he meant no harm. The teen's older double merely stared in stunned silence at the mech before her.

This time, it was Kayla's turn to make introductions, "Uh…mom..." she extended her hand in his general direction, "…this is my friend, Jazz…one of the Autobots." She then pointed back in her mother's direction, "Jazz…this is my mom."

The aforementioned robot crouched on one knee to bring himself closer to her level, trying to exhert the friendliest aurora possible. He then reached up, and with a soft click, he slowly tilted his visor down, much like a human would with sunglasses. What he revealed, was his rarely seen…but beautiful optics. Unlike his comrades, who all had the same, light blue color all around, his optics took on a very deep blue hue, practically violet. The oddest and coolest thing, however, was the light blue point of light within that dark shade, which luminated outwards in a warm glow, sort of like a flashlight. It was this interesting affect that marked where his pupils would be. In the affect of a camera shutter, he gave a wink, and said in his most polite tone, "Ma'am."

She had seen many news reports of the Autobots, but never in her life did the woman ever think that one would actually be standing before her, on her front lawn. Too dazed to say anything else, she attempted to return his greeting by smiling. However, her delivery was very meek, "H-h-h-hello…?"

At that point, Kayla's mother practically collapsed on the cement step in front of the door; elbows propped on her knees, and hands running though her hair; trying desperately to make sense of the scene before her. After slipping his visor back into place, the saboteur chuckled as he gently nudged the teen forward, for her to take a seat next to the older double. Doing just that, the girl sighed, knowing she owed her mother an explanation. Very calmly, she began the story.

However, for the audience who saw the actual events occur, let's say the tale was a bit…rehashed. She started off the tale with telling her that when she left the house, she was headed for the park to play her guitar as usual. Meanwhile, Jazz was locked in a battle with Thundercracker and Skywarp, and unfortunately, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The jet Decepticon tried to use her as a hostage, but using her cane to poke his optic out, it gave the Porsche a window of opportunity to rescue her and put her out of harm's way. Now, the teen knew very well that these events, however true, occurred days earlier. She was hoping she'd never have to tell her mom at all, but knowing she'd become suspicious as to how her daughter acquired a new cane and guitar, the girl had to tell her something. It was either her encounter with the two nitwit jets, or being held for ransom by Megatron; she went with the lesser of two evils.

When her mother inquired about her different walking stick and instrument, Kayla went on to explain that the two items were accidentally destroyed in the fight. As an apology, the saboteur invited her to meet the Autobots while a new cane and guitar was built for her. And to show their thanks for her helping him in the fight, she'd been given permission to visit her new friend anytime she wanted. "Plus", she added in a whisper, "I think he likes me…"

By then, Jazz sat cross-legged on the lawn, looking perfectly content with the whole business. But inside, he was cringing. He stayed silent the whole time, letting his friend do all the talking. Quite frankly, he wasn't crazy about blanching the actual adventure she was put though. It wasn't right to lie; the two of them discussed that on the way to her house. But seeing the woman's distressed face at the mention of being attacked, the mech realized that, in the long run, maybe this was for the best. The girl was alive and well; no sense in putting her mom in a total panic if it could be avoided. In fact, now that he thought about it, his friend technically wasn't lying; merely withholding information. All the events she described did occur; she just rearranged the time line so it wouldn't sound as bad.

By all appearances, it seemed the woman was taking it all surprisingly well. Never the less, her eyes constantly darted back and forth between the teen next to her, and the robot sitting comfortably in the grass. With the story complete, she lazily rubbed her forehead, working out what to make of all this. A nervous sigh escaped her, and she stared at the ground; lost in thought.

Jazz extended his hand slightly in an attempt to calm her, "I understand yer' concern, maim. But yer' aspirin' musician's jus' fine." He then added in with a smile, "An' she sure kin' pack a wallop."

The mother looked up at the saboteur upon hearing him speak; Southern/Cajun twang ever present. She regarded him for a moment or two, taking in his features. His visor twinkled slightly in the sunset, and she remembered those (admittedly gorgeous looking) optics hidden behind it; how they expressed so much friendliness and politeness. Her gaze then fell to his trademark grin; radiating with care and joy. Finally, she considered his very voice. In only one or two sentences, just his sheer vocalization expressed the tenderness, affection, and compassion dwelling within him. All n' all, he held the countenance of a loving, older brother; just something about him that said, "You can trust me to take care of you." It was this revelation that made an awkward peace come over the distressed woman. Now she realized why her daughter liked him so much; everything about him was irresistible, and it certainly wasn't his fault, or anyone's fault for that matter, that Kayla was in danger. She should've been thanking him all along that he went out of his way to save the teenager.

Getting up with a smile, the woman did just that, "From the bottom of my heart; thank you. Thank you for protecting her, and helping her." She put both hands on her daughter's shoulders, "She means the world to me…and the world would be a better place if people acted more like you."

Jazz rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Awww, it ain't no trouble at all, ma'am. Jus' doin' ma' job." He then leaned in close, "An' for da' record, lemme' jus' say ya' got one amazin', talented daughter." Both women smiled brightly at that. It was then that he stood back up and reached into the compartment on the side of his leg; unsubspacing a familiar device. Placing it in Kayla's hands, she felt the similar grooves and boxy frame…and realized what it was…a new communicator. To that, he added in, "If ya' gonna' come visit, ya' need ta' keep in touch."

The teen smiled even more; on the verge of crying…this was the greatest day of her life. She tilted her head up in his general direction, "Thank you so much…for everything…"

The Porsche chuckled, "Not a problem, lil' lady." With that, he turned on his heel, being careful not to scuff the ground, and began to walk away.

However, just as he was about to transform, Kayla's voice from behind stopped him, "Hey Jazz; one last thing."

The mech turned back to her with a smile, "Anythin'."

There was a short pause as the girl considered what she was about to do. Tilting her head to one side, she asked, "Can I…take your picture?"

One could almost see the billion question marks pop over the mech's head. What? That was an…interesting question. Taken aback, the saboteur managed out, "Um…o-kay…?" With no other words spoken, the teen raised her arms slightly, and waved her hands; motioning him to come forward. Very slowly, he walked back over and got on his hands and knees to bring himself as close to her level as possible. Hearing the creaking of joints directly in front of her, the girl stepped forward.

Jazz attempted to keep his head as still as possible as Kayla began "taking his picture." Starting with his optics, she ran both her palms across the blue surface; her arms having to spread out as she did. Reaching the start of his helmet on both sides, she then let her hands slide down, until a drop off point was reached. She then switched to using her fingers, and slid them across the discovered corner; tracing the edge of his visor. Her hands met back in the middle, where she started, and from that point, she found his nose. Looking at her in amazement, the saboteur watched as she put a hand on either side of his nose, and ran down the corners. The investigation led to his mouth, where she softly caressed his lips…down to another point…and spreading out her arms again as she followed his chin, all the while, getting excited goose bumps as she felt the cool metal. Finally, her "picture" taken, Kayla let her hands drop to the sides, and she cast the mech a wry smile, "Thanks."

Once again, this chick ceased to amaze him; she now had his face memorized…just with her hands. With nothing to say, the Porsche simply grinned and wrapped a hand around her. The girl followed by leaning into his palm, resting her head on his thumb. All the while, her mother looked on at the heart-warming embrace. She was overjoyed that her daughter finally found a friend she could relate to. Even if that friend was a 17 foot tall robot from outer space, it didn't matter; he was a person like everyone else; he proved it to her right there…maybe this visiting thing would work out.

After what seemed like an eternity, girl and mech finally backed off. Standing to full height once more, the saboteur politely inclined his head at the teen's mother; she returned the gesture. He then turned back to address his friend, "See ya' 'round, an' soon, I hope."

"Don't worry; real soon", Kayla smiled.

With that, Jazz turned around and transformed. A stylish Porsche hit the ground and sped off down the street; his new friend waving him goodbye. He honked the horn in return, knowing that the farewell wasn't permanent. He had a feeling he'd be seeing her around a little more often now. He really hoped so.

Because on that day, Jazz learned that in this world, there's more than meets the eye.

The End.

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AN: And so ends "Guitar Hero", but wait! This is only the beginning of Kayla's adventures! Stay tuned for the sequel!

For all of you who stuck around all the way to the end, I give you my sincerest thank you! It really means alot to have people critique and comment one's work, and I truly learned alot, both in characterization and writing style, while writing both this and its sequel.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this. I only hope you'll stay for the sequel, 'cause personally, I think Part 2 is even better! Hope you enjoyed this blast from the past from me. Be sure to check out my original webcomic, "Jamie Jupiter"! You can message me for all the details! Later!