Disclaimer: Transformers is owned by Hasbro. I only own my OCs.

Prologue— Greetings from Jasper

Dear Gene,

Hey, it's me again, your favorite nerd. Sorry I couldn't write you sooner. It took longer than expected because the movers didn't arrive with some of our things until just this morning— including my laundry. I've spent most of the weekend smelling like I sat in a hot car for two whole days.

Which I did, by the way. Be grateful you weren't stuck in there with me.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that Grandma and I made it alright a few days ago, and have finally settled in today. The roads we took to get here were a little bumpy, but on the bright side, there was little to no traffic. In fact, I'd say there was little to no life on our way to our new home. Let me tell you, I thought our former neighbors were just kidding when they said that we would be moving to a desert wasteland. By the time we crossed the Nevada border, the grass seemed to have disappeared, turning into sand, rocks, and cacti spread all over the place.

(And yes, I'm well aware of steppes; I'm just exaggerating here. Don't judge).

The mesas were definitely a cool sight, though. Some were a lot bigger than the cliff sides on the east shores. You'd have loved to scale them before trying to take home a lizard for a pet. Of course, knowing you, you'd have gone straight for a rattlesnake. Don't deny it, Genie.

I've got to check out the plant life here sometime soon— see how they're able to withstand the climate. The rocks, too.

We settled into our new home pretty well. It's a simple one-story house in the suburbs. I get a bigger room for myself, though. And a backyard, Gene! A backyard! That's an awesome change from the tiny apartment we've been staying in.

Jasper itself is a…quaint little town. It doesn't seem like much, but who knows? Maybe it will surprise me after some time—

"Ellie, why is your light on? Are you still up?"

Ellie Barron snapped out of her train of thought, the ink pen in her right hand half an inch from the near-fully written page of the paper. She blinked a couple of times, as if trying to get some sleep out of her eyes— though the demanding voice of her grandmother was more than enough to jolt anyone awake. She sat up straight in her desk chair. She glanced across the room and spotted the shadow of her grandmother, Isla Barron, from under the crack of her door, waiting for her answer.

Rubbing her eyes tiredly, she replied, "Yeah. Sorry, Gran. I'm just getting ready for bed."

From the other side of the door, her grandmother said with a hint of warning, "You'd better. You start school tomorrow, you know."

"I know. I won't be up much longer, I promise."

"Very well. Good night, Ellie."

"'Night, Gran."

With that, her grandmother's shadow disappeared from the light on the other side, followed by the light itself being replaced with darkness. Ellie heard the older woman move down the hallway until she heard another door open and then close, bringing back the silence.

Ellie released a small sigh when she knew for certain she was alone, secretly thankful that her grandmother didn't walk in on her writing; she didn't want to have to receive that look again. Then she turned back to face her desk. A single lamp was the only source of light in her vicinity, but that was all she needed at the moment. She thought she could manage to do her intended task once they had finally— officially— moved in earlier that day, but unfortunately, it took longer than she expected. Now she was doing it at nearly eleven at night.

Her grandmother was right, though. Tomorrow started her first week at Memorial High School. She didn't want to make a bad first impression by sleeping in class.

I guess I should wrap this up, then, she thought. She brushed a stray lock of her wavy blonde hair out of her face, putting all her focus back to her message. Now, where was she? Oh, yes.

The other day, Grandma and I met with the administers office at the new school I'm going to. It pretty much went down the same way it did at the last school I attended when I started there: Questions regarding my current physical capabilities, the supplies I usually carry with me, how I'll go to classes, etc. They even offered to give me a key to their elevator, even after Gran and I both insisted that I didn't really need it at all.

Honestly, it was ridiculous. You'd think they've never dealt with an amputee before.

Well, actually? With this town's population…probably not. I guess I shouldn't be easily offended. I mean, they're just making sure I do okay. Right?

That's just as well, then. I can't really judge how the rest of the school reacts now— if they ever do, seeing as how it's barely noticeable with the right amount of clothes layers. But whatever will happen will happen. I mean, it's not going to be like the last time— I hope. At least, that's what Grandma was saying. Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it by the end of the week.

Ellie glanced up and hummed lowly, carefully thinking over what to write next, before returning her gaze to the gradually growing letter.

I know a lot of kids feel sad and depressed when they move away to a new town, in a new state. But to tell you the truth, although I am nervous about how it's going to go, there's also a small part of me that's...kind of excited?

Yeah, yeah. Laugh and call me an optimistic sap all you want. But I mean it.

Living in a small town, with an even smaller crime rate and nothing but desert beyond the town as far as the eye can see, can be good for me. After everything that's happened, I think it'll be nice to stay somewhere a bit more low-key. Don't you think so? I just hope that everything goes well for me— not only in school, but in this new town in general. I really want to turn things around this time. The past few years haven't exactly been a picnic. The only person I ever even bothered to talk to was…well, you. That's why I was never really against moving here. I'm kind of hoping to change that.

I hope you understand, too. Please don't think that I left you behind. Grandma was starting to worry about me, even if she doesn't say it. She just wanted us to get away— not from you, just…everything else, but hopefully not forever.

I hope to hear from you soon. Don't cause too much trouble while I'm gone.

Love always,

Ellie

Ellie exhaled deeply, setting her pen down next to her notebook, which she shut with her free hand. Then she spun her desk chair around, facing her new bedroom. She'd already gotten all her possessions set up where they were to her liking, for the most part. Her twin-sized bed took up a part of the other side, close to the window. The bookshelf covered most of the wall next to her desk and dresser, and was haphazardly cluttered with various volumes, textbooks, and mementos she'd collected over the years.

Then, with practiced movements, Ellie pushed herself away from her desk until she rolled to a stop by the window, where she had placed some of her rock collection on the sill, and her telescope placed to the side, out of the way for now. She gazed out thoughtfully into the lone, dimly lit street. It was so quiet here, and everything felt still.

That might take some getting used to.

She turned her chair away from the window, maneuvered herself toward the bed, and crawled underneath the covers, taking time to settle and make herself comfortable. As she lay there and quietly hummed to herself, slowly drifting off, she hoped that school would go well, and that things would work out for her in her new home like she'd planned, with no incidents whatsoever.

Even then, she just knew, deep down, that she was hoping for too much.

Author's Note- Hello, new reader!

So this isn't really my first attempt at writing a Transformers fic, but it is my first attenpt to write one continuously AND post it online, for other people to see. And fun fact: This story is actually over eight years in the making; as in I came up with the idea that long ago, brainstorming characters and situations, and writing random snippets of it on and off for years. However, I've never been able to weave it all together into a more coherent piece for the longest time.

Until just recently, that is. I've been in a huge writing slump lately, and when I'm in a slump, I rewatch old favorite shows. One of them was Transformers Prime, and my love for that show quickly rekindled, inspiration struck, and BAM! Here we are. So I guess you can say that this dish had plenty of time to marinate.

(Plus, I'm in quarantine for the next several weeks because of what's going on- you all know what- so I currently have a lot of free time on my recently washed hands)

Though I fear I might be late on the upkeep, since I'm not sure if the TFP fandom is even alive anymore at this point, but whatever. I just felt like writing a TFP fic, so...

I hope you enjoy!