I'm starting a real story for once! Woo-hoo! Please review, but don't be too mean ;D
*sigh* Still don't own Transformers or Camaros or vanilla lattes or etc... Just the story line and Tara.
ps ~ I'm just rating it M for later, just in case...
Enjoy! =)
CHAPTER ONE
BEFRIENDED
Tara hated moving. Moving meant a new town, a new house, and worst of all, a new school. At every other school, she was either completely ignored, or she was teased and snickered at. Usually around four months, people would start to talk to her and befriend her. Of course, that was when her dad would get promoted and they'd move clear across the country to some random ass town in the middle of nowhere. This was the fifth time she had moved in a span of three years, and she was getting utterly sick of it.
Today was her first day of high school in Tranquility, even though it was already mid-April. Typically, she forgot to get an agenda with the school map in it, so she was pretty much lost.
While wandering around, a hand grabbed her shoulder. Tara screamed and pulled herself free. "What are you doing?!" she screeched, whirling around to face the offender. The young man immediately let go and jumped back a little, his big brown eyes widening with surprise. "I-I'm sorry. I thought… Mikaela…" he trailed off, his voice cracking on the name.
Tara noticed the tear stains on his cheeks. Tears were gathering in his eyes, threatening to spill over, and his face was a shade of red. He was obviously really upset about something. Her anger melted away, replaced by concern.
"It's okay, but are you?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow. The boy quickly wiped his face with his sweatshirt sleeve and stiffly nodded. "I haven't seen you around school," he stated, quickly changing the subject. Tara managed a half-hearted smile as she took a hesitant step towards him.
"Yeah, I just moved here from Fremont."
"Oh, uh, I'm Sam," he mumbled, looking down at the ground. Tara took a single finger and placed it under his chin, lifting it so he was looking her straight in the eye. "Tara. Do you know where room one twenty-seven is?"
"Room one twenty-seven… Oh! I, uh, have that too, so you can, like, follow me there, I guess," rambled Sam. Tara giggled at his insecurity. "Oh, come on! Am I that intimidating?"
Sam looked back at the ground and sighed.
"No. You just remind me of… somebody."
"That Mikaela girl, huh?"
He looked back up at her, eyes now filled with an unknown resentment.
"Just come with me."
Tara trailed alongside him, trying to be as silent as possible so as not to upset Sam even more. He walked quickly, avoiding eye contact with pretty much everyone in the hallway.
'How the hell did I mistake Mikaela for this girl?!' thought Sam, furious with himself. 'She probably thinks I'm some desperate, crazed idiot!'
Sam snuck a glance at Tara from the corner of his eye. Now that he truly looked at her, he could see how much she differed from… He shook the name away and focused on the teen walking beside him.
Tara's face was angular, but not pointy, with a nice little ski-slope nose and small, plush lips. Her skin was tanned to a golden brown, befittingly accenting the red highlights in her long, dark brown hair. Tara's body was like Mikaela's – damn her for invading his mind again – but more petite, height and width. She was wearing skinny jeans and a black long sleeve shirt that hugged her body nicely.
Sam had to admit, the new girl was pretty hot.
What really caught his attention were her eyes. They seemed to glow, almost like the Autobots' optics, but they were a green-blue color. Tara's eyes reminded him of the ocean and Bumblebee. Sam almost laughed at the vision of his guardian as a mermaid, but was able to restrain himself to a small chuckle. Tara looked at him, once again quirking an eyebrow before shrugging and gazing elsewhere. Sam smirked.
Things were starting to perk up.
The two strolled into class, catching the attention of everyone already seated. As if on cue, almost everyone started whispering and gossiping.
'Here we go a-fucking-gain,' thought Tara.
She almost jumped as Sam put his arm around her shoulders, almost protectively, and led her to the back of the classroom. Taking a seat, Tara wondered if she should thank Sam or stay quiet. She decided to go with the latter. A girl walked in, sending a nasty glare in Sam's direction. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, all his confidence from earlier completely crushed.
That must be Mikaela.
Tara leaned over and gave Sam's arm reassuring pat. "She looks like a prostitute with that scrap of fabric as a skirt," she whispered. He chortled a little before going back to his depressed state. Tara frowned, trying to think of a way to cheer the poor guy up.
"Want to get coffee after school?" she asked. Sam gave her a bewildered look.
'Did I go too far? Oh shit…' she thought.
"Sure, but isn't the guy supposed to ask out the girl?"
"Neh. Whatever."
She theatrically rolled her eyes and Sam laughed for a good half minute. Tara saw Mikaela peer back at them, jealousy in her eyes. She smirked and patted Sam's arm. He turned to look at her. "Hu-"
Everyone in the class gaped as they saw Tara pull Sam into a kiss. After a couple seconds, she released him from her grasp. Sam sat back in his chair, a big smile plastered on his face. Tara swore she could see little flames in Mikaela's eyes and grinned. She knew that was pushing it pretty far, but hey, why not?
'What now, bitch?' thought Tara, her evil grin widening on her face. 'Make my buddies mad or sad and you pay. You will always pay.'
Sam grabbed the eggnog blended cream and the vanilla latte, and walked back to the small café table. Tara was sitting there, putting her hair up into a ponytail. Sam froze, almost dropping the two drinks in his hands.
"You-You have a tattoo?!"
The whole coffee shop turned to look at him, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. Tara turned around with a somewhat annoyed expression on her face. She got up and dragged him over to the table.
"It's just a freakin' tattoo. Calm down!"
"Can… Can I see it?"
"Not right now!"
Sam cringed at Tara's outburst. She sighed and sat beside him. They both drank their beverages in silence for a minute until…
"When did you get it?"
Tara put down her drink, annoyed again.
"I got it a year ago in Kauai. At first I was a little scared, but it was so cool looking… So I got it."
Sam nodded before asking, "Can I see it now?"
She growled and turned around. Under her neck and between her shoulder blades, was a picture of two intricate flame-like patterns. They were each facing opposite directions, with a space in the middle. Sam gently touched the spot.
"Was something supposed to be here?" he asked softly.
Tara turned back around to face him again. "Yeah, but it's kind of embarrassing," she said, shrugging. He smiled.
"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."
She smiled back. "Well, I'm waiting until I get married so I can put my initials there," she said meekly. Sam nodded and went back to sipping his latte. Tara knew that this was a sensitive subject, but asked anyways.
"So… What exactly happened between you and Mikaela?"
Sam's eyes darkened as he held his cup in both hands. He explained everything that happened between the two of them, excluding the giant alien robot parts. About going from 'I'm really glad I got in that car with you' to 'What the hell do you want now?'
Tara wiped a stray tear away from his check before hugging him. She reassured him that she was probably just in it to make Trent jealous. After a few minutes, Sam was as gleeful as before. The two sat and chatted about random things, from school to candy. Half an hour later, they were finished with their drinks and threw the empty cups in the trash.
"Need a ride home?" asked Sam. Tara didn't have a ride, so…
"Yes, please." She said with a smile.
Tara followed Sam to the parking lot, a comfortable silence settling between them. Sam opened his car door and sat inside. She stopped walking and gasped. He was sitting in a 2010 Camaro, painted a golden yellow with black racing stripes. Sam got out of the Camaro and briskly walked over to Tara. "Are you okay?" he asked, concern coloring his voice.
"You… You have the Concept Camaro?!" she squeaked.
Sam laughed and led her to the car, opening the door for her. "Don't worry. He doesn't bite," he said. Tara looked up at him with surprise. "This might sound funny but… You named your car too?" she asked, blushing. Sam paused. 'Aw shit. Now he thinks I'm crazy," she thought. He grinned back at her. "Yup, his name's Bee," he stated. Tara relaxed and sat in the passenger seat. "That makes sense, with the sweet paint job and everything," she said, closing the door behind her. Sam walked around the car and sat behind the wheel.
Whoooo are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?
Tara stared at the dashboard in confusion. "What the-"
"It's glitched. The radio system is glitched," Sam interrupted. She raised an eyebrow, but shook her head, settling into the seat. When Tara wasn't looking, Sam cuffed the dashboard.
Two weeks later…
'Ask her… No! What if you get rejected? Just take the risk! Yes! No! Yes!'
Sam hit his head with his book. Tara looked up from her notes and frowned.
"Hey now, you're losing all your brain cells! You need them for the test, sweetie."
He looked up at her with a grin. 'Here goes nothing…'
"Will you… Will you be my girlfriend?"
His voice was shaky, and he was sure that his face was red. Tara threw her notes aside and pulled him into a hug. "I was wondering when you'd ask," she purred. Sam's face went back to its normal shade as he hugged her back, relieved. Now there was only one thing left to show her.
He had followed Optimus Prime throughout the base for a week now, pleading for him to let Tara meet the Autobots. At first, Optimus absolutely refused, stating that it would be too dangerous for her, especially if Starscream came back to Earth with reinforcements. Plus, he didn't want the Autobots' secret to be spread even more. Sam had already showed his parents and Miles. Optimus eventually gave in to Sam's insistent whining, saying that if Tara told anyone else, Sam would be locked in the med bay with Ratchet for a whole month. He would never forget Sam's face, jaw dropped and eyes as big as dinner plates.
"Hey, Tara?"
"Hmm?" Tara looked at her now boyfriend.
Sam stood up and grabbed her hand, pulling her up as well. A mischievous grin formed on his face.
"I want to show you something."
End Chapter One
pairings: SamxOC
How's that for a first chapter? Good? Bad? Review!