Nathan and I sat down in the restaurant. 'You look lovely.' I flashed him a smile. 'Thank you.' I tried to settle my nerves. Maybe I should've told Sides about this. I hadn't told him the full story. Nathan should know about Sideswipe eventually. I bet Sides wants to meet him and since Sideswipe is already edgy about this, I didn't want to leave him completely in the dark. 'There's something...' Nathan turned his head back to me. 'My best friend... he has a personality, he can be a little... mean sometimes, but if you ever meet him, you shouldn't take it personally. He just doesn't like sharing.'

Nathan cocked a brow. 'He?' I nodded. 'Yeah, but we are only friends. He's an Autobot.' Nathan ohh'ed. this caught his attention. 'Really? How did you meet him then?'
'I work at their base, we became friends right away.'
'So, he's your guardian?'
'No, not officially, but he tend to act like it sometimes.'
Nathan ohh'ed. 'I just want to warn you, he had a temper.' Nathan waved his hand. 'He's not a psychopath.' I smiled sheepishly. 'His twin brother is...' he snapped his head back up. 'What?'

'His twin brother is a psychopath, but he's not on earth, so don't worry.' I waved my hand to dismiss it. 'Right...' Nathan stiffened a little in his chair. I opened my mouth to clarify but I heard my name. 'What a surprise to see you here.' Sideswipe sat down next to me at the table and removed his jacket. 'You hadn't told me you would be here today. You must be Nathan, right? You're from Portland Oregon. You started engineering at Portland university but you somehow changed it for earth science. You have two sisters, your dad passed away three years ago and your mom was a drug addicted whore... you've had some trouble in your personal life as well... you went to jail when you were sixteen for attempted rape.'

'That's not true! The charges were dropped, they made a mistake!' Nathan snapped. I rubbed my forehead. 'This is Sideswipe,' I muttered. 'That's supposed to be your best friend?' He snapped. Sideswipe took some bread. I laid my hand on his arm. 'Sideswipe, you weren't invited. Maybe you can leave now?'

'Why? I'm already here. Continue your date, don't be bothered by me,' he said before taking a bite. This was going to end in a complete disaster. Nathan recovered from the personal attack and straightened his back. He's not a match for Sideswipe. He's a king in being cocky and arrogant. As much as I hated it, I also admired it. He had no trouble saying what was on his mind.

'You had no right to summon my entire life!'

'Why, because you think attempted rape is just a minor detail? I don't think so, I want to be sure she's save. 'Well, you haven't done your research right then... they captured the actual rapist and it wasn't me! I was involved because he was a neighbor and close friend. They thought I was involved, but that's not what happened.' Nathan looked at me. 'Well, I hope you don't mind I'm critical. Katie is special.'

'Says the one with a psycho brother!'

I shifted. Talking bad about Sideswipe's twin is the biggest mistake anyone could ever make. I looked at Sideswipe to see his reaction. 'You're right, he is a psychopath, but if you ever mention it again, I'll show you my psycho side.' Nathan shifted and nodded. 'Good...'

Dinner hadn't even started yet and I have to go through this. I wanted to go home and hide underneath my guilt. 'Alright, well... now we got this out of the way, maybe you can be a little nicer? I would really appreciate if you try.' The silvery mech forced a fake smile on his face. He's not done yet. 'Of course...' I saw the envy and jealously reflecting in his eyes.

It was a complete disaster and we skipped desert. Walking outside Sideswipe grabbed Nathan's arm. 'You're just leaving like that? No kiss? Not offering her a ride home?' He snapped. 'I bet she has you to take her home and I'm not kissing her with you here,' Nathan snarled and yanked his arm free. Nathan didn't even look at me as he marched off to his car. 'Ugh, loser... he's not good enough for you,' Sideswipe muttered and turned his head.

'Why are you crying?'

'Because of you! I told you not to ruin this for me! This is not what friends do.' Sideswipe sighed and grasped my arms. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I'm just critical, that's all.' He rubbed my arm. I stepped back. 'I don't want you to take me home and I don't want to see you for a couple of days. 'If you really think that this is what best friends do then you're not my best friend.'

I brushed some tears off my face. 'If you really ruined this for me you need to go look for a new friend.' I turned around and stormed off. 'Katie! Please...' he followed me. 'I have been a victim of rape, I don't want to put you through that. I don't want you to get hurt or end up dead in the woods. Any idea how many horrific stories show up on the news about boyfriends killing their girlfriends? Mutilated and dismembered?' I stopped and turned around.

'You mean everything to me. You brightened up my life and made it so much more fun. I know we have been joking about me being your guardian but I really want that to be official...' he sucked in a breath. 'Please... forgive me. I promise to behave next time.' He pulled me in an embrace. 'I would never forgive myself if something bad happens to you,' he whispered in my ear.

I sighed and met his gaze. 'I'm supposed to look out for you,' he added. I sucked in a breath and nodded slowly. 'But I'm still mad at you.' He brushed some tears off my cheeks. 'I'm so sorry, sweetspark.' He embraced me. I nuzzled in his chest. We stood like this for a while until it slowly started to rain. 'You still want to walk?' I shook my head and walked up to his alt-mode.