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Under normal circumstances, Sideswipe would have just suffered through a lecture on missing curfew rather than going through the painstaking effort of avoiding his father’s attention.
It wasn’t every day that he managed to fool a hot girl into thinking he was worth spending the night with, though. Strongarm… how to describe her? She was the type of girl who you’d happily piss off if it meant just getting a second of her attention- even if that attention came in the form of a fist in your face. Which Sideswipe got often enough from other guys that Knockout had stopped asking about the black eyes that bloomed every few days. That combined with the… less than shining reputation her father had made most boys too scared to ask her out- Sideswipe included, of course.
Luckily for him, she did all the asking for them. A few hours, some spluttered yeses and nervous nods later, and here he was at home, two hours late. Strongarm didn’t have any time limits, and she wasn’t about to let him head into the lion’s den alone (even if she thought he was a “first grade idiot” for breaking the rules). Maybe she was lonely. Maybe she took pity on him. Maybe she just felt like he needed a babysitter. Whatever it was, Sideswipe was determined to make the most of it (even if that just meant watching a movie and sneaking her back out at 4am).
The back door clicked open into a thankfully empty kitchen, and the stairs were just ahead of them. His father was in the living room and sat with his back to them, facing the TV and seemingly oblivious.
Sideswipe trusted Strongarm to not make any noise on their way upstairs, but he barely cleared the first step before his master plan spectacularly fell to pieces.
Because, from the strange silence all over the house, he just noticed that Knockout wasn’t even watching anything.
“Sideswipe, do you think I was born yesterday?” his father asked, in a tone that left Sideswipe genuinely wondering whether he wanted an answer or not.
“With all the wrinkles he has to cover up daily, obviously not…” Sideswipe whispered behind to Strongarm, clearing her stricken face with muffled laughter. With her taken care of for now, Sideswipe took a deep breath before descending the steps and facing Knockout with eyes too heavy to keep their gaze off the floor.
“I know I’m late, Dad-”
“And you’ve brought a girl home without telling me,” Knockout interrupted, this time with no hint whatsoever to what he was thinking. That was the only thing that made Sideswipe brave enough to make eye contact this time, seeing his father looking past him to where Strongarm should have been concealed by the stairs. She eventually emerged as well, even more guilty than him with arms behind her back.
Knockout raised an eyebrow, looking at her curiously. “Have I seen you around before?”
Strongarm wreathed her fingers together nervously, looking sideways and just about anywhere other than Knockout’s face. “I go to the same college as Sides. Sometimes I help out on the student council,” she explained. “Sides offered to stay behind and help me with something, so… I ended up making him late.” Well, if that wasn’t the most blatant lie Sides had ever heard- he gave her a confused glance that he immediately had to drop when it met with a fierce glare from her. “I apologise,” she finished, keeping her head low.
Sides couldn’t help looking at Knockout to see if her little deception worked. His expression definitely seemed softer now, and he turned his attention to his son. “Have you done your assignments, Sides?”
“Yes.” That at least was a truth, even if it was only because of help from Strongarm.
“Both of you?” Now Knockout waited for Strongarm’s answer.
“Yes, sir,” she answered, only raising her head after she nodded respectfully.
Knockout weighed them both up for a few long seconds, arms crossed over his chest, before giving the barest hint of a smile. “Just don’t wake up your brothers, Sideswipe.”
Sideswipe only stayed long enough to promise not to before they were both frantically climbing the stairs, away from the danger zone.
“You owe me,” Strongarm hissed, giving him a light punch on his arm.
“Tell me about it…” Despite the slight pain, Sides couldn’t help but grin. Not only was a hot girl in his house, she just busted her ass to lie for him. Not the best way to start a date but it was better than nothing.
Of course, Knockout couldn’t resist ruining the night in a least some way by calling up after them; “And Sideswipe, for God’s sake, use a condom-”
“OH MY GOD DAD, SHUT UP!” That definitely would have woken up Sunstreaker, but he wasn’t about to have Strongarm scared off after an ordeal like that.