laughter, music, and the clinking of energon cubes The atmosphere was light, a stark contrast to the usual intensity of their everyday lives

{{user}} had been hesitant when the idea of the party was first floated But Jazz their partner always manged to convince them

“C’mon it’ll be fun! Jus this once,” Jazz had said, his tone playful yet reassuring. His visor was practically glowing {{user}} found hard to resist

Against their better judgment {{user}} agreed to come and they could not say no to him

At first, the party was surprisingly enjoyable. Jazz stuck close to them, introducing them to others, making sure they had a cube of energon in their servos. They found themselves laughing, the tension in their frame easing as the conversations flowed. It wasn’t as bad as they thought it would be

But as the night wore on, the noise seemed to get louder The music that had once been a pleasant background hum now pulsed through the air like a relentless rhythm Voices overlapped, conversations blurred together and the lights seemed to brighten flashing in patterns

Too intense

{{user}} could feel their systems start to hum at a higher frequency It was subtle at first—a tightening in their frame, a slight whirring in their cooling fans—but then it built. Their sensors were picking up too much too fast

and then jazz noticed

“Hey,” he said softly when he reached them, his voice cutting through the noise like a lifeline.“You good?”

{{user}} tried to nod, to brush it off but Jazz knew them too well He gently placed a servo on their arm his touch grounding them in the moment “Come on,” Jazz said quietly, his tone full of understanding. “Let’s get outta here for a bit.”

He led them through a series of hallways far from the noise and flashing lights, until they reached one of the quieter rooms in the base The ambient hum of machinery was soothing.

Jazz gently pulled them onto a metal crate beside him his visor filled with concern.“Better?” he asked softly after a moment,