Guilty Pleasures
Eric
an: This is about guilty pleasures starting with Eric's roller blading in "Angie" part of Series 7 where Eric was being very weirdly treated by the script writers. I think they were trying to downgrade his character in preparation for TG leaving at the end of Series 7. There will be other guilty pleasures published about the rest of the gang. As always I'm not the owner of 7TS otherwise I would have rewritten Series 7 and closed it down when TG and AK left with a fully resolved ending for all the characters. Sorry for the long an.
Eric tied the laces of his inline roller skates and reached for his red shorts, thinking "damn I've done it again as he carefully maneuvered his shorts past the skates pulled them up and twanged the braces into place.
He turned on the spanish tape and making sure that his elbow and knee pads were in place picked up his radio earphones before opening the door to see if anyone was about, then he rolled to the stairs and gingerly stepped down them sideways knowing that Kitty would keep Red in the living room watching TV show while the rest of the gang should be in the basement.
This obsession had started because he wanted something to do on his own without any of the gang around. He had wondered around all the various activities that were available in and around Point Place and boy there were some weird ones and yet, somehow it was only roller skating that was entirely gang free.
Kitty had found out the first time Eric put his roller disco costume into the wash and had asked Eric what they were for. Eric had made her swear not to tell anyone either by telling them or writing it down or even miming it to anyone at all.
What Eric didn't realize was that Kitty had blurted out his secret to Fez at the hairdressers earlier that day and had totally failed to tell Eric about it and as usual with secrets in the gang, if one knew a secret the rest knew it shortly thereafter.
Good no-one was around as he snapped on his radio headphones and rolled off into the evening, observed by Donna, Kelso and Fez from behind the yard fence.
Eric was enjoying himself at the rink where a tall brunette was turning cartwheels and dancing with Eric. Eric had just been pulled under her and was skating toward the back-wall where he could see an audience consisting of Red, Kitty, Fez, Kelso and Donna. Red!! as his skates rolled out from under him and he slid the rest of the way to the wall on his ass.
Eric, knowing it was all over, walked into the kitchen with his roller skates, roller disco clothes and radio headphones and threw them all in the bin.
After Kitty admitting and denying that she told Fez, Eric explained how he got started and how it took over his Wednesday nights everybody agreed that it was best forgotten about and everyone left for the living room.
Donna said that she had to go home and left via the kitchen stopping only to pick Eric's shorts out of the rubbish bin on the way through. She meant to use them to get back at Eric when she was sad about not being married to him.
Eric in the meantime was planning his revenge by exposing what he had found out about the gang in his search for something to do. that salsa dancing costume Hyde wore to his secret dance classes would make a good starting place. Hmm he needed a video camera. Even Red wasn't safe.
The following night Eric and Donna were alone in the basement. kissing when Donna struck by a vision of Eric in his roller disco costume started giggling and couldn't stop whenever Eric tried to kiss her. She left trying to get that vision of a high kicking Eric in full costume out of her mind so she could come back and enjoy making out with Eric again.
Eric knew exactly why she had left and thought film of Donna attending her classes would be interesting.
Hyde
Hyde carefully opened the door to basement and looked around it to check if anyone was sitting there. Seeing no-one there he fastened his raincoat and quickly walked through the basement and up the stairs to the yard. He really didn't want what happened to Eric to happen to him.
Although he and Jackie were with WB when Eric was outed he had heard about it and the aftermath both from everybody else and Eric.
He found himself siding with Eric in that when you find something your good at you keeping at it even if it would be embarrassing if anybody found out.
He could sympathize with that' considering what he was doing tonight. With that thought he started up the El Camino and drove off not noticing the large object propped up on the fence following his every move.
The following week the large object was poking out from the dumpster outside the Miquel and Lupe School of Latin American Dancing which had a sign hung up on the door saying tonight Salsa formation dance team training. Next competition Point Place Ballroom Saturday night 7 p.m.
The object track Hyde from his car to the door and paused as if reading the notice then panned left to a large window into the studio show six ladies wearing lime green abbreviated dance costumes with a large volume os sequins sewn on. the six male now crossing the studio floor were wearing very tight Day-Glo orange latin style clothing with Zorro style hats perched at a jaunty angle on their heads with what looked light Day-Glo orange ping pong balls sewn onto the seams of both the shirts and trousers. Hyde was the third from the left.
They pranced and twirled around the dance-floor for two hours before the training stopped and Hyde left for home once again tracked by the object in the dumpster.
Once everyone had left the lid of the dumpster opened and Eric leaped out and took his video camera around a couple of corners to the Vista Cruiser.
Eric thought Hyde looked like he was enjoying the dancing and started to have second thoughts until he remembered the Disco night and Hyde's dance with Donna. Even after all the time that past Hyde's attempts to make out with Donna still rankled a little, so yes I'm still doing this. Now how do I get the video camera into the ballroom without anyone knowing it.
Donna
Since I hadn't been able to talk to Donna about my fears of what would happen if we got married and stayed in Point Place I'd had to leave before the wedding and even though we're still together because she had had the same thoughts our relationship wasn't really progressing it was frozen at the stage where love grow into a full relationship. Donna still loved me but didn't really trust me enough to tell me her innermost thoughts anymore and I am going to have to work hard to get that trust back. I suppose what I'm about to do isn't going to help but what she and the others did needed a reply and I know just how to give that reply.
Donna, after her Thursday morning shift as Hot Donna at the radio station didn't get home for another three hours so what was she up to?
Eric was sitting in Mitch's pickup that he'd borrowed for the day. After-all Donna would recognize any of the gangs car a mile off.
Eric had the video camera on its tripod and jammed into the footwell so it was stable and he was able to swivel it around to follow Donna as she got into her car and drove off. After 10 minutes she parked the car and walked into a small office building with Eric following her with the camera and as she disappeared into the building he zoomed into the brass plate at the side of the door. Eric wound the video back and watched Donna walking from the car to the building marveling again at how lucky he was as he watched those hips swiveling as she walked.
He took the camera off the tripod and went around the side to another dumpster thinking I'm seeing the inside of a lot of dumpsters.
He pointed the camera towards the window where Donna was now sitting and started the recording, zooming in to record every detail of what she was doing. He was even lucky enough to get good sound from inside the room.
He filmed till he ran out of tape and then got out of the dumpster and had just reset the camera back on its tripod and fed it new tape and a fresh battery just in time to film Donna coming out and getting in her car and Eric followed her home using the remaining tape to film her walking into her house.
Fez
Fez was a great dancer with the trophies to prove it from the tango to disco and some ballroom dancing. He even knew that Hyde indulged in some formation latin american dancing.
But tonight he wasn't doing the tango or disco not even the meringue.
He was standing at a bar dressed in a checked shirt tucked into blue jeans which were in turn tucked into a pair of cowboy boots topped of with a levi waistcoat, dressed with a lot of rhinestones, and a ten gallon stetson.
His feet were tapping to the rhythm of some bluegrass which the band was playing as a warmup.
Then the singer stepped forward to the microphone and invited everyone onto the dance-floor while he proceeded to tell them exactly what to do to the rhythm of the music.
Behind the bar was a large mirror that allowed the owner of the bar to see everything from what the bar staff were doing to what the customers were doing. A large camera was set up on a tripod and it was following every move that Fez was making, the enjoyment on his face and the way he was looking at all the girls.
After an hour of taping Fez Eric turned the camera off and turned around and said "Thanks Mitch, thats all the tape I'll need."
Mitch and Eric had become better friends now that Mitch had his own girlfriend and didn't lust after Donna.
"You will remember that I want a copy of the finished film when your done?"
"Yes Mitch you'll get a copy." but not of Donna's episode thought Eric as he packed up and went out the backdoor to Mitch's pickup where he set up the camera the same way as when taping Donna.
Eric picked up a box and took it with him when he went back to Mitch's dads office. "Here, It's an vintage GI Joe from Japan in its original box."
"Wow Eric you didn't have to get me this, I just want to see them all burned."
"Don't worry I'm going to set up the camera to capture all their faces when they see the tape I'm editing off all their guilty pleasures."
Eric saw Fez finishing his drink and turning for the Exit. "Bye Mitch and thanks."
Eric was in the pickup with the engine on by the time Fez reached his car having been filmed from the exit to the car wobbling along on those high-heeled cowboy boots.
Eric followed in the car leaving the tape running all the way to Fez's apartment block.
Kelso
Michael was at the Art Gallery in Chicago at the Picasso exhibition and he had been staring at a series of Picasso paintings which seemed to be a progression from a clown fully realized with the following pictures gradually deconstructing the clown and then finally twisting him into an abstract form of the clown. He came here every time he visited Betsy and Brooke sometimes bringing them with him.
Eric was trying to get permission from the Gallery to film Kelso viewing the paintings. He already had time-stamped recordings of Kelso entering the gallery twelve times in the last month. but no tape of him viewing the paintings.
Today Eric had borrowed a very complicated camera from the photography shop where he rented the video camera. It had a high speed motor drive and a roll of high speed film with about 250 shots available.
He had arranged permission to use the camera in the Picasso gallery the day before on the condition the no flash was used.
From behind and to the side of Michael, Eric was using a zoom lens to zero in of the look of wonder on Michael's face as he viewed the Picasso's. Eric was going to video the developed shots of Michael and the Picasso's to show that Michael was more than just a guy who sets fire to things and glues himself to things. However the last series of shots showed a tube of superglue falling out of his pocket onto the floor where he stepped on it and found himself glued to the spot.
Eric thought to himself I've got both the series Michael and the Michael we all know and love all in on series of photos. With that Eric left thinking of how he was going to get his parents.
Kitty & Red
In the end, all Eric needed was Kitty's tape recorder and some video of one of Kitty's books.
Jackie
Jackie left her house early one morning looking resplendent in her costume getting in her car to drive to Kenosha little realizing that the pickup in her rearview mirror had a video camera pointed in her direction.
When Jackie turned left at the sign reading Kenosha Highland Games Eric knew he had hit gold. Jackie got out of her car wearing
a black double breasted jacket with silver buttons and epaulets over a white blouse ruffled at both the collar and cuffs. she was wearing a blue and yellow tartan kilt wit knee high socks over which was criss crossed laces supporting a pair of black dancing shoes. She was also wearing a cap with a silver badge and a long blue feather sticking out from it.
She opened the boot and pulled out two swords and started to walk towards an area of several elevated staged where a large number of similarly dress girls were waiting.
Eric panned the camera away from Jackie to a sign reading highland dancing competition starts at 10 am.
He dragged the camera and tripod out of the cabin and set them up on the deck of the pickup so he could film Jackie's progress.
As luck would have it she was first up and as the pipers started playing she strutted up the steps to the platform laid the two swords on the floor sans sheaths in the form of a St Andrews cross and proceeded to dance over and around the swords for five minutes.
Eric had no idea if Jackie's dance was any good but the crowd applause seemed to suggest competency. He took some shots of her competitors noting that Jackie had done well enough to get through to the second round in third place.
Four hours later Jackie had finished in third place behind two girls from Inverness in Scotland.
An Invitation
Eric had arranged to hold a small party in his parents living room to which were invited the gang with Kitty and Red.
he had organized everything from the food and drinks to the entertainment. His invitation had read "You are cordially invited to the premiere of my new video entitled" "Guilty Pleasures"
Everybody had known that Eric was taping a lot of things but hadn't realized that he was making a film so they were intrigued as to the subject matter.
Red still had the 28 inch TV that he an Hyde had paid for after the accident with bowling ball and on top of this was a vcr awaiting the signal to start.
Eric had spent two weeks at the public service studio making use of the video editing desk to pull together what he thought of as a pretty good hour of TV viewing.
He was being a good host making sure that everybody had their drinks and a good supply of nibbles within reach. He had arranged that he and Donna had the seats closest to the front door where just outside the vista cruiser was parked facing the street and the keys were in his pocket in case things got nasty which could easily happen given the contents of that video tape and the several hidden copies that he had made. Also hidden were his two video cameras positioned to catch everyones reactions.
"This is my first edit of my film , is everyone comfortable" and without waiting started the video and switched off the lights.
Guilty Pleasures started with a montage of each of the seven fading in the title then panning towards Hyde and the fading into a shot of the basement with Hyde appearing from his bedroom wearing a long raincoat...…
By the end of Hyde's segment everyone was laughing not so much at the dancing but at the Day-Glo orange and Ping-Pong all in one suit and as Hyde faded back into the shot with all the others before zooming in on Donna.
The shot followed Donna from the radio station to her car then faded to Donna walking into the building before zooming into the Brass plate reading Zelda's Quilting School before fading to Donna sitting in a circle with six others sewing away at a large patchwork quilt.
Donna turned to Eric and snarled "how could you do that."
Eric replied "I've got video of you at cookery school on the day they were teaching you how to make apple crumble. Would you rather I showed that"?
Donna remembering the burned mess said "That's fine but your not getting any this week or next."
Eric said "Thats ok I got some video of you in very tight clothing walking away from your car that really shows some of the reasons I love you." and leans over to kiss her. "You seem to be trying to learn some homemaking skills."
Blushing she said "Eric I still love you and I still want to marry you but both of us know that we're not ready yet but I want to be able to do some of the things that Kitty's able to do around our house."
They turned back to the TV in time to see Fez line dancing to the instructions of the singer in full cowboy regalia and Donna let rip with a full throated deep laugh while holding onto Eric
The picture faded to Kelso showing him entering the museum on twelve separate occasions either alone or with Betsy and Brooke fading to a still photo of Kelso gazing at the Picasso's. the pictures speeded up into almost like a movie before turning into black and white and slowing down to show each of the paintings in the correct sequence to which Kelso shouted " see Picasso painted these in that sequence to show how he did the last painting in his mind.
The Picasso faded into the group and then isolated Red and Kitty then faded to a black screen with heavy breathing followed by a shout of "Marco" followed by a feminine shout of "Polo" then the screen brighten to show the Joys of Sex open at page 49.
Kelso shouts to Red "I hope I'm that flexible when I'm your age."
"Kelso! meet my trainer, the old foot in the ass training exercise."
Jackie is starting to get a bad feeling about what Eric has in-store for her. That fear was confirmed by the shot of her pulling out the swords from the trunk of her car and Donna shouted. "Were you going to a re-enactment of the Battle of Quebec"?
By the time Jackie was awarded her third place medal everyone was clapping and they continued clapping as they turned around towards Eric who was now looking like a startled deer and wondering whether to start running when he realized they were applauding him.
Kelso came over and clapped him on the back Shouting "you got all of us with one great burn and it was even art. You even managed to show everyone why I liked those pictures so much.
"I loved the film Eric" said Donna but your still cut off for a week for being so sneaky."
Kitty came over blushing like a teenager and said "you shouldn't have that but it was a lovely film."
Everyone else said that they enjoyed it and yes they shouldn't have done that to Eric.
Jackie and Hyde both said "why did you do that to us when we weren't even here."
"Ah but you would have if you had been here."
"Good point we would have."
Red had now got up and was coming across to Eric. " At least you didn't video tape us. If you had my Foot would have been the director as it zoomed in to your ass."
"I assumed that I would have to avoid that fate so I edited out the video content. Do you want the tape or should I just destroy it?"
"No, Give it to me and will get rid of it. Around here there are to many accidents and it could to easily become public which would be embarrassing."
"Bye Eric" as Donna left. Eric turned around and watched her walk across the driveway and sighed. There were three other sigs from behind Eric.
Hyde said "Your very lucky that that rear end is still all yours after that non wedding."
"I know, but I also now know that we will be together forever when we get married after college. Right I'd better stop the cameras and edit in the tape from tonight. I wanted you reactions to the film as part of the finished article."
"Hey Eric, You got lucky tonight, everybody loved the film even if we all got embarrassed so don't push your luck.
A week later Eric was sitting on Donna;s bed waiting for her to come out of the bathroom. When she did she was wearing nothing but a tight fitting pair of red shorts with braces just covering her nipples.
"Wow Donna you look do much better in those shorts than I ever did." as he reached over to pull her in for a long lingering kiss.
