The next few days in New York are great. His transition to the big city is a smooth one and every day, Hyde feels more and more at home. He spends his days walking around, trying to navigate his way around the city. When he isn't wandering around, he's in the apartment, listening to music and getting stoned with his roommates. Every night Zeke comes over and they discuss politics and have a friendly debate over what exactly is wrong with the government.

Hyde is more than happy with his new life. No one busting his balls about finishing school or amounting to something greater than what his parents are. In New York, no one gives a damn about the next person, which is fine with him since he can just spend his days getting high and fucking Chrissy when he wants.

That's the good thing about her, she doesn't have any expectations and isn't looking to settle down. She is just as happy wasting the days with him. Hyde is living the dream. Well, his dream at least. Back in Point Place, his friends would start in on him about his "poor" life choices and he would have to deal with his drunk mother and uncle whoever of the day. In Point Place, he's known as the lowdown, dirty burnout who would be lucky to make it past eighteen. In New York, he's on his own, and he is just another face in the crowd. He can amount to something or absolutely nothing, and it would make no difference to the next person.

He has no one to tell him shit or expect it from him. He could wake up in the middle of the day, get high and go back to bed if he wants to.

His roommates encourage him to just "hang out" at two in the afternoon and they can have the age-old discussion about whether Samantha is hotter than Jeannie, but unlike back home, they didn't need to be cautious of the Formans walking in on their illegal activities and he doesn't have to listen to Eric talk about how much he wants to do it with Donna or Kelso bitch about his cheerleader girlfriend.

New York is fun and the people are cynical and selfish. To most people, life is a competition about making it to the top before everyone else. It's definitely a dog eat dog world, one which Hyde has no intention of joining. In his little apartment, with his countless roommates and joints, he can be detached from the world, almost a non-entity.

While his roommates make most of his days interesting, Chrissy fills his nights. She spends most of the day meeting with her punk band friend, rehearsing on the instruments or writing new songs. The only times Hyde sees her is when she comes home at nine, usually nursing a hangover from her daily drinking sessions or just as high as him. She will stumble into their bedroom, throw her belongings on the floor and dash to the bed. He would walk in after her to find her half-naked waiting for him to start a "protest."

Every night they make a joke about which cause they are fighting for. One night their protest is for equal rights, the next one is to stop child labor in some country thousands of miles away. Her moans would include hate words against the "man" or thanks to an almighty being she doesn't actually believe in.

Besides the occasional screams and moans, sex between them is relatively quiet. There is no need for foreplay or "how does this feel?" questions. Hyde can enjoy the silence and just get lost in the moment of satisfying her needs. He appreciates her lack of feelings towards him. It's what makes her fun, what makes her absolutely perfect for someone so emotionally damaged. Once they are done, they put on their clothes and go hang out with their roommates. There is no questions about how their day was or sweet comments about how much they love one another. Frankly, neither gives a damn about that. Whatever happened in the day is forgotten the moment he enters her and then that is forgotten when they light up a joint.

Hyde quickly learns Chrissy's philosophy on love and sex: Love doesn't exist and sex is temporary. Cynical, like a true New Yorker.

On one particular night, about a week after they arrived, Chrissy comes home later and drunker than usual. Hyde has just finished a session with Zeke and Joey when she enters the apartment and immediately goes into the living room to find him. She walks towards him and grabs the collar of his shirt. Not minding the audience, she straddles his lap and kisses him, her hands exploring his lower body. Following her lead, Hyde forgets about the two men in the room and grabs a chunk of her hair to bring her face closer to his. His other hand moves down her body and rests on her butt.

After a few minutes, Hyde opens his eyes and sees that Joey and Zeke have excused themselves and now he can really enjoy her. He pulls his lips away from hers and aggressively pins her down on the couch so he's on top. Removing her shirt in one swift motion, he starts kissing her body, from her neck down to the area right above her bra. Her moans and wriggling body let him know she's enjoying it so he pushes on, not bothering to take it to their bedroom.

He lifts her up just enough to grant him access to the clasp of her bra and after struggling to unhook it for a few seconds, he pulls it down and admires her exposed breasts. He grins in admiration and brings his head down to take one into his mouth.

Sure he's just a seventeen year old kid, but he's had a lot of experience with the opposite sex. The girls back home found him alluring, thought it would be a wild adventure to get with the town bad boy. Before sex, they had all made it very clear that it was just to be a meaningless fling, which he didn't object to, and that no one could ever know, which he didn't care about.

As he got further into the moment with Chrissy, he thinks about all the girls he's been with and how even after the best sex of his life, he felt no emotional attachment to any of them. Even with Chrissy, who is his idea of a perfect woman, he can have sex and forget all about it a minute later. For a moment, the thought that he is incapable of getting close to someone, or loving another person, angers him and while he enters Chrissy, he rams into her wanting to get as close as possible.

If sex is the closest he can get to someone, then he'll just have to have sex all the time. Not that he wants to fall in love and be a nancy boy à la Eric Forman, but just for a moment, he wants to feel human.

Then, when the deed is done and he's satisfied, he can take on the role of a New Yorker, not that cynical and jaded are hard for him to do, even if he's just a kid from the Midwest.