Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf or That 70's Show.
Chapter 3 – The Car and the Concert
.
Point Place, Wisconsin
May 17, 1976
8:47 P.M.
Eric Forman's Basement
Sitting on a chair, Nathan leaned back, smirking at the scene before him. Peter, Hyde and Kelso were sitting on the couch in Eric's basement, while Donna was sitting on a chair across from Eric. Nathan himself was seated in a second chair, next to Donna.
It had been over a month since Peter and Nathan had arrived in Point Place, and in all of that time Nathan had yet to regret moving there. Point Place wasn't all that different from Beacon Hills, when it came down to it; but it was a new town, offering new experiences, and that was something that both brothers needed.
Peter and Nathan had merged into the existing social group fairly easily. Nathan, being five years older than the other teens, might seem to be an outsider, but he was just as comfortable hanging out with them as Peter was, and got along with them just as easily. Peter had sarcastically commented that it was because Nathan's mental age was the same as theirs; Nathan had casually laughed it off.
Nathan had informed Peter of the fact that there was another werewolf pack in Point Place; a big one, at that. So far, the Hale brothers hadn't crossed paths with the resident pack yet. They'd kept to themselves, and had avoided the woods as much as possible, simply for safety's sake. Nathan knew that they would eventually have to deal with the local werewolves, but he wanted to postpone that for as long as possible.
"Eric, it is time," Hyde said, returning Nathan's attention to the conversation at hand.
"Why don't you do it?" Eric asked.
"It's your house!" Hyde replied simply.
"Your house!" Kelso repeated.
Hyde pointed to the ceiling of the basement. "Listen to them up there! The party has reached critical mass; in ten minutes, there'll be no more beer opportunities!"
Nathan would have burst out laughing, but under the circumstances he felt it would be better to restrain himself. Still, he chuckled, and his lips curled in a grin.
"If my dad catches me copping beers, he'll kill me!" Eric protested. Nathan had to agree with him there; his meetings with Red Forman hadn't exactly been pleasant, to say the least.
Hyde clapped Eric on the knee. "I'm willing to take that risk!"
"Don't worry about it!" Kelso put in. "Just remain calm, keep moving–"
"And above all," Donna interrupted, "don't get sucked into my dad's hair."
Peter, sitting next to Kelso on the couch, raised an eyebrow, glancing at Donna. "I think I'm missing a little context here."
Eric also seemed confused. "What's wrong with your dad's hair?"
Donna shook her head. "Just… don't look at it."
Hyde stood, grasping Eric's face between his hands. "And, Eric… cold! Definitely cold!"
Eric nodded, and Hyde promptly released him, giving Eric a gentle push towards the stairs leading up to the rest of the house.
Nathan stood casually, glancing around. "I'll head up too; I could use a beer. Peter, you want one?"
Peter shrugged. "Sure."
Nodding, Nathan followed Eric up the stairs. Eric paused briefly, halfway up; then he shook himself and pressed on, rushing up into the house. Nathan followed, chuckling to himself.
Nathan and Eric burst into the upper hallway, almost running into Eric's mom, Kitty, as she came bustling out of the kitchen with a metal pan in her hands, covered with food. "Oh, watch it, Eric, hot pizza rolls!" Hurrying past, she set the pan down on a table, then moved onward, checking up with all of the guests.
"She's nothing but energy, isn't she?" Nathan commented.
Eric nodded with a sigh. "Whenever there's a party, yep. She definitely is."
Nathan followed Eric through the hall and into the living room, where a dozen or so adults were engaged in conversation. Kitty's latest dinner party was clearly a rousing success.
As Eric snatched up two cans of beer from a table next to the couch, a man in an orange suit, with a bizarre hairstyle of extremely fluffed-up, curly brown hair, stood to greet him. "Hey there, Eric!" he said, grinning.
"Mr. Pinciotti!" Eric exclaimed in surprise.
"Oh, you're Donna's parents!" Nathan said in realization. He smiled, shaking the man's hand. "I'm Nathan; I'm a friend of Eric's. It's nice to meet you, sir."
"Nice to meet you too," the man said genially. "I'm Bob."
"So, Eric, what do you think of Bob's new hair?" a blonde woman wearing a tied-off purple shirt inquired, smiling brightly as she wrapped an arm around the man's shoulders. "Isn't it groovy?"
"It's… incredibly groovy, Mrs. Pinciotti," Eric stammered, his gaze dropping from the blonde woman's face involuntarily, causing him to hurriedly snap his head back up.
Nathan rolled his eyes, before giving the couple a quick once-over. So these were Donna's parents.
I see what she meant about his hair, he mused.
"Ah, yeah, it was Midge's idea," Bob replied.
"It's a perm," Midge put in.
Eric walked over to the large glass bowl where the beer cans were being kept. Just as he reached out for one, a voice interrupted him. "Eric?"
Turning, Nathan saw Eric's father, Red, standing behind the counter. He raised an eyebrow, fixing his son with a calm glance.
Eric flinched back involuntarily, causing Nathan to chuckle under his breath. "Hi, Dad!"
"Mr. Forman, great to see you, sir," Nathan said with a friendly smile.
Red glanced at Nathan, nodded noncommittally, and glanced past Eric to where Bob and Midge were standing near the couch. "What the hell happened to Bob's hair?" he muttered.
"Beats me," Eric said, trying to sound casual and failing miserably.
"His head looks like a poodle's ass!" Red commented with a grin. Eric and Nathan laughed.
"Boy," Red continued, bending down to pick up another bottle from behind the counter, "just when you think you've seen everything–"
"A poodle's ass walks into your party!" Eric chimed in, holding a can of beer in each hand.
Nathan sighed inwardly. Oh, for heaven's sake…
"Eric!" Red cut him off. "Don't use the 'ass' word; you're still in high school."
"Yes, sir," Eric replied immediately.
"Okay!" Kitty called, entering the room with another metal tray loaded with food. "Pigs in a blanket! Hot, hot!"
"Kitty, is that your Toyota in the drive?" Midge asked in curiosity.
Bob frowned and turned to Red. "Red? A Toyota?"
"Yeah, it's mine," Red acknowledged ruefully. "I tell you, the last time I was that close to a Japanese machine, it was shooting at me!" He poured himself a drink.
Nathan, leaning casually on the bar, removed a can of beer from the ice bowl and popped it open. He took a sip, continuing to listen as he drank. One good thing about being a werewolf – which could also be a bad thing, depending on the situation – was that it took a lot of effort to get drunk; alcohol usually didn't have nearly as much of an effect on them as it did on normal humans.
"Well, honey, it is the gas crisis; what're you gonna do?" Kitty pointed out with a smile.
"And you know, Bob?" Red continued. "Those SOB's at the dealership offered me a four-hundred-dollar trade-in on a Vista Cruiser!"
"Eh, what'cha gonna do?" Bob mused philosophically, sipping from his drink.
"It'll rust in the driveway before I trade it in," Red muttered.
"Honey, it is rusting in the driveway," Kitty commented.
"Hey, Pops," Eric said, suddenly sounding inspired. "I'll take the Cruiser off your hands; I don't care if it's a pump-sucker." As he spoke, he lifted his hands, placing the cans of beer he was holding on the counter.
Red raised an eyebrow. "What've you got there, Eric?"
"Beer," Eric replied, his voice considerably more nervous and high-pitched than it had been before. "I just found it, just sitting… you know… around?"
Red shrugged. "Well, put 'em away, son!" he said, picking up his glass and walking away.
"Well, I intend to, sir," Eric said to himself.
Nathan grinned, snagging two more cans of beer from the bowl. "Let's go before he comes back."
As they headed back towards the basement, Kitty intercepted them. "Oh, Eric?" she called, picking up two more cans of beer that were sitting on the coffee table and putting them into Eric's hands. "On your way to the basement, could you pop these in the fridge? They're warm!"
Eric's eyes widened in surprise and triumph, and he promptly turned and rushed out of the room, Nathan right behind him.
.
Peter, seated on a chair in the basement downstairs, chuckled as Kelso attempted to play air guitar on the couch, making himself look like an idiot. Hyde, sitting next to him, whistled as he turned the magazine he was holding sideways. "Check it out," he said quietly to Kelso, who turned to look at the magazine. Both of them sighed, their eyes glued to the magazine.
Peter groaned inwardly. Oh, for the love of…
Donna leaned down, resting one elbow on the couch as she glanced at the magazine. "I see that every day," she commented casually, before standing up and returning to the chair next to Peter's.
As Donna sat down, Eric and Nathan made their way down the stairs of the basement. Eric grinned, holding up his hands to display the four cans of beer he was holding.
"He's alive!" Hyde cheered. Peter, Kelso and Donna laughed.
Eric handed out cans of beer to Hyde, Kelso and Donna, while Nathan casually tossed one of the three cans he was carrying to Peter, who caught it easily.
"Good news!" Eric informed them as he passed out the cans. "My dad is thinking about giving me… the Vista Cruiser!"
"You're getting a car?" Kelso asked eagerly.
"Ooh, have I ever told you how incredibly attractive you are, Eric?" Donna asked jokingly.
"No," Eric replied in the same tone, smirking as he sat down next to Nathan.
"You told me he was cute," Kelso commented.
Donna's eyes widened. "No, I didn't," she muttered.
"No, I remembered because you said not to say anything in front of Eric."
Peter raised an eyebrow. Interesting…
"Let's all focus on what's important here, people," Hyde reminded them. He raised his can into the air. "Forman stole something! To Forman!"
"To Forman!" Kelso, Nathan and Peter echoed, as everyone raised their cans in a toast.
"You know what's sad?" Eric said, actually getting choked up. "This is the proudest day of my life!"
Hyde grinned, hugging him, as Peter and Nathan burst out laughing.
.
Several days later, the group found themselves in the basement again, this time watching a movie. Since most of them had seen it numerous times before, they had decided to watch it with the sound off, while they supplied their own imitations of the characters.
"'Wow, Marcia! That's gotta hurt!'" Eric said in a nasally voice.
"'Ouch, my nose!'" Donna replied, in an equally odd tone.
"'That's gonna be huge in the morning!'"
"'Huger than my boobs?'"
"'Well, bigger than the left one!'"
Peter and Nathan were cracking up, leaning back in chairs and laughing hysterically.
Kelso's girlfriend Jackie, on the other hand, was not amused at all.
"Okay, I don't understand," she said. "Why are we watching this without the sound? I am totally confused!"
Nathan sighed. Ever since he'd met Jackie, he had disliked her. She was pushy, obnoxious, controlling, and didn't get along well with anyone in the group except Kelso and Donna.
"Here, use the earphone," Eric said, picking up a cord attached to the TV, with an earphone on the end of it. He handed it to Jackie, who promptly inserted it into her ear.
"So," Kelso said, clearly trying to break the tension. "What's the deal with the Vista Cruiser?"
"The deal is, there is no deal yet," Eric replied.
"Shhh!" Jackie interrupted them, holding up a hand. When they all paused, looking at her in surprise, she nodded in satisfaction and turned back to the television.
Kelso turned, leaning in closer to Eric. "How are we gonna get to the concert?" he whispered.
"Shut up!" Donna hissed.
Unfortunately, Jackie had already heard them, and turned back to face Kelso. "What concert?" she inquired.
Peter and Nathan sighed simultaneously.
"Great," Nathan muttered under his breath.
"Todd Rundgren," Kelso admitted. His tone of voice indicated that he knew exactly how badly he'd just screwed up.
"When?" Jackie pressed, her voice still deceptively gentle.
"This weekend," Kelso stammered.
"Oh, who's going?"
"Uh… Eric and Donna, Peter and Nathan, me and Hyde, and the foreign kid Fez. So, pretty much everybody."
Jackie nodded repeatedly, indicating a "go on" gesture.
"And you!" Kelso finished, smiling nervously.
"Oh, good, good, good," Jackie said with a grin, patting Kelso's hand. "Nice of you to tell me, Michael!" she finished. Kelso flinched.
"Well, I'm gonna go upstairs!" Eric said, scrambling over the couch and heading for the stairs. Peter, Nathan and Donna followed him immediately, Donna shoving Kelso back onto the couch as he tried to stand up.
As they hurried upstairs into the kitchen, Nathan growled in irritation. "You've got to be kidding me!" he snapped. "Why in the hell would he let that little harpy know about the concert?!"
"Because he's an idiot," Donna replied with a grimace.
"Well, we'd better get used to it," Eric said, "because she's coming with us now."
Peter groaned. "But this was supposed to be a fun weekend…"
Nathan, Eric and Donna all laughed at that. As usual, Peter did an excellent job of breaking them out of their annoyance.
"Well, we can still have a fun time at the concert," Nathan pointed out. "It's the drive there that's going to be a problem."
"That's if I even get the car," Eric pointed out.
"Eric, relax," Donna assured him. "You'll get the car. I have confidence in you."
"Really?" Eric asked in surprise.
"Yeah."
Peter grinned, clapping Eric on the back. "Me too."
"All right, I think we've given them enough time down there," Nathan remarked. "Let's go save the idiot before she finishes tearing him apart."
Amongst chuckles from the others, they headed back down the stairs into the basement, just in time to see Kelso and Jackie wrestling on the couch.
"Oh, for God's sake," Nathan groaned.
"Jackie!" Eric exclaimed in surprise. "I guess… you're going to the concert with us!"
Kelso immediately rolled off of Jackie, lifting her off the couch and onto her feet. She grinned enthusiastically. "Mm-hmm, I can't wait!" Smiling, she turned back to face Kelso. "So, Michael… want to go back to my house and listen to Ted Grunion records?"
"Yeah, sure," Kelso said from the couch, looking somewhat short of breath.
Nathan rolled his eyes, picking up the distinctive scent of arousal. Great. A glance in Peter's direction, and he could tell that his brother was smelling it too.
"Great. See you guys later!" Jackie hurried up the stairs, as Kelso jumped up and rushed after her.
"You kids have fun! Bye-bye!" Eric called after them, in a mock-parental tone.
"Bye, now!" Donna added.
"Don't stay up too late!" Peter put in.
"And make sure to be safe!" Nathan finished. All four of them laughed as Kelso and Jackie disappeared.
"Oh, they're so darn cute!" Donna said. "The minute you turn your back, they go at it like dogs!"
"Oh, they're frisky!" Eric added with a chuckle. Both of them sat down on the stairs, as Peter and Nathan seated themselves on the couch.
"Can't leave them alone," Donna remarked.
"No kidding," Peter replied. "You could practically smell it."
Nathan shot his brother a look, but Peter grinned.
"And did she say Ted Grunion records?" Nathan asked.
"She did," Peter confirmed.
"Hey, guys, we should probably get going," Nathan said to Eric and Donna. "See you tomorrow?"
"Sure thing," Eric answered.
Smiling, Nathan and Peter exited the basement, heading out the door and up the outside steps to the driveway.
.
After the Hale brothers left, there was silence for a moment.
"You know…" Eric said, to Donna. "My sister thinks that we shouldn't be left alone."
"Us?" Donna asked.
"Yeah. Crazy, right?"
There was a long pause.
"We're alone now," Donna pointed out.
"Well… yeah."
Another long silence followed.
"Eric, relax," Donna said. "We've lived next to each other forever. You could've had me when I was four."
"Really?" Eric said, staring melodramatically into space. "And there I was all day long on the Hippety-Hop! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" On the final "stupid", he banged his head against the pipe running down the wall next to them. He turned back, only for Donna to push his head back against the pipe, grinning. That prompted a final exclamation of "Stupid!" before he pushed Donna's head away from him.
.
The next day…
Nathan and Peter strolled up the driveway to Eric's house, just in time to see Eric, Donna and Kelso admiring the Vista Cruiser parked in it.
"Nice car," Nathan remarked approvingly.
"Well, it's not technically his yet, so let's not get ahead of ourselves," Peter reminded him.
"Hey there, Donna!" Bob called, walking over to the group.
"Hey, Dad," Donna replied, smiling.
"Ah, you kids, standing around the driveway…" Bob grinned. "It's so darn cute!" He pinched Donna's cheek. "You know, you may not realize it, but this is the most fun you're ever gonna have."
"So it's all downhill from here, sir?" Eric asked.
"Yeah," Bob replied. He walked away, running a comb through his fluffed-up hair.
"Well, that was cheerful," Peter said.
Kelso, who had been staring open-mouthed at Bob the entire time, finally spoke up. "What happened to your dad's hair?" he asked Donna, staring after Bob.
"He got a permanent," Donna answered.
Kelso turned to look at her, his eyes wide. "So that's permanent?"
.
The Hub
Later that day
Once again, the group had all gathered at the Hub after school. While Peter, Eric, Donna, Kelso and Jackie were sitting at a table, drinking sodas, Nathan had joined Hyde and the foreign exchange student Fez. Hyde was playing pinball, while Nathan was entertaining himself by admiring all of the girls in the room.
"I may not say this right, because I am new to English," Fez said with an exotic accent. He pointed to an attractive blonde girl across the room. "But she has tremendous breasts; yes?"
Nathan laughed, while Hyde glanced over at the girl in question.
"Michael, who is this guy?" Jackie demanded, indicating Fez.
"Oh, that's Fez," Kelso explained. "He's a foreign exchange student."
Jackie frowned. "Who did we exchange for him?"
"Oh, dear God," Peter growled, clenching his hands into fists under the table to keep from yelling out of sheer exasperation.
Not waiting for Kelso to answer, Jackie stood up as Hyde, Nathan and Fez returned to the table. "Donna, I have to go to the ladies' room," she said. When Donna ignored her, she snapped, "Donna?"
Donna sighed, stood up and followed Jackie to the bathroom.
Fez stood up as well. "I too must go to the bathroom," he announced. "Eric?"
Eric whirled around, his eyes wide in surprise and alarm. "Uh, it doesn't work that way with guys," he explained.
Fez nodded in understanding, and left the room.
"Kelso," Hyde asked, "how long are we going to have to deal with the whole 'Jackie' experience?"
"I'd like an answer to that one too," Peter commented.
"Don't worry," Kelso said, grinning. "I'm breaking up with her."
"Never gonna happen," Hyde said immediately.
"It's over!" Kelso said, raising his hands. "She's cutting into my free time!"
.
Eric's basement
About an hour later, the six guys found themselves in Eric's basement, once again engaged in 'the Circle', as they had dubbed their favorite pastime.
Peter had to admit; he'd had serious doubts about this when Hyde had first suggested it. But, as it turned out, being a werewolf helped make the Circle easier. Their healing abilities eliminated the harmful side effects of the process, leaving only the good effects. It didn't affect Peter and Nathan nearly as much as it did the others, but it was good enough.
"So, is Red still thinking about giving you the car, maybe?" Hyde asked, sniffling repeatedly.
"Well, he better get it, or guess who isn't going to the concert this weekend?" Peter said, chuckling sarcastically.
Kelso sniggered, an idiotic grin plastered across his face. "Even if we do get it, we're gonna need some serious gas money, 'cause the Cruiser's a boat."
"I know it's a boat," Eric said. "Man, this whole gas shortage bites!"
"No kidding," Nathan commented. "Don't you wish there was something else we could use instead of gas? Something easier to get?" He laughed. "But… nah, that's ridiculous."
"Who is getting a boat?" Fez asked, snacking on crackers.
"There is no gas shortage, man, it's all fake!" Hyde claimed. "The oil companies control everything! Like, there was this guy who invented a car that runs on water, man. It's got a fiberglass, air-cooled engine, and it runs on water!"
Fez nodded. "So it is a boat!"
Hyde stared at him for a moment. "No, it's a car. Only you put water in the gas tank instead of gas!" He wheezed with laughter. "And it runs on water, man!"
"Wow, that's awesome!" Peter commented. "How'd you find out about this again?"
Kelso was laughing hysterically, rocking back and forth in his seat with his mouth open and his eyes squeezed shut. "I never heard of this car!" he muttered. "Hey, Jackie's good for gas money."
Eric grinned weakly. "You are such a whore!"
Nathan nearly fell out of his chair laughing.
Fez blinked. "When does the boat get here, whore?" he inquired curiously.
This time, Nathan did fall out of his chair laughing. Peter, Eric and Hyde leaned back in their chairs, in hysterics.
That was when Red's voice boomed out from upstairs. "Eric!" he called.
"Yeah, Dad?" Eric called back.
"I need to talk to you!"
Due to the fact that their hearing could pick up the entirety of the conversation that unfolded upstairs, Peter and Nathan spent the next ten minutes chortling under their breath.
.
Two days later…
Peter and Nathan found themselves in Eric's driveway again, this time to head out for the concert in Milwaukee. Hyde, Fez and Jackie were absent; the rest of the group were going to pick them up on the way. Nathan and Peter had managed to purchase two additional tickets to the concert, so that they could get in without any trouble.
Kelso opened the front door of the Vista Cruiser as Donna walked up.
"Oh, Kelso, that's sweet!" Donna said appreciatively. She started towards the door, but was stopped as Kelso stepped in front of her.
"Uh, excuse me; I'm riding shotgun," Kelso claimed.
"No, you're not!" Donna protested.
"Well, I'm not riding in the back!"
"Why don't we let Eric decide?" Nathan suggested. "It's his car."
"Great idea!" Donna replied. She and Kelso both leaned down, looking across at Eric in the driver's seat.
"Eric?" Kelso asked.
"Kelso!" Eric replied. As Kelso started to climb in, he continued, "Get in the back!"
Kelso almost fell over, and then staggered to his feet. Donna, grinning, slid into the passenger's seat, while Kelso climbed into the back with Peter and Nathan.
"Taking her for a spin, eh?" Red inquired, walking out into the garage.
"Yes, sir," Eric replied.
"Well, have a good time." As Eric started up the car, Red leaned down, placing one hand on the windowsill. "Oh, Eric; one more thing, very important, about the car. She's old, so; no trips out of town. Ever." He smiled. "Understood?"
Eric nodded numbly.
"Good," Red continued. "Have fun!" He turned and strode back into the house.
"Well, I guess that's it; we're not going," Eric said.
"Eric, do you want to go?" Donna said.
"He said no trips out of town!"
"It's your car!" she pressed. "Do you want to go?"
"But… he's God!" Eric protested.
"I think God would want us to go to Milwaukee!" Kelso argued.
Peter chuckled; Nathan grinned.
"Eric, you are a seventeen-year-old man!" Donna put a hand on Eric's shoulder. "I'm going to go with whatever you say. It's your decision."
"It is my decision," Eric reflected. "And my decision is…" He smiled. "We're going to the concert."
"Yeah!" Kelso cheered, as Eric started the car and pulled out of the driveway.
.
"I'm telling you, we're out of gas!" Kelso said miserably, folding his arms over his chest.
"We're not out of gas!" Eric replied.
Nathan and Peter leaned against the car, gazing out into the dark trees. It had been about two hours since they'd left Eric's house. They had picked up Hyde, Fez and Jackie, and had headed out for the concert. It hadn't been easy fitting eight people into a car designed to hold six at most, but they'd been able to make it work. Jackie sat on Kelso's lap, while Nathan, Peter, Hyde and Fez crammed into the remaining space in the backseat. They had barely managed to fit everyone, and they'd been well on the road to the concert when their car had broken down, stranding them at a gas station and repair garage in the middle of the woods.
"It's the battery," the mechanic working on their car reported. "It's six years old and shot to hell."
"I know what; I'll just call my dad," Jackie said, getting out of the car.
"Kelso, tell her," Eric instructed.
"He can't take the car out of town," Kelso explained.
"I'm not calling his dad!" Jackie protested.
"Jackie," Hyde said, "parents talk to each other. About how we screw up."
"Why would they talk about that?" Jackie asked skeptically.
"They can't help it," Eric replied. "Look, say there's a party, see. And all of our parents are there, together."
"'Hi, Red! Say, isn't it great that all of our kids are such good friends?'" Hyde said, imitating a deeper, older voice.
"'Yes, Jackie's dad!'" Kelso said, mimicking Bob's voice. "'They're quite the gang of young people!'"
"'Kitty, I love what you've done with the kitchen!'" Donna said, giving her best impression of Midge's voice.
"'Yes, aqua and yellow?'" Kelso replied in a high-pitched, feminine tone, vaguely similar to Kitty's. "'Blah, blah, blah; yak, yak, yak!'"
"'Speaking of kids,'" Hyde continued in his impersonation of Jackie's dad, "'wasn't it lucky Triple-A pulled Eric's butt out of the fire when he took the car to Milwaukee without your permission?'"
"'What?!'" Eric exclaimed, as Red. "'Why, that twisted little monkey! I'm grounding him for ten years!'"
"'Kids! What're you gonna do?'" Hyde asked.
"'I say we torture them with plenty of pointless rules and advice!'" Eric answered eagerly. All of them burst into laughter.
"'Hey, everybody; let's hustle!'" Donna called in Midge's voice. All four of them – as well as Fez, who seemed fascinated by the whole thing – started dancing, humming to themselves. Peter and Nathan were laughing; Jackie seemed unamused.
"Guys!" she said loudly, snapping them out of it. "We are in the middle of nowhere, and I have to go to the ladies' room." Reaching in through the car window, she removed her purse from inside and started off, but paused. Turning back to the others, she called, "Donna?"
Sighing in irritation, Donna followed her off.
"So, where you going?" the mechanic asked.
"Rundgren concert," Hyde replied casually.
"Cool." The mechanic turned to Eric and Kelso. "So, what; you want a battery? 'Cause I can get you a battery."
"Are they cheap?" Eric asked. "Or, possibly, free?"
"Thirty-two bucks, minimum."
"Oh, great," Peter muttered. "That's all we need."
"All right, I tell you what," Kelso said to the mechanic. "We'll trade you our battery plus five bucks for one of your batteries."
The mechanic smirked. "Well, that's a really sweet deal, my friend. But how about this?" He held up a hand. "How about one battery, for two concert tickets?"
Kelso frowned. "No, we can't give up two tickets."
Shrugging, the mechanic replied, "Okay," and strolled back into the shop.
Eric turned to Kelso, lowering his voice. "Hey, it's either that or none of us go."
"Okay, so who's out?" Kelso asked.
"Well, there's always Jackie!" Hyde commented.
"Well, of course Jackie! I mean, Jackie's gone! But who else?"
Peter exchanged a glance with Nathan. The brothers grinned, both sensing where this was going.
"Oh, I don't know…" Eric suggested. "Jackie's date?"
Kelso took a step back, his eyes and mouth wide open in shock. "Oh, come on! You know I'm breaking up with her! You guys are choking me out!"
"I've had to listen to her for a good hour!" Eric accused him.
"A really long hour!" Fez added.
Kelso sighed, looking away. "God hates me!" he muttered dejectedly, as he pulled out the tickets and handed them to Eric.
As Eric, Hyde and Nathan headed into the garage, Fez walked up to Kelso. "How can you say God hates you?" he questioned. "At least you have a woman's love!" He patted Kelso's shoulder. "Be happy, whore." Not realizing what he'd just said, he turned and walked off to join the others, leaving Kelso staring, dumbstruck, after him.
Peter almost busted a gut laughing.
As he turned away from Kelso, Peter's eyes fell on something. He squinted, taking a few steps forward and focusing on the trees at the edge of the parking lot, about fifty yards away.
Then his eyes widened in shock and fear.
Hovering among the trees, watching him, were a pair of glowing red eyes.
Peter took a step back, feeling his own eyes light up yellow, as his inner wolf pushed at his claws and teeth. A growl rumbled in his throat.
Then, as suddenly as they had come, the red eyes vanished into the darkness.
Peter blinked repeatedly, rubbing his eyes and looking out into the forest, but he couldn't see the eyes any more.
Was that… a werewolf?
Peter almost hoped he'd been seeing things. Because those eyes had been red, which meant that, if a werewolf was out there, it was an Alpha.
That would mean that the local pack knew of their presence.
Peter frowned.
This can't be good.
.
Having never been to a concert before, Peter had no idea what to expect from the Todd Rundgren performance. But he definitely wasn't disappointed.
Peter found himself standing among a crowd of cheering fans, most of whom were waving lit lighters back and forth as if they were candles to the beat of the music playing on stage. Nathan was on his left, and Hyde was on his right. Eric, Donna and Fez were to Hyde's right, along with the mechanic from the garage (whose name was Randy, apparently), and a friend that he'd brought along.
The exchange had gone off perfectly; in exchange for two concert tickets, the car was fully up and running within twenty minutes.
Peter hadn't been able to tell Nathan about the glowing eyes he'd seen, because they hadn't had any time alone since the mechanic's garage.
I'll tell him as soon as we get home, Peter decided.
In the meantime, he intended to enjoy himself.
"Hey, guys!" Fez said to Eric. "Randy's date is a man!"
Donna shrugged. "I'm okay with it!"
"Me too," Peter added.
"We are so cool to be okay with it!" Eric said, grinning.
"I have to go to the bathroom," Randy said, standing up. He started down the row towards one of the exits, but turned to his friend. "Kevin?"
The other man nodded, standing up and following him.
Fez turned to Eric, frowning in puzzlement.
"I'll explain later," Eric answered.
.
The concert was finally over, and everyone else had been dropped off at home. Eric and Donna lay on the hood of the Vista Cruiser, which was parked in Eric's driveway.
"What a great night!" Eric said softly. "You know, it's amazing what one act of civil disobedience can do for you. I mean, there's a whole world that's waiting to be driven to. We could go to… Canada! We've got a new battery; what's stopping us?"
"You know, I think Canada closes at 9:30," Donna replied. Eric chuckled, and they remained silent for a moment.
"You know, I never would've done this if you hadn't talked me into it," Eric stated.
"I didn't talk you into anything," Donna replied.
After another long moment of silence, Donna murmured, "Well, I think I'm gonna call it a day." She rose to her feet and hopped off of the car. "Good night."
"Night," Eric said, sliding over and lying down near the edge of the hood, in the spot where she'd been sitting. He lay back and closed his eyes, tucking his right arm under his head.
After another moment, the sound of quiet footsteps caused him to open his eyes again, seeing that Donna was back. "By the way," she said, "thanks for the ride."
And then – to Eric's absolute astonishment – she bent down and kissed him.
Slowly, Eric sat up, his eyes wide in surprise. "What was that for?" he asked.
"I just… wanted to see what it was like," Donna explained.
"Oh." Eric was quiet for a moment; then he added, "What was it like?"
Donna smiled. "You were there."
"Well, I wasn't ready for it!" Eric protested.
"What would you have done differently?"
"I don't know… something with my lips?"
Donna's grin widened. "Sounds good. Let's try that next time." She turned and walked back towards her house again.
"When exactly is next time?" Eric inquired.
"Good night!" Donna called over her shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm really going to sleep after that!" Eric muttered to himself. He leaned back onto the hood of the Vista Cruiser, breathing in the cold night air.
And he smiled faintly.
.
Peter and Nathan sat in their living room, in front of the fireplace.
"You're sure?" Nathan asked. "You're sure that's what you saw?"
"Positive," Peter replied. "Glowing red eyes, in the trees at the edge of the parking lot. It was an Alpha, no question." He sighed. "Unless I hallucinated it."
"Considering that there's a large, well-established pack of werewolves living in this town," Nathan said grimly, "I don't think you were hallucinating."
Standing up, the older Hale brother crossed the room and looked out of the window. "Whatever the reason, there was an Alpha following us. Which means we're not safe. And neither is anyone close to us."
"We knew that already," Peter remarked.
"Yes, but there's a difference," Nathan replied. "Now they know we're here."
.
As Eric began to drift off to sleep, still on the hood of the Vista Cruiser, he heard a sound that snapped him out of his doze.
The sound of bushes rustling.
Sitting up, Eric looked down the driveway, just in time to see a dark shape vanish around the corner.
"Donna?" Eric asked, hopping off the hood of the car and standing up. "Is that you?"
There was no response.
"Hello?" Eric muttered nervously, walking down the driveway.
As he reached the end of the driveway, Eric turned his head, looking down the street in both directions. No one was there.
"Hello?" he called out, this time more loudly. "Is someone there?"
Once again, his only answer was silence.
Sighing, Eric turned to head back to the house, but was stopped by a noise; the sound of footsteps on concrete, accompanied by a strange, doglike panting.
Coming from directly behind him.
Eric turned, and his eyes widened in horror.
It was standing on the other side of the street. It was huge, although he couldn't see it particularly well; most of its body was concealed by shadows, and only its glowing red eyes were clearly visible.
And then it charged, moving, impossibly fast, across the street towards him.
Eric didn't waste time screaming; he just turned and ran, bolting up the driveway towards the house.
As he'd expected, he wasn't remotely fast enough. Before he could even get halfway up the driveway, it tackled him, knocking him off his feet. Something ripped into his side, like daggers piercing his flesh, and he screamed in pain. He thrashed, lashing out wildly at the thing, and felt it suddenly release him.
Just like that, the creature was gone. Eric lay sprawled in the middle of his driveway, gasping for breath and fighting against a sickening wave of agony.
Weakly, he managed to clamber to his feet and staggered to the back door of the house, clutching at his side. Opening the door, he stumbled into the kitchen, closing and locking the door behind him.
Turning the lights on, he turned his head, examining himself. His shirt was ripped and bloody where it covered the left side of his abdomen.
"Oh, Jesus," Eric breathed. Inhaling through his mouth in an attempt not to register the smell of blood, he unbuttoned his shirt, pulling it gingerly back to expose his left side, and then inhaled sharply in shock.
Clearly visible against his bare skin was a pair of semicircular puncture wounds, still bleeding.
Bite marks.
.
AN: And here we are again. Sorry it's taken me so long to update, but I've had a very busy schedule recently.
Well, as I said, this chapter followed the first episode of That 70's Show with a supernatural twist, which probably didn't become apparent until the last couple of scenes. The plot twist introduced in this chapter should be interesting, and will definitely have a major effect on the story. Let me know what you guys think!
As always, I really appreciate feedback on my writing, so if anyone has any questions or comments regarding this chapter or the story as a whole, please review!
Next chapter, Eric attempts to figure out what's happening to him, and Nathan and Peter make an important discovery… stay tuned!
See you all next time!
