Chapter 9: 1978

Fez gave us a shit eating grin while we lounged around in Eric's basement, "Happy Veteran's Day, now where have you hidden the chocolate eggs?" He looked around the couch and pouted when a couple of us snickered.

It was odd that we were celebrating it so late this year, but to each his or her own. I was just happy that we could have a Veteran's day in March instead of November this year. Sure it was odd, but at least this way we weren't buried up to my knees in snow. Last November was pretty bad, all things considered.

I shook my head and shrugged, "Uh Fez? I don't-"

Steven kissed my mouth firmly before addressing Fez. I gave Steven a dirty look while he gave Fez a mischievous grin, "Uh, they're everywhere, Fez. Start looking."

Fez's eyes lit up as he began to search around the basement for his chocolate treats. The kid was gonna be pretty peeved when he found out that was all just a prank. The boys really needed to give Fez a break; he didn't know what holidays and traditions we had here. He was from wherever, he still hadn't said, and they probably didn't have that there.

I rolled my eyes at Steven and jabbed his shoulder, "So, Steven. Isn't Veteran's Day romantic?"

Steven huffed out and nudged his injured shoulder with mine. He shrugged and let out a wry laugh, "Oh, yeah; government pawns and missing limbs."

A smile slowly snaked its way onto my lips, "That's amore."

Michael popped out of his seat, his face lighting up with a probably new dumb idea, "I know, I know! Hey, let us throw stuff at other stuff."

Eric looked up from the TV screen and cheekily grinned, "Man, that's perfect. I've got stuff."

They both got up and high fived before chorusing in tandem, "Let's do it!" Both boys scurried out of the basement with Fez tailing after them muttering about how sneaky we all were at hiding chocolate.

Steven shook his head at their display and tilted his head towards me. I pecked his lips and bit my lower lip. I looked at him with big eyes and a pout, "So, Mr. Forman's barbecue?" I really hoped my imitation of a puppy dog look would work. I really wanted to go to a barbecue today, although the prospect of large crowds did turn me off.

Steven raised his brow and quirked his mouth into a crooked grin, "Sure, Lin. They'll probably pull us into doing some of the work though."

I shrugged bonelessly and quipped, "I love barbecues though."

Steven rolled his eyes and pulled me in closer to his chest while he sighed, "I know you do. Is the Rolling Scones covered?" It always made my heart swell when he thought of the Rolling Scones as our store. It made me feel like we were really working as a team.

I nodded happily, "Yup." I was fairly sure it was being covered today.

Steven let out a thoughtful hum before nodding and smirking at me, "Mhmm. Well, I don't see why we can't go then."

I broadly smiled and nuzzled Steven's neck, "Thank you, Steven."

Steven lowly muttered, "I love you too, Lin." I could feel his neck and face get warmer while I continued to nuzzle him.

Donna let out a snort when I looked up. She flipped through another one of her magazines and shook her head, "You guys are disgustingly sweet."

Steven shrugged and smugly smiled, "Psh. Big Red, you just wish you and Eric had what we had."

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"Hey guys look! I'm Paul Stanley from KISS," Michael attached the long piece of cheese onto his tongue while he imitated rocking out.

Red dropped the box of barbecue stuff onto the table where Michael was goofing around. He glared at Michael and snapped, "Kelso, don't play with the cheese." He turned to Kitty and muttered, "These damn kids. They don't respect anything American."

Kitty placed down a bunch of paper plates and plastic cups beside Red's box. She sighed and chastised him slightly, "Oh, Red, this isn't about the kids misusing dairy products. You're still upset that Bob marched in our late Veteran's Day parade."

Red unloaded his box with a huff, "Well, he was only in the National Guard. It's called Veteran's Day not Pansy-ass, National Guard Wussy, Pansy-ass Day." He unloaded the rest of his stuff and tugged at his uniform collar. I personally thought that he should've changed before we started unloading all this stuff. I set up a couple plastic chairs here and there while Steven set up a table for the punch and other drinks.

Kitty rolled her eyes and gave him a patient look, "Oh, come on, Red. Are any dirty Commies less dead because of him?"

Red let out a deep long suffering sigh as he tugged on his uniform's collar again, "No, I guess not. You're right, Kitty. You know, I'm gonna put away this uniform, and then we'll fire up that grill."

Kitty nodded and kissed him chastely before he left to go upstairs and change. I smiled at their exchange and bumped into someone.

I clutched the small box of napkins I was holding and looked up. I let out a relieved sigh and smiled, "Oh, hi Mr. Pinciotti."

Bob's frown melted off his face as he glanced down at me. He smiled slightly and nodded, "Hey, there Lin. Thanks for buying that cash register from me last week. It really helped."

I frowned, pulling my brows together in slight confusion, "You're welcome?" I walked away from him at this point because I couldn't clue into how it really helped when his business was about to close down soon any ways. Maybe I pushed it off a couple days? I shrugged slightly and placed the box of napkins on the drink table.

Red clambered back into the backyard while Kitty started getting the salad, and other food for our barbecue ready on one of the buffet tables. Kitty glanced at Bob and smiled at him slightly.

Bob walked over to the barbecue and nervously stated, "So um hey, Red. Some parade, huh?"

Red got the grill up and ready and poked around the cooler nearby, probably double checking that all the correct meat was there, "Yeah, sure was, till the National Guard got there." He looked up and made a face at that thought.

Bob schooled his face into an impassive look and cleared his throat, "Look, I just came over to invite you to my barbecue."

Red stopped his rummaging and gaped at him in total indignation, "Your barbecue?"

It was a well-known tradition that after Veteran's Day, late or not, most of our neighborhood would head over to the Forman's for barbecue, beer, and whatever else Kitty; and eventually I, had whipped up. No one else in our neighborhood would do that. So I could totally get Red's total shock at this proclamation.

Bob nodded hesitantly while Red took a calming deep breath before squaring his jaw, "Bob, I have an annual barbecue every Veteran's Day. This has been going on for years. You know this Bob. Everyone knows this. It's my day because I'm a veteran."

"Well, I'm a veteran too. And I'm having a barbecue, and you can't stop me," Bob puffed out his chest and angrily marched out of the Forman's backyard and towards his. I shook my head while Steven came over giving me a tight hug. This was going to be chaos.

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The sun shone down on us while a cool breeze wafted in, carrying the wondrous smell of frying meat. People streamed into the Forman's backyard in almost the same amount in comparison to Bob's barbecue party. Steven handed Mrs. Burbank her burger, "Here you go. Enjoy your burger."

"And thank you for choosing the Formans for your Veteran's Day celebration needs," I cheerily added while I handed another barbecue goer a hot dog. I wiped away the sweat that dripped down my forehead and sighed. I really wished it would rain soon again.

She gladly took the burger sweetly smiling at us, "Thanks Steven-dear, Lin-sweetheart. If you ever need more incense…"

Steven wearily chuckled and shook his head rapidly, "No, I'm okay for now Mrs. Burbank, but thank you."

She waved away his comment and grinned winking at us, "No worries, dears. No worries." She then proceeded to wander off into the throng of people in the Forman's backyard.

Red glanced up from the grill and grumpily asked, "Kitty, why does it seem like everybody else is over at Bob's?"

Kitty finished up making another round of finished burgers, sliding them towards where Steven and I sat. She glanced at Red and shrugged, "They've got chicken."

Red let out a barking laugh, "Chicken? Well, isn't that a surprise? A National Guardsman serving up chicken. He's not gonna get away with this." Red turned towards Eric and snapped, "Eric, chop up some onions and mix it in with the meat."

"Why can't we just put the onions on top of the burger?" Eric took the onions that were already out and stared at them pensively.

Red rolled his eyes and hissed, "Eric, do you want to win this thing or don't you?" He flipped the other burgers that had already been prepared while he glared daggers at Bob's fence.

Eric sighed and pulled out the onions and brought over the meat that we had stuck into the cooler, "Okay, not-crazy Dad." He was really lucky Red was too busy in his competition with Bob to really pay attention to his sass.

Eric chopped up the onions and quickly began stirring them into the meat. Donna popped up and whispered, "Eric, can I talk to you?" A distressed look was clearly visible on her face.

Eric quickly chopped up another onion and gave Donna an apologetic smile, "Uh, not really, Donna. I got to bust hump. My dad wants to crush your dad's barbecue."

Donna's expression darkened as she snapped, "What? Why?"

Eric, oblivious to her change in mood, continued on talking while he mixed the onions with the meat, "Well, apparently, my dad believes that if your dad's barbecue is better than his America will fall to the Russkies." Eric paused and bonelessly shrugged.

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe my dad's barbecue is really important to him?" Donna hissed glaring at Eric like he was the worst person in the world.

I glanced over at Donna and raised my brow. I inwardly sighed, this didn't seem like it should've been such a big deal. I really didn't get why Bob couldn't have had his party earlier, especially since he knew how important this day was to Red. He didn't even march in the parade last year, so I didn't quite know why he wanted to this year. Sometimes I doubted how much Bob really thought things through, especially when he did this.

And on the other hand, it always amazed me at how childish Donna lashed out sometimes. It was a stark reminder that the people that I was "growing up" with were still kids. This was always kind of depressing to think about. Into the Nope box you go.

Eric quirked a brow before proceeding to make a couple burger patties; he snorted, "Uh, no because it's just a stupid barbecue."

Donna reeled back as if she had been physically slapped and venomously snapped, "It's not stupid. I'm so sick of your dad. He's such a jerk."

Red was a jerk sometimes, but this was not a valid reason to call him one. Donna was totally out of line. I bristled while I handed out another burger to another party goer. Steven put a steadying hand on my shoulder while he shot Donna a dark look. I was glad that we were just eavesdropping. This way I didn't have a valid reason to slap Donna across her stupid fucking face.

One of the random party goers handed me a cookie with a red, white, and blue napkin after I had given them a hot dog. I gave them a halfhearted smile, more interested in eavesdropping than being a good neighbor right now.

Eric paused and stiffened. When he spoke next his tone became eerily steely, "My dad's a jerk? Well, Donna, your dad's a huge jerk for more reasons than this, and he's just copying my dad. And your dad didn't even fight in the war. You're just a National Guard kid."

I inwardly twitched. Okay. That was a little harsh. Steven let out a sigh and shook his head. I liked to think that he was silently agreeing with my inner comment.

Donna's cheeks flushed red and she gritted out, "What?"

Eric narrowed his eyes and snapped, "Yeah, I said it."

Donna took a breath and jerked away from Eric. She looked back at him; a flash of betrayal streaking across her face, "Oh, yeah? Well, you and Red are going down. And you know what else? I was wrong, Eric. Red's not a jerk. He's an ass, and you're an ass. 'Cause the ass doesn't fall far from the ass tree." She stomped away, and made sure to aggressively push anyone that was in her way.

I sighed and shook my head at her disappearing back. Sometimes I really wanted to smack Donna in the face, or just shake her really hard. When I glanced back at Eric, I could see that he was conflicted. He looked like he was torn from running after her, and yelling a probably rushed poorly thought out insult.

I inched over to Red and showed him the napkin that I had recently acquired, "Bad news, Mr. Forman. The Pinciottis have these."

Red inspected the napkin and scowled down at it before turning a dark glare towards the Pinciotti's backyard. He hissed under his breath, "Red, white and blue napkins? That clever S. O. B. and I cheaped out and went for the plain white."

Eric frowned and finished up his designated task, "So what, now we surrender?"

"Surrender? You know, if this were an actual war, you'd be the first in a body bag. We don't surrender. We just fight harder," Red sighed and shook his head before straightening to his full height. He shot the Pinciotti's fence a heated glare before going back and attending his grill with a determined furious air.

"Yes, sir. I'm gonna go refill the ketchups," Eric mock saluted and wandered over to the ketchup bottles near the food table.

Donna glared at us from her fence as Steven shook his head. He glanced at the mad hubbub that was going around us and tapped my shoulder.

I glanced at him and he pulled me away from my grill duties. He shoved my spatula at an offended Laurie, and pulled me along with him. I let out a slight squeak, "Steven?"

I stumbled along after him as he fast walked out of the Forman's backyard towards our home. I hastily undid the knot the held my apron against me. Once we made it to our drive way Steven abruptly stopped and huffed.

He glanced back at the loud competitive party between the Forman's and the Pinciotti's and scowled, "We're going on a freakin' date instead of staying at this circus."

A giggle escaped my mouth while I shrugged and I rolled my eyes, "It's a Veteran's Day miracle."

Steven threaded his fingers through is entirely too curly hair before smirking down at me, "Yup. They're getting way too outta hand."

I slipped off the apron and wrapped my arms around Steven's waist, "You're telling me." He dropped a lingering kiss on the top of my head and let out a tired sigh. Internally, I wondered what had Steven in Mopesville.

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We drove fast and far away from the Veteran Day festivities all the way up to Point Place Peak, after we had stopped over to get some takeout from Fatzo Burger. The setting sun slowly descended, bathing the trees, our car, and us in a soft warm yellow light. While we ate our respective meals, Gordon Lightfoot's song "If You Could Read My Mind" played on in the background filling our silence with a pretty sweet song.

I popped my last french fry into my mouth and snorted, "So, this is the best date ever."

Steven let out a chuckle and clucked, "Lin, we haven't talked in 30 minutes." To be fair, we had spent that time eating, so he really couldn't fault me for not saying anything. Besides, he didn't really initiate any conversation starters either.

I sipped on my Tab soda and nodded before stating, "That's okay. Steven, you don't have to say anything. I get you."

"Yeah?" Steven raised his brow as his lips quirked ever so slightly. I beamed at him before nodding.

A couple minutes passed on by with just the radio and nature filling the pregnant pause. I looked towards the sunset and muttered, "Sure. You're bummed out that the Forman's and the Pinciottis are fighting because family shouldn't do that. It's one of those things that really messes with you, and that's why we left. Otherwise, we would've waited for our bi-weekly date night next week. Besides that-"

Steven barked out a laugh, "Lin."

I shot him a slightly amused and slightly irritated look, "Hush. Sometimes you just need time to process things and silence is good. It's not like it was an uncomfortable silence any ways." I sipped on my Tab soda some more, and leaned against his shoulder while I watched the setting sun dance even lower on the horizon. It was turning out to be a pretty nice afternoon especially since it had finally cooled down some.

Steven leaned his head against mine before letting out a tired sigh, "Damn. Thanks Lin."

I offered him a crooked smile and muttered, "No problem." I shook my half full soda, "Want some?"

Steven leaned back and chuckled taking my soda, "Sure. So our date's almost over."

I leaned my head against his shoulder and stared up at the darkening sky. The stars started twinkling and blinking back at us as more cool air started blowing in. I hummed quietly with the song that played in the background, "Yeah. What'd you think?"

Steven loudly slurped the rest of my soda and barked out a laugh, "It was no worse than bowling, and I don't hate bowling."

I giggled, and soon enough we made out like it was the first time we had ever gotten some privacy. More laughter escaped from my mouth as Steven tickled my sides, which just made me snort out laughs harder in between kisses. We leaned our foreheads together on the hood of his El Camino again, and grinned at one another. This had been a great idea.

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People streamed in and out of the Rolling Scones as steadily as the sunshine did throughout the day. I bit my lip now and again and paced in my office on my break. No one had answered the adverts for the new positions I had in my store. Sure, our business was booming, but I could see the fatigue that started to wear down on Mabel, Leo, and Brooke. Plus I couldn't keep using my friends as pastry paid labor.

I popped my head out of the office and started helping out by taking out the products for the front of the store from the ovens. I saw that Leo looked a little worn today and worriedly asked, "You doing okay?"

Leo flashed me a bushed smile while he wiped the perspiration off of his brow, "Yeah, boss-lady. It would be nice with some extra hands though. The crowd seems bigger than usual today."

Mabel let out a snort, "That's an understatement. Have you seen all the screaming women outside?"

Brooke let out a sarcastic laugh, "I hope it isn't a zombie apocalypse."

I rolled my eyes and laughed while I helped Leo restock the display fridge, "Nope. Probably not." At least, I really hoped that it wasn't that. A little part of me still believed that anything could happen, especially when I considered how I ended up with this life.

More and more people kept crowding the store. It was starting to freak me out even though our profits were up. It seemed like this was becoming a downright madhouse. Soon enough we came upon a surprising bunch of customers that pushed past all the screaming people. I had to double take because it seemed as though the Rolling Stones were in my store. It did explain the mass amount of screaming women though, to my relief.

I wiped my sweating hands on my apron as my other patrons craned their heads at the group that had entered. Their burly intimidating body guard was a pretty good deterrent to the people that looked a little crazed.

Leo popped his head out of the entrance to the backroom kitchen, and steadily watched the hubbub. I could hear Mabel jittering about making everyone's drinks. I didn't know how to comfort her since I was freaking out just as much as she was, well internally anyways.

Brooke shot me a gaping look as I pulled myself out of my slouch, gulping down a deep breath. I shook of my jitters. I could do this. They were just regular people too. Right? Right. Pretend they're normal. I pulled on a weak smile, "Hello! Welcome to the Rolling Scones. How can we help you today?"

Mick Jagger smiled at me. I almost shrieked in glee at that point, but I managed to hold it together. He looked at the others and motioned one of his other body guards over, "Gimme a camera, Don. This one looks a little faint and we can't have that if we want a picture with the bird that owns this place."

I felt faint as I gulped again, "That's wonderful. Can my employees be in it too?" I felt Brooke make tiny jumps on the balls of her feet as she clung to my arm. I spotted Leo nervously coming out to the front to stand with the rest of us.

Kieth Richards shot me a cheeky grin, "Sure, love. The more the merrier." He winked at Mabel and I swear it looked like she was going to faint. I felt like I was going to fall over too. This seemed way too surreal.

Ronnie Wood pipped in, "Can we have some of those Rolling Scones we heard about though?"

"And that frappuccino that bloke, Barnett, kept talking about," Charlie Watts added in after a pregnant pause.

I think they might've been talking about Steven's biological father. How he managed to pass the word along to them, I didn't know. Internally, I noted that I really had to thank Mr. Barnett for doing this. I would definitely be giving him drinks on the house though, along with a box of pastries of his choice. Maybe that would be enough of a thank you.

We hurriedly got their orders together and took a picture with them. It was one of the most memorable moments in my store thus far. I could believe Steven missed this. They stayed only for a brief while after they had stated that it really was as great as that 'bloke' said.

Everyone eventually dispersed after the band departed, but I bet we would get mounds more of business from this. I really hoped so because even with the extra work load, it still meant that I could keep this place open when every other store around us kept going on about possibly closing.

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I combed a brush through my hair and tilted my head towards Steven. He was propped up against our headboard, just staring into space. I wondered what he might have been thinking so hard about. I inwardly shrugged and bumped his shoulder slightly, "So the Rolling Stones visited our store earlier today."

I was going to put that photo we took together in a nice frame by our menu board. It'd be the coolest thing ever. Take that the HUB. I bet you didn't have someone as famously cool as the Rolling Stones eating at your place. My vengeance would be swift against Frank.

Steven quirked a brow and let out a baffled laugh, "No, seriously?" Hah. He thinks I'm joking.

I grinned and nodded, snuggling into his shoulder, before murmuring, "Yup. It was a hell of a day at the store today. I've never seen so many screaming women in a bakery before. On the plus side, I got them to take a picture with all of us. They all seemed to really like our scones and frappuccinos."

Steven pulled away and searched my face before he grumbled, "God damn it. I had detention today. I could've been there if that stupid teacher hadn't held me back." He looked entirely put out.

I snorted out a laugh as I patted his shoulder, "Yeah, you really missed something pretty cool. What'd you do to land in detention anyways?"

He let out a bitter laugh, "I got caught trying to skip out on class to get to the Rolling Scones. Stupid coach caught me."

I nodded and sighed as I pulled him back against me. I rubbed his arm and lay a light kiss on his shoulder, "Damn. You getting rusty, honey?"

The frown on his face faded as he let out a snort, "No, the Man is just getting sharper. I just have to out think them more next time, especially since cool stuff happens when I'm not there."

A small soft smile pulled onto my lips as a comfortable silence fell between us. I yawned and felt him kiss my neck slowly, "They were really nice."

I felt him smile against me, "Yeah?"

I tilted my head and hummed, "Mhmm." Feeling him lying next to me always seemed to lull me into this warm sort of comfort.

"I'm kind of bummed about that," Steven stated and pulled me on top of him. I straddled his hips and rose a brow, "Yeah?" I guess sleeping wasn't the only thing he wanted right now.

He nodded and smirked, "Wanna help me feel better?"

I let out laugh and kissed him firm before simply stating, "Yeah. I can do that."

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I was helping Steven with Leo's FotoHut while the guys, with a recently vising Annette, had gone up on some icy retreat. I was a little miffed that we weren't invited, but Michael had said something about him gaining back his lady love and not being able to mimic two disgusting couples. I inwardly scowled at that thought. Stupid Michael.

The FotoHut's store bell jangled and I looked up to see Leo wander in. He looked a little dazed. I inwardly sighed. How had he not gone out of business with how he ran this place? I shook my head and tended to the photos that we had sent him earlier in the week. I giggled and saw that Leo had blinked mid picture. I put our pictures away in an envelope and tended to the next batch of photos. People bustled through and the line seemed to only get longer.

I smiled and handed the little old lady, Midge I think, her photos, "Thank you, ma'am. That'll be $2.60."

"Thank you, sweetie. Such a nice polite girl; have a treat," she smiled and handed me the exact change and a neatly wrapped peppermint.

I pulled back a snorting laugh and nodded, "You're very welcome. Have a good day!" She shuffled out of the packed store as Leo made his way up to the till.

Steven let out a relieved sigh, "Leo, man, glad you're here. We've been really busy."

I charged the next person in line and gently informed them that the signs had been misprinted. They were nice enough about it, especially when I gave them a free brownie. I was glad that I had packed extra for me and Steven to munch on. I was doubly glad that I stopped Steven from making a batch of his special brownies today.

Leo looked around the packed store before nodding as he flashed us a crooked grin, "Oh, yeah? Your wife's helping today?"

Steven shot me a slight smile after he shot Leo an exasperated look, "Eh…you could call her that."

I snorted and rolled my eyes when I caught wind of their conversation. Leo constantly did that. I still inwardly shivered in delight at Steven's admission though, even if we both knew we weren't married…yet.

I shook those thoughts out of my head, and took in another person's order for their photos. The cute little kid wanted his birthday pictures printed out. He had dimples. If I could make his orders free, I would.

Leo barked out a laugh, "I guess my "buy one, get one free" flyer is really bringing in the business."

Steven scowled and pulled up one of Leo's flyers, "That's 'cause you forgot the "buy one" part." I nodded and flashed him a strained smile while I tended to another confused customer. We had a lot of damage control to do especially since we couldn't take down all of his Goddamn flyers.

Leo's eyes widened as he let out a small gasp, "Oh, no." He made a face and pulled his closed sign at the door, which would hopefully stem the tide of the incoming customers. They were thinning out at this rate, in any case.

After we had finally gotten to the last customer, Leo walked over and let out a blissful sigh, "Man, I need you guys to give me a ride over to my cousin Larry's."

Steven swept up as I pulled out our remaining brownies onto a nearby counter, "Why can't you drive? I'm pretty I saw your car parked down the street a little while ago."

He shot us a sheepish smile, "I can't drive since my license got suspended."

Steven stopped his sweeping and pressed the heel of his hand onto his forehead. He let out a tired sigh, "What'd you do, man?"

I picked up a brownie and shot him a chastising look, "Oh Leo, why?"

Leo's eyes brightened and he made little grabby motions with his hands, "Oh! Are those brownies for everyone?"

I pulled on a cheeky grin and offered him the brownie, "Yeah, you can have one once you tell us what happened."

He happily accepted the proffered pastry and explained his situation, "Sure, little lady. I dropped it in some soda, you know? And it just hung there, suspended. And then when I was looking at it, I ran a red light."

Steven slapped his forehead and I just sighed. Was Leo doing acid now too? Sometimes I really wondered why he kept doing drugs and driving. There was probably some underlying cause, so I really shouldn't be judging. I couldn't help it though.

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We all stood around and stared at Eric while he tinkered with his new surround sound stereo for his car. Steven sighed and leaned against the passenger door with me in his arms. Donna scowled as the Quinn's new dog started barking up a storm, again. I think it might be that stray fat cat that kept taunting him. I sighed and shook my head.

Michael stood up from his sitting position near the garage and whined, "Where's the tunes, Forman? You promised us mind blowing tunes." We all nodded and made sounds of varying degrees of irritation.

Eric let out an irritated sigh, "Just hang on, you guys. Just one more wire here." He ducked back into the car after shooting us a tired glare. I peeked at what he was doing and sighed. He should've just asked his dad for help. I doubted that Red would've really minded...well that much any ways.

Fez tapped his cowboy booted heel and frankly stated, "I learned how to speak English faster than this." Eric flipped him the finger and continued on working. Fez let out an insulted sound and huffed.

Michael rolled his eyes and snorted, "Fez, it's not real English when you speak it with a foreign accent. Geez."

I shot Michael an aggravated look, "That was rude, Michael."

Michael shrugged and pouted unapologetically, "It's true though."

Donna rolled her eyes and simply stated, "Not really, Kelso. An accent is an accent, and English is still English with one."

Steven snorted, "And hey, at least it's an accent we can understand."

Fez beamed at us and preened, "Oh. I love you guys."

Steven sighed and waved away his thanks, "Whatever, man."

The radio blasted out of Eric's car and drowned out the Quinn's dog's sporadic barking. Eric straightened up and grinned at our astounded looks. He waved to his car and shouted, "Aren't these the coolest?"

I raised my brow and tilted my hand in a meh gesture. He pouted at me and looked at everyone else's reactions. Steven sighed and I could feel that he wasn't all that impressed with these speakers since he just ignored Eric's question.

Donna's smile seemed a little strained when she came over to give him a hug. I think she may have whispered something before waving goodbye to us. I couldn't really make anything out with all the rock music pounding out of Eric's new speakers. Would this be a cause to call the cops because of noise pollution? Meh. Nah.

Michael tilted his head and yelled, "I can't hear you."

Fez bopped his head along with the beat as he grinned excitedly.

Eric beamed at Michael and Fez after smugly smiling at me and Steven, "I know. They're the greatest speakers ever." I snorted inwardly. That was a bit of an exaggeration.

Red stalked out of the house and roared, "Eric!"

I winced at the angry look on Red's face. Was the noise that bad?

Eric scrambled into his car and turned off the radio. He pulled on a contrite look and gulped, "Oh. Hey, Dad. Sorry. Didn't see you there."

He shot him a dark look and pulled his lips into a deeper frown, "Well, I guess that's 'cause you were too busy making an ass of yourself."

Eric furrowed his brows and shook his head before scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably, "Uh, actually I was trying out my new speakers. What do you think?"

Red popped his head into the Cruiser and examined the aforementioned speakers. He straightened up and shook his head, "New speakers? What was wrong with the old ones? Those were genuine G. M. Parts."

Eric let out an awkward laugh and clicked his tongue, "These are louder."

Red rolled his eyes and shot Eric an irritated look, "Well, just keep your monkey music turned down. There are other people around you. Now, go grab your smock. I need an extra hand at the shop today." While he was walking past us, a wane smile pulled onto his face, "Hello sweetheart. Hi Steven."

I waved at him and pulled out a chocolate tootsie roll, "Hi, Mr. Forman." The sides of his eyes crinkled as he took the tootsie roll blithely.

Steven lifted up a hand, "Hi Red."

The others soon split when it Eric left to go get ready to help his dad while Steven and I made our way to our house so we could get ready for work. I was interviewing people for the two extra positions in my store while Steven was running the FotoHut solo for Leo again.

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I sat in my office and reviewed the only decent applicants that I had. If these two got through their interviews alright, then I would have to call back everyone else that had applied. It seemed like the right thing to do to apologize about the filled positions since so many people had applied this week.

I flipped through Big Rhonda's resume and pegged her as a cashier. From the times that I had seen her, I knew that she could be slightly intimidating. Slightly intimidating was good since it kept the customers…what was the word? Calm? No…tame? Whatever. Charlie Davison looked a lot like Eric on his resume so I would just slot him as the extra barista. If he was anything like Eric in real life, the cashier position would just stress him out.

I hummed to myself. This would work out. Now I just had to wait for them to come in for their interviews.

Two o'clock came by and I heard a timid knock on my door. It was a little weird since I had expected Big Rhonda's personality to reflect her nickname; big and with oodles of confidence. I kind of expected her to do a loud or quirky knock. Was that weird? Whatever.

I cleared my throat and straightened up in my chair, "Come in!"

She came in and shot me a beaming smile; her dimples were deep and adorable. She seemed really tall and I idly wondered if it was because I was sitting or if she was just naturally that tall. Her dark blonde hair curled inwards and made her hair kind of look like a strange looking bowl. Her big red glasses reminded me of the ones that I used to wear in my last life. This alone, bought her extra brownie points with me.

When she sat down on the chair in front of my desk, I noticed that she only really seemed big boned and not the other kind of big that the others had insinuated. I didn't really know her that well, but I don't think that her nickname suited her. Well from what I knew of her, this wasn't that much. The only real interaction that I had with her was that one time at the pharmacy when they had mixed up our inhalers. She was really nice about the whole thing, and I guessed that she was still pretty nice.

She sat primly on the chair and let her hands rest on her black floral skirt. I really liked that skirt. Would it be weird if your potential boss asked where you got a skirt? Yeah. I probably shouldn't ask that. I shook off my rambling thoughts and gently smiled at her, "It's nice to meet you Miss Collins." I extended my hand across my desk.

She took my hand and gave me a gentle handshake, "It's nice to see you too, Ms. Burkhart. I have to admit, I didn't know you ran this place." She let out a nervous laugh. Yeah. I guess I had that effect on all my employees when the saw how young I was. I hoped that would change someday because it was, frankly, getting kind of weird.

I chuckled and took my hand back as I shrugged, "Yeah. Most people are pretty surprised, but I am quite adept at running the Rolling Scones. So why should I hire you?"

Rhonda straightened up in her seat and hummed quietly for a moment, "I love sweets and I'm really good with people. I'm not afraid to work hard, and I can be a good team member that will help this company in any way that I can, if I can get the chance to do so."

I grinned. She gave me good vibes and I already wanted to hire her so far, but it would only be fair to the others if I asked her a couple more questions. Just to be fair, of course, "Tell me about yourself."

I honestly did want to get to know her a bit better even if she did give me good vibes. I just wanted to make sure her appearances weren't deceptive. The last girl I interviewed for this job looked nice, but when I asked the others what she was really like, she had apparently been a real bitch to them as a customer.

Rhonda leaned back and shot me a sheepish smile, "I'm 17. I go to Point Place high. I really like to read, swim, and go to festivals. I have two baby brothers, twins. They're nine this year. I originally came from Mississippi and we moved here when my dad got transferred to this Police Station."

I hummed happily listening to her. It was neat to know that she had twin little brothers and her dad was a cop. I idly wondered what her mom did as work. Was she a homemaker like a lot of the older women here? Or was she part of the group that had jobs? "That's really cool. What does your mom do?" I was too curious not to ask.

A queer look pulled onto Rhonda's face as she answered my question, "My mom died when I was 14 because of a drunk driver..."

I inwardly whacked my head with my hand. I gave her a sympathetic smile, "I'm so sorry for bringing it up." Damn it. Me and my big mouth.

She pulled on a watery smile and shook her head, "No. It's okay. You didn't know."

I nodded and noted that down on my notepad. It was an interesting tidbit. I wondered what people did for fun in Mississippi. I looked up, "Alright. You're resume looks awesome, your references all had good things to say about you, and the reference letter from your principle was glowing. Do you have any questions for me?" As far as I was concerned, she had the job as the extra cashier if she wanted it.

Rhonda composed herself and bit her lip, "What's the pay like? Are there any benefits? What's the schedule like and what position am I qualified for?"

I blinked repeatedly and then barked out a laugh. I liked her. I grinned and ticked off my fingers, "Well, the pay is $3.12/hour and the each shift is composed of 8 hours. This position is a full time position and our hours are from 10 am till 6 pm. We're open 7 days a week. Everyone's days off alternate so we don't get exhausted. Me and my boyfriend, Steven, switch out with the others doing various jobs to help give people a breather. Sometimes my friends help as well, when they feel up to it. The benefits are medical, dental, and optical all totaling $100. That $100 accumulates each month if it hasn't been used. Lastly, I think you'd be perfect as our other cashier, if you'd like the job that is."

Rhonda vibrated in her chair and suddenly lunged at me from across the desk. I froze as still as a statue, as she tightly squeezed me into a suffocating hug. I awkwardly patted her back as she finally released me. She looked a little teary when she sat back down into her chair, "Thank you. I'd love to have the job."

I nodded and slipped out some papers that she needed to sign along with the financial documents, "So just sign all this and get your bank to fill this out. It's a direct deposit form for your pay cheque. The schedule is posted right beside the sign in and out station and Brooke will be training you on your first day. What's your availability?"

"I can do Friday's after school and the weekends since my dad is off on those days. Otherwise, my little brothers need me to take care of them. At least for a while yet...is that okay?" she asked meekly. Her brow furrowed deeply as though she thought that admission might cost her the position. Even though it wouldn't lighten our load totally when it came to cashiers, I could understand. I was once among little siblings that needed me when my parents were too busy, in another life. My heart clenched when I thought about them, and I tucked that painful reminder away. Nope. Just Nope.

I nodded and noted it down, "Okay. So, how about you work those days and when they're older say about 10 or so, could you work more?"

Her eyes widened and, I swear it looked like she would tear up. She pulled on a watery smile, "That sounds wonderful."

I gave her a warm smile and patted her hand across from my desk, "No worries. You have a good day. Take a box of macaroons and apple scones for those little brothers of yours on your way out, okay?"

She got up gingerly, and nodded resolutely quietly thanking me again for the job. She was a nice girl and I liked her so far. I think it would work out for the best, even if she couldn't work too much, for now at least.

I finished up the paper work on my new cashier and heard a soft knock on my office door. I glanced up at the clock and found that time had sped by and it was already time for my next appointment. I cleared my desk and pulled up my additional prospective barista. I cleared my throat and called out, "Come in!"

Charlie Davidson gently opened the door and I immediately felt like it was Eric I was looking at. They didn't much look alike, but he exuded the same sort of feel Eric had; kind, wary, and sincere…well for the most part any ways.

I pulled down the smile that was threatening to spring up onto my face, "Hello. Mr. Davidson."

He shot me a surprised look before he took a seat on the chair in front of my desk, "Hello. Ms. Burkhart?"

I quirked my lips and tilted my head, "Yes? What's wrong?" I pulled out my notepad to take notes on my potential future employee.

He cleared his throat and fidgeted slightly, "Well. I didn't think you owned this place, to be honest. You're kind of really young." Charlie let out an awkward laugh.

I chuckled and nodded, "I get that often enough. Just because I'm young, doesn't mean that I can't run this place well. Now, how are you?"

He nodded and pulled himself up to sit straighter in his chair, "Ah. I'm doing quite well, thank you. How are you?"

I smiled at him, "Good. Good. Now why should I hire you?"

He looked thoughtful and sat there silently for a minute or so before he simply said, "You should hire me because I can bring a positive attitude to this team. Besides that, I can work hard and every day since I just recently graduated high school, so I don't really have any obligations that'll stop me from doing all that I can do here. My dad and mom are busy traveling since they retired from owning the grocery store."

I nodded and hummed, "I see. Was it the grocery store that used to be where K-Mart was?"

He chuckled and nodded, "Yeah. They weren't too happy about it at first, but K-Mart was pretty generous when they bought the land out from under mom and pop."

I noted that down. It was neat to know that. I had always been fond of Mr. and Mrs. Davidson. They had always given me a fair price for meat and vegetables before they closed up shop. I didn't know that they had a son though. That was neat. "Well alright. What do you like best about the Rolling Scones."

Charlie beamed at me, "It has the best frappuccinos and I absolutely love the cinnamon buns. It's the only place in town that has really good baked goods for a good price. This is where me and my family get our bread and other baked goods, actually." He let out an awkward laugh.

I grinned at his admission, "I'm happy to help, so tell me a little bit more about yourself." He seemed like an intriguing fellow. From what I recalled his dad was friends with Red, old war buddies.

He nodded and fidgeted slightly, "Well. I'm 18 and I managed to graduate early from Point Place High this year. I had all the credits that I needed and I didn't really want to stick around." He shrugged helplessly. I wondered if he was picked on at school. That was one of the reasons why I left that place as fast as I could. I decided not to bring that up, just in case that was the reason for his early graduation. No need to be that nosy.

He continued on when I didn't say anything for a little while, "Besides that, I don't have any siblings. I have a really small family. My dad was an only child, as was my mom, and both sets of my grandparents died a while back. I don't have that many friends since I was always helping my folks with the shop. I am told that I'm a good people person though, but that's just my folks."

I noted all this down and hummed, "Huh. That's good to know. Alright, well..." I lifted up his resume and scanned through it again, "It all looks good. We have a barista position if you're up for it. Do you have any questions for me?"

He nodded and pulled out a list. I chuckled inwardly. He cleared his throat and started firing out his questions, "What's the pay like? Are there any benefits? What's the schedule like and what position am I qualified for? Is there a dress code? Are there any specific rules we have to follow? Who's going to train me? Do I have the job?"

I let out a baffled guffaw before shooting him an amused look, "My, that's a lot of questions. Alright, so the pay is $3.12/hour and the each shift is composed of 8 hours. This position is a full time position and our hours are from 10 am till 6 pm. We're open 7 days a week. Everyone's days off alternate so we don't get exhausted. Me and my boyfriend, Steven, switch out with the others doing various jobs to help give people a breather. Sometimes my friends help as well, when they feel up to it. The benefits are medical, dental, and optical all totaling $100. That $100 accumulates each month if it hasn't been used. There is a dress code, sort of; nothing ratty and no shorts, of any kind. You can wear jeans if you want, but they have to be in a dark wash. No strappy sleeved shirts for either gender. It's basically casual since most people will see the apron with our store logo on it for the most part."

I hummed and thought for a moment if I had any specific rules that a new hire might find odd and shrugged, "I don't really have any specific rules that would be different from any prior job that you have had. No stealing, no bad mouthing customers, be a decent human being, the customer isn't always right, and a bunch of other things. It'll all be covered once one of my employees trains you up. If you accept the position of the barista, Mabel, our current barista, is going to train you. Are you up for the job?"

"Yes, thank you, ma'am!" He beamed at me and I sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck.

I nodded, "Please don't call me ma'am. That makes me feel old." I let out an awkward laugh.

Charlie stood up and blithely stated, "Sure, boss!"

I chuckled as I pulled out the files that he needed for the direct deposit, "Before you go, just sign all this and get your bank to fill this out. It's a direct deposit form for your pay cheque. The schedule is posted right beside the sign in and out station. What's your availability?"

He took all the files and nodded, "Okay. Thank you. I'm available whenever you need me. I don't really have much to do since graduating."

I smiled and jotted that down in his file, "Alright. How does Monday to Friday from 10am till 6pm sound?"

He beamed at me and nodded, "That sounds great, thank you."

I put out my hand, "It was wonderful to meet you, Charlie. I'll see you Monday?"

He took in a deep breath and shook my hand as he exhaled, "It was great meeting you, Ms. Burkhart. I'll definitely see you Monday with all this filled out."

He quickly and quietly exited my office and I couldn't help, but slump into my chair. These interviews were interesting, but I really didn't want to do too many more of them. I happily sighed and popped in a scotch mint into my mouth. I sucked on it thoughtfully and pondered what other things were coming my way today, well besides calling all those other applicants back. Man. That was going to be a bummer.

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We all sat around the Forman's dining table and I relished the smell and feel of another Forman dinner. We hadn't had one in a little bit, and I missed them. I popped in a cheesy piece of lasagna into my mouth and savored Kitty's secret recipe. Steven let out an almost silent contented sound as he dug into his food. Kitty looked absolutely delighted that we were enjoying her food, and Laurie was actually eating. Her portions looked like it belonged to a toddler, but at least she was eating for once instead of just moving her food around. Red happily gobbled his food down, alternatively gulping down beer. I think he had a really long day today at the shop.

Eric puffed out his chest after swallowing another piece of his lasagna, "I'm Price Mart employee of the month! So, not only are they gonna hang my picture in the front of the store, but I also get to represent our entire district in the national Price Mart Olympics."

I gulped down some grape soda and raised my brow, "You are?" This was news. Huh.

Eric eagerly nodded and happily answered, "Yea! And they even decided to throw in an extra 25 cents an hour."

Kitty beamed at Eric and nodded, "That's great, honey." She took a big bite of her salad and looked like the cat that caught the canary. I think she was prouder of Eric than she wanted to say. It wasn't every day that Eric did something that was actually recognized by people like that.

I smiled and pulled my glass up into the air towards Eric, "Congrats Eric." He shot me an appreciative look as I took my glass back down to take a sip. I didn't expect that he'd do that well in his job. He certainly showed just how wrong I was. I was happy for him though. It was good that he was getting praise for all his hard work.

Laurie smirked at him and popped some salad into her mouth, "Nice going, dweeb." He rolled his eyes at her compliment.

Steven nodded at him and a slight smile pulled onto his face, "Not bad, Forman." Eric looked like his head was going to blow up with all this praise, but I couldn't fault him for feeling so good about himself. He deserved it.

Kitty elbowed Red when he didn't say anything after Steven. He sighed and shot Eric an uncomfortable smile, "I gotta admit, Eric. I had my doubts, but, uh- Hell, you've hardly embarrassed me by taking that job. Nice work." He nodded at Eric and dug back into

A pleased grin pulled onto Eric's face. He ducked his head as his ears got red and muttered, "Thanks, Dad."

An awkward pause drifted throughout the table. It wasn't every day that Red complimented Eric sincerely. Even though it was obvious that Eric was embarrassed, I don't think he really minded at all.

Kitty cleared her throat and gestured to Laurie with a smile, "Oh, Laurie, tell everyone your good news."

Laurie perked up and actually pulled on a sincere grin, "I just finished my first two weeks of cosmetology school!" She bounced in her seat and it was odd seeing her actually genuinely happy about something that didn't involve sex.

"And she didn't flunk out. Isn't that great?" Kitty tacked on excitedly. It made Laurie deflate a little, but I could tell that she was still happy with herself for the most part. She didn't look as thin and skeletal today, actually. Huh. I wondered if it was because she was actually doing well in something for once.

Red shot Laurie a warm smile and gently stated, "That is great, honey. Nice job." I sipped on my grape soda and smiled around the rim. I was glad that we came to dinner tonight. Not that I didn't like having dinner alone with Steven. That was wonderful too.

Laurie smiled at Red, "Thanks, Daddy."

She bit her lip and looked around the table before pouting, "Yeah, but the next exam's gonna kill me. We're not allowed to practice on dummies anymore. And I have to style a real person's hair."

Kitty nodded and gently patted her hand, "Oh, honey, you'll do fine. We're all here to support you."

I inwardly choked. I would support her sure, but not with my hair. No ma'am.

"Great! So, you don't mind being my model?" Laurie's eyes twinkled as she stared down at Kitty. I snickered inwardly. Steven laugh coughed into his soda and Eric looked completely relieved that she hadn't asked any of us. Red looked oddly smug. I idly wondered if it was because he didn't have a lot of hair she could practice on.

Kitty's eyes widened and she waved her hands in front of her face. A wary smile tugged at her lips, "Me? Oh, honey, no, no. I go to the beauty parlor." I personally thought she didn't need to though. They kept charging people exorbitant prices since they were the only place to get a decent hair cut for women in this town. Sure the barbershop was great. They couldn't cut a woman's hair for shit, though. No offense to them.

Laurie turned to me and pulled on a puppy dog pout, "Lin?"

I actually choked on my soda and spluttered, "Nope. Not until pigs decide to calculate our taxes." Steven snickered and gently pounded at my back. I patted his thigh once I had stopped choking. Eric smiled to himself as he gobbled down his meal.

Laurie rolled her eyes and smiled coyly at Steven, "Psh. Fine. Steven…?"

My eye twitched. Like her wiles would work on Steven. I stabbed at my lasagna and gripped my glass of grape soda.

Steven snorted and derisively stated, "No way, scissors-Mcgee." He let his hand wander to my inner thigh and I felt myself melt. Steven would never cheat on me with the likes of Laurie. I let out a deep breath and sheepishly smiled at Steven. He winked at me and I quietly laughed. I know he wouldn't.

Kitty sighed and rubbed Laurie's shoulder, "Okay, well- Well, maybe Eric can help out."

Eric coughed and quickly swallowed the pasta in his mouth. He let out a wry laugh, "Oh, sure. Laurie, first of all, always run with scissors."

"Boy, I never get tired of your sarcasm," Red shot Eric a wry frown, his eyebrows furrowing his forehead.

Eric crookedly grinned at Red, "Really?" I kicked Eric under the table. He shot me a confused look and I subtly motioned to Red's face with my head. He took a closer look at the dark expression on Red's face and cleared his throat, "Sorry."

Kitty's popped up and beamed at her husband, "Red, would you like to be a hair model?"

Red smugly smiled, "Kitty, I would like to have hair, period. I don't, however, so no."

Laurie deflated fully into her seat and pushed around her remaining portion of lasagna. She waspishly murmured, "Oh, forget it. I don't even know why I picked this stupid career."

Eric snickered under his breath and mumbled, "Maybe it's because you're stupid?" I grimaced at him and he shrugged as if to dare me to say he was wrong. I shook my head and continued to eat my lasagna.

Kitty sadly smiled at Laurie. She rubbed her daughter's shoulder and tsked, "Laurie, no. You quit everything. You are not quitting cosmetology school."

Laurie whined, "Well, what am I supposed to do then?"

Kitty pulled on a brave face and resolutely declared, "I will be your model, but you just remember: Men have their cars. Women have their hair. It's like a car. It's valuable."

I inwardly sighed. As well as Laurie was doing in school, this just spelt doom for Kitty's hair. Maybe I would be wrong though. Laurie could finally surprise us in a good way for once.

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The sun shone through the fluffy clouds that drifted through the sky. A cool breeze blew by, carrying the smell of freshly watered grass, and flowers. I sighed contentedly as I leaned against a dozing Steven. We all lounged around on a bamboo picnic blanket I had managed to find. It was bunched up with a couple of other neat trinkets in my attic. I really had to go through all that stuff one day. Who knew what could be useful up there?

Michael sucked on one of my rainbow Popsicles and continued 'girl watching' while Fez scanned the park. I'm not too sure what he was looking for, though.

Tina bounced on the balls of her feet and pointed to the nearby playground, "Can I go play over there by the swings?"

I shielded my eyes from the sun as I looked up at her, "Sure Tina. Go have fun." Tina let out a delighted shriek of laughter and dashed away. So far it was a pretty good Sunday afternoon.

Steven stretched and pulled me onto his lap after he adjusted himself. He let out a big yawn and sighed, "Why are we babysitting again?"

I chuckled and gently pinched his thigh, "Because Donna would go crazy if we didn't?"

He rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue, "Sometimes, I think you're making me real soft, doll."

I smirked and wiggled my butt against his length, "You know I don't."

He smiled and planted a soft kiss on the base of my neck, "Touché." I wiggled my eyebrows and he leaned in closer.

Fez let out a loud gasp, "Oh, my God. There she is." I turned away and heard Steven quietly curse Fez. Michael glanced over to where Fez was pointing.

Michael finished the rest of his Popsicle and asked, "Who's that?" I tilted my head and curiously looked over to where Fez was pointing. A blonde girl sat on a bench near the park snack bar. Huh. I'd never seen her before. To be fair, it wasn't like I knew most of the people in this town by heart anyways. I did know a large chunk because of my bakery though; even so I had never seen her drop by.

"The new girl, Caroline. She transferred here from Sacred Heart, or heaven. I'm not sure which. We have gym together. She barely sweats. Someday, I will make her my bride," Fez let out a wistful sigh.

I smiled and snuggled up against Steven, "Awe, she looks nice."

Steven shook his head before he used my head as a chin rest, "Lin, be careful. Some crazies also look nice." I looked up at him and raised a brow. Steven looked lost in a memory though. I wondered what he meant.

Fez shot Steven a baffled look and waved away his comment, "Bah. Caroline isn't crazy. I wish I could go talk to her, but I get so nervous." He bit at his fingernails and stared at her longingly.

I frowned and firmly stated, "Fez, you shouldn't be nervous. You're awesome."

Michael let out a guffaw, "Yeah, man, what girl wouldn't wanna be with you?"

Fez stopped nibbling his nails and thoughtfully started counting with his fingers, "Well, there is Annette, Laurie, this girl from gym, another girl from chemistry uh, and country-western star Tanya Tucker who does not answer her letters."

Steven shook his head. He frowned and sighed, "Ahh…dude…stop Fez. That's enough. You look pathetic."

I gently smiled at him, "Hey. Why don't you go talk to her, Fez?"

Fez looked at the bench where Caroline was sitting on and muttered to himself, "You're the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Thank you. Your cocoa-brown skin makes me hot.
I know. I am irresistible. Would you like to dance?"

Steven snapped a finger at Fez, "Hey, Fez, snap out of it. Why don't you go talk to her, man?"

Fez turned back to Steven and wrung his hands, "Oh, I don't know, Hyde. I can't. I don't understand this. Usually I am- I am suave, but this girl makes me melt."

Michael tilted his head at Fez, "What ever happened to silky Fez?"

I shot Michael a bewildered look, "Michael. Silky, really?"

Michael shrugged and unapologetically smiled, "What?"

"You're right. I forgot about him. He's hot. He can do this. This means I can do this. Wish me luck, my friends," Fez ambled over and awkwardly sat down beside Caroline.

I waved at him and cheered, "Good luck!" I looked back at the guys, "Well at least it worked."

Michael puffed out his chest and preened, "My advice always works, Lin." I rolled my eyes at him and glanced over at Tina. She had stopped playing on the playground and appeared to be heading towards the skate park portion of the park.

Steven snorted, "Yeah, that fact is as accurate as a blind sniper, Kelso."

Michael happily chortled, "You finally agree with me, Hyde." I shook my head and giggled. Sometimes sarcasm really flew over Michael's head. Steven shook his head and sighed. A bunch of boys ogled and started to approach Tina. I quickly got up, which prompted Steven to squawk.

I called out to her, "Tina! Don't go over there. Come 'ere." I hurried her away from where she was going, but not before the glared at the boys. They shrugged at me and went on their way. They looked to be around my age or a year younger. In any case, they were far too old for Tina. She was 10 for Christ sakes.

She happily complied, seemingly oblivious as to what could've happened, "Okay."

We passed by Caroline and Fez hugging. Caroline opened her eyes and glared at us as we passed by them. I frowned and muttered darkly, "The fuck is she glaring at us for? Don't repeat that, Tina." I glanced down at her and shot her a sheepish grin.

Tina frowned, "But, my friends say that too." Gah. That'd be bad if Mr. and Mrs. Pinciotti caught wind of that.

I cleared my throat and murmured, "If your mother asks, or anyone really, where did you learn that word from…?"

A mischievous twinkle appeared her eyes as she chirped, "I'll say Michael Kelso!"

I grinned at her, "Good girl. You wanna get some Popsicles over there from the snack hut?" I pointed towards the little hut that always sold snacks to the park patrons every day.

Tina bounced on the balls of her feet, "Can I have any snack I want?"

I nodded as we walked towards the snack hut together, "Yep."

Tina squealed, "Yay!"

"Lin?" Steven called out. I glanced back at him and waved, "I'll be right back, puddin' pop!"

He looked at the two of us before nodding, "Mhmm. Get me a chocolate pudding pop, please?"

Michael perked up at the sound of free snacks, "Oh! Oh! A cyclone for me, please!"

I rolled my eyes and smiled, "Alright." That meant that Michael had eaten all of the cold snacks that I had brought along today. Oh well. C'est la vie.

wvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvw

Donna had convinced us all to go to the library since they were having a magic show. It was pretty good all around, and I got to see someone saw a kid in half. The kid was fine, but I think some of the younger children may have nightmares for a while. With how I saw some of the parents glaring at him, that was probably going to be the case.

Michael shoved his way through the exiting people and breathlessly asked, "Hey, guys! Guess what I got?"

I snorted and shot him an amused look, "An STD?"

Michael happily shook his head and chuckled, "No. A hundred bucks."

Steven raised his brow at me and I muttered, "It stands for a sexually transmitted disease."

He nodded and grinned, "So money to treat your STD?"

Michael pouted and titled his head, "No. What is that any ways?"

I rolled my eyes, "Never mind, Michael." I felt Steven pat my shoulder consolingly. At least he got my joke.

Michael shrugged excitedly chattered away, "Well any ways…my grandmother gave me this money. See, my mom told her that she needed to bleach her whiskers and I was like, I go, "What whiskers?" Which is a total lie, 'cause she's got these honkin' whiskers. Any ways, it made her so happy that she gave me a hundred bucks."

Eric snorted out a laugh, "Uh, no offense, Michael, but your mom's not one to talk. I mean-Whoo!" He pulled his arm away from Donna's shoulder and mimed giant whiskers on his face.

Michael scowled, "Hey! My mother is a beautiful woman."

Donna shot Eric a cross look, "Eric, apologize."

Eric sighed and faked a contrite look, "Sorry. She's nice." He coughed, "Whisker face."

Michael either didn't hear his additional comment or chose to ignore it, since he continued on, "All right, thank you. Now we gotta go celebrate this hundred bucks."

We all started walking out of the library along with the other library patrons that were leaving.

Fez let out a delighted gasp, "Let's all go out to dinner!" Food always seemed to be on Fez's mind when I thought about it. I wondered if food was a really big thing in his culture. He never did say.

Michael happily murmured, "Someplace expensive."

Donna added, "Someplace nice."

Eric chipped in his two cents, "Some place with good food."

Steven sighed, "Some place quiet."

Fez suddenly stopped. We paused and looked back at him. His eyes sparkled, "Let's go to the Vineyard. My new lady love, Caroline, works there."

I raised my brow at his sudden idea, "Caroline, from your school?"

Fez let out a dreamy sigh, "Yes, little goddess. My school has bequeathed me with my precious."

I inwardly chortled and rewound what he said replacing it with Gollum's voice. I shook my head slightly and tried not to burst out laughing.

Steven cocked his head to the side and asked, "Have you guys gone out?"

Fez happily shook his head, "No."

Donna frowned, "So, have you guys hung out at school?"

Fez started to walk ahead of us as he stated, "Nope."

Eric wrapped his arm around Donna's waist as we started to follow behind Fez, "Talked on the phone?"

He shook his head, "No."

Michael let out a frustrated and confused huff, "Have you had any contact with her at all after your meeting at the park?"

Fez glanced back at us with an impish smile, "No."

I bit my inner cheek and frowned, "So Caroline's your new lady?"

"Yes," Fez happily declared.

I shook my head and laughed, "Huh."

Steven let out a befuddled chortle, "That's great, man."

Fez let out a contented sigh, "Thank you."

Michael snorted, "Soo….dinner guys?" We all murmured varying sounds of approval before we got into our separate vehicles.

wvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvw

We all ate our fill at the Vineyard. It had been a lovely evening of good food and a lot of laughter around one of their few round tables. I happily sighed and leaned against Steven. I inhaled in the smell of his aftershave and the scents of the food that wafted throughout the restaurant. He picked at his teeth with a toothpick and let out a quiet burp. I giggled while he murmured excuse me. This turned out to be a better excursion than I had anticipated.

Steven tilted his head towards Michael and grudgingly said, "Hey, Kelso, thanks for dinner."

I grinned widely, "It was great." I sipped on my second glass of champagne since I didn't have to drive tonight.

Donna happily sighed, "Yeah, it was delicious." She nibbled on the remaining pieces of her chicken Florentine.

Eric slumped into his chair and tugged at his pants. His belly did look kind of big after all the food that he ate.

Michael waved away our praise, "Hey, guys, no need to thank me. I'm happy to do it."

He shot us all a mischievous grin, "Okay. Everybody ready?"

Fez frowned at him and finished off his fries, "Uh, do not you have to pay first?"

Michael shot us all a confused look, "I'm not paying."

We all hissed out, "What?"

Michael pouted, "What, did you guys think I was paying?" He honestly looked befuddled, the asshole.

We all groaned, "Yes."

I smacked my forehead and sighed. I should've expected something stupid like this from Michael. I had known him for how long now? I felt Steven rub my shoulder. I bit my lip. A stunt like this would probably really tick Steven off. Even if he knew that we had oodles and oodles of cash, money matters still got under his skin.

Eric let out a panicked whisper, "Kelso, we don't have any money." I couldn't fathom how Eric was broke all the time. I mean seriously. He had a job, and he only paid for dates and gas. What the hell else did he spend his money on?

Steven scowled at them, "Well you people don't, but I refuse to pay on my and Lin's behalf." He leveled Michael with a dark glare, "Kelso, you said you were treating us."

Michael pouted and whined, "Eh? I am. Besides, you don't need any money. People, we are on a "dine and dash" here."

I rolled my eyes and snorted, "Oh, yeah. 'Cause the only thing better than eating lobster is eating lobster and hauling ass."

Fez grinned and pumped his fist, "Yeah! Let's haul ass." I don't think he really understood what was going on right now.

I ground my teeth and hissed, "Michael, what the hell are you thinking? You said you'd take care of it."

Michael shot me a contrite look, "And I took care of it- by planning the "dine and dash.""

Steven let out a derisive snort, "Kelso, we're not doing it."

Michael slumped in his chair, "Why not? Guys, we're making memories here."

Donna shook her head, "Kelso, it is wrong."

Michael wiggled his eyebrows, "Wrong? Or hilarious?"

Eric glared at Michael, "Wrong, you dill-hole."

Michael chuckled and wagged his forefinger at us, "Or hilariously wrong."

Steven sighed and shot Michael a dirty look, "Even I don't like it and I'm from the underbelly of society, so-"

Fez waved over a waiter, "Uh, yes, excuse me. Um, would you please send your finest imported beer to Caroline and tell her that when I said "Hi" what I meant was, "I'll take you like a stallion." You got that? Like a stallion?" The waiter nodded and noted it down on his notepad. He hurriedly walked away towards the bar shaking his head.

I sighed and pinched Fez's arm, "Fez, please stop ordering stuff; especially the really expensive stuff."

Fez pouted and rubbed the spot where I had pinched him, "Okay, you need to chill out, little goddess. Didn't you hear Kelso? The Vineyard is having a dine-and-dash promotion. Everything is free."

I shook my head and hissed, "It's not free, Fez. Dine and dash is when you run out without paying."

Fez's eyes widened, "So it's stealing?"

Steven snorted, "Basically, yes."

Fez sadly glanced at Caroline before he looked back at us, "This isn't going to help me with Caroline, is it?"

Donna shook her head, "No."

Eric patted Fez's shoulder, "Sorry, man."

Fez sighed and glanced towards where Caroline was positioned, "Damn it." The waiter that he had order had already given her the beer. She looked over and frowned at him.

Donna leaned closer to the table and heatedly whispered, "Kelso, I have never dined and dashed, and I'm not about to start now."

Michael tuned Donna out and turned on the puppy dog eyes while he looked at Steven, "Come on Hyde, you want to don't you?"

I shot him a pointed look, "We eat here often enough that the servers know us, Michael."

Michael's eyes widened and he let out a low whistle, "Wow…really?"

Steven glared at him, "Yup. So, no, we can't do that, dillhole."

"Why can't you guys just pay then?" Michael whined and pouted. I rolled my eyes at his attempts at convincing us to bail him out of his mess.

Donna huffed and slumped back into her seat, and malevolently asked, "Why'd you even offer to treat us all then, Kelso?"

Michael crossed his arms and tsked, "Damn, come on Donna. Don't you wanna live on the edge?"

Eric snapped and kicked him under the table, "Shut up, Kelso."

Michael winced and barked, "Ow, Forman!"

Before either of them could start a shouting match, Caroline marched over. She shot Fez a dark look.

Fez, apparently oblivious, happily looked up at her with a dopey smile, "So, did you enjoy your pilsner? Did you get the message about the stallion?"

She looked around and sighed when he didn't wilt under her glare, "Okay, look, okay? You can't just send beer to the hostess podium, okay? I almost got fired. So just pretend you don't know me, okay?" She then retreated back to her podium.

Fez gazed at her and frowned. He looked at all of us and declared, "Caroline has upset me. I can't wait to dine and dash on her ass- her beautiful ass."

Michael perked up on that note and grinned, "I'll go first."

A waiter with our deserts came by while Michael was trying to escape. I happily munched on my cinnamon twist bread bun while Steven happily ate his slice of chocolate pie. Donna inhaled her lava cake and Eric happily spooned bananas foster into his mouth. Fez refused to eat any dessert, oddly enough. I think he was still fuming because of Caroline.

I hummed happily, "He can try all he wants, but we'll be here enjoying our desserts."

Michael appeared a little while later looking winded, "Well shit."

Donna raised a brow at him, "Well? What happened?"

Michael sighed and gulped down some water, "This place is like Alcatraz, man. There is no way out of here unnoticed."

Steven looked at Michael and let out a frustrated sigh, "I've gone soft, man. I'm like Forman. It sickens me."

I quirked a small smile and rubbed his shoulder, "Oh puddin' pop."

Donna tilted her head, "So you can't do it. I wonder why?" She tapped her spoon against her mouth before shooting Michael a dry look, "Why, oh, why? Oh! I know why."

Eric snorted out a laugh, "Yes, Donna?"

Donna huffed, "Because it's wrong."

He smiled at her and pecked her cheek, "That's right, Miss Pinciotti. It's wrong."

Michael rolled his eyes, "Gee, what a surprise- the moms and dads don't want to do it."

I was tempted to throw my plate at his head at this point, "We are not moms and dads, Michael."

Eric did his best impression of Red, "And we're not leaving without paying, young man."

"Fine. I'll pay for the stupid dinner. Now just give me your stupid keys so I can get my money out of your stupid car. Stupid," Michael groaned, rolled his eyes and held out his hand. Eric deposited his keys into Michael's hands. Michael then stomped out towards where Eric had parked his car.

Fez let out a huff and grumbled, "I don't care if you're in the freakin' Olympics about to run the freakin' hundred-yard dash- If someone sends you a beer, you say thank you and drink the freakin' beer."

I tilted my head and cleared my throat, "Um, Eric? Did Michael leave his money at home?" He had started the engine and seemed to be backing out of the parking spot.

Eric shot me a surprised look, "No. Why?"

I quirked my brow at him and shook my head, "'Cause it looks like he just drove away in the Vista Cruiser." With the way that Michael was gunning it, it didn't seem like he'd be back. The fuck. Did he? Did he just fucking finger us on his way past? That little fucker. I fumed and put a strike against his name in my head. Ohh...he'd regret that action. I'd get my vengeance. Definitely.

Eric shook his head and cleared his throat, "What? No. No, he wouldn't ditch us."

Steven rolled his eyes and caught the obscene gesture that Michael had thrown our way, "Are you sure? 'Cause as he drove past he was doing this-" He proceeded to mimic the gesture.

Donna gasped and flushed. Steven pulled down his hand and rubbed my thigh. I sighed. This was something close to what I had initially expected when Michael had stated he wanted to treat us.

Eric rapidly rubbed Donna's back and squeaked, "No. Donna, he's kidding. He wouldn't ditch us."

Steven glared at the free parking spot that once housed Eric's car, "He ditched us, Forman. Get over it."

Fez frowned and got up, "I'm sure he's right outside. I'll go get him."

Donna shot him a wary look, "Fez, I don't know."

Fez got up and grinned, "Don't worry. I'll go and get the money and come back. You can trust me."

It took a couple minutes for Donna to realize that Fez wasn't going to come back. I sighed and calculated how much this dinner would cost me and Steven. Fuck stupid Michael with a potato. That stupid head.

Donna let out a sad sigh, "He's not coming back, and we trusted him." Eric shhed her and brought her into a side hug.

Steven looked at them and banged his fist against the table, "Fucking liars. I can't believe we got stuck here with two squares."

I rubbed Steven's thigh gently and felt him relax slightly. It wasn't that bad and we could always get revenge later.

Donna whipped her head up and grimaced, "We're not squares!"

Eric did his best to soothe her, "Donna, settle down. You don't want to upset your stomach."

"Screw this entire thing. Waiter, the check please!" Steven curtly waved over a waiter. I doubt we would ever believe that Michael would treat us to anything ever again.

Donna's eyes widened and she whispered, "Really?"

Steven let out a tired sigh, "Yup. I'm sick of this shit."

I smiled and kissed his neck, "Awe, Steven." I felt him relax just a little bit.

He pulled me closer to him, until our thighs were touching. He shot Eric and Donna an annoyed glance, "What's mine is also Lin's, so we'll pay for you losers too."

Eric let out a dry laugh, "Oh. I can feel the love, Hyde."

Steven rolled his eyes, "Can it, Forman and finish your Goddamn bananas Florentine."

wvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvw

It took us a couple of hours, but we had come up with a brilliant plan. I concocted the tool of their destruction while they were at school and the others managed to coerce Fez and Michael to meet up with us on my driveway after school. None of my employees had dared to ask me what I was doing baking up a strange concoction in the bakery, earlier today. Especially since I kept cackling now and again.

Donna leaned against my porch steps, and nodded at Fez and Michael, "Good one last night."

Eric shot them a disgruntled look, "You know, ditching us at the restaurant and everything."

Steven scowled at them, "Making me and Lin pay for you, God damn losers. You guys are fucking hilarious."

I smiled a sickly saccharine smile at them. This would be good. I looped my arm around Steven's waist and leaned against him. Revenge would be sweet.

Michael smirked at us and stretched his arms, "Yeah, we got you guys so bad."

I nodded and took out the brownies that had been sitting on the swing behind us. I walked over and showed off the fresh batch that I had just recently made, "To show you guys we're such good sports we made you guys a batch of special brownies."

A crocked smile pulled on Steven's lips, "Special brownies."

Fez grinned, "Like the special kind of special?"

Eric nodded and his eyes twinkled with mischief, "The best kind of special." Michael and Fez devoured the small pan of brownies by themselves along with two glasses of milk that I brought out.

Fez looked at us and frowned, "I do not feel special."

Michael shook his head and palmed his belly, his stomach gurgled and grunted, "Something's wrong..."

Steven smirked at them, "Yeah, those weren't my special brownies, man. But they are special guys."

Eric grinned at them and tilted his head, "Say, Lin, do you have any more of that special ingredient we used?"

I laughed and tilted my head back before I answered, "Well, I certainly do, Eric. Chocolate Super-Lax."

Michael looked at all of us, horror etched across his face, "You didn't."

Donna cackled, "We did."

I narrowed my eyes and sweetly smiled, "We so did."

Steven scowled at the two of them, "Now maybe you'll think twice before screwing us, dillholes."

Fez laughed and rolled his eyes at us, "Well, nice try, 'cause I don't feel any-" He grabbed his stomach and groaned, "Oh, no. Ay, no!" He turned and tried to get around Michael, but bumped into Caroline. How she knew we would all be here in my driveway, I wasn't too sure. I really didn't like that, actually. It was like she just popped out of nowhere, like a daisy.

Caroline softly smiled at Fez, "You're surprised to see me, right? And upset."

He grunted and whimpered, "Yes, many things are upset."

Caroline looked at Fez and earnestly stated, "Okay, listen. Listen, Fez. About last night- I know you were angry, and you have every right to be. But you know what this was? Our first fight." At least, I think it was pretty earnest.

Fez shot us a desperate look, "Oh!" I shook my head and tried not to laugh. This was great. Steven wound his arm around my shoulder and smirked at the scene before us. Was it bad that we were enjoying this so much? Nah.

Caroline placed her hand on Fez's sweat soaked shoulder, "And it made us a real couple- if you can forgive me."

He grunted and gently pushed her aside, "Fine. Move aside. Please." She reluctantly stepped aside as Fez hurried into our house. I frowned. I didn't expect him to do that. Oh well. I sighed. Revenge is a double sided sword, I supposed. I really hoped he made it to the toilet in this case. I did not want to clean up a mess like that.

Caroline stared after him and called out, "So we're okay?"

Fez yelled as he ran further into our house, "Good!"

She took a step towards my house and I glared at her, "Now let's make up like a real couple. I'll see you later then!"

Steven and I barred the doorway to our abode and stared Caroline down. She sheepishly smiled at us and backed up a bit.

Fez groaned and yelled, "You bastards!" Caroline frowned and wiggled her fingers at us before heading off of our property. She was kind of creepy.

Michael laughed as he clenched his gut, "Okay, you guys. That was a wicked burn. It had all the elements: You didn't see it coming, parts of it really hurt-"

Donna chuckled, "Well, Kelso, I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Michael nodded and made his way into our home, "Oh, I did. I got my eye on you guys. You're not gonna burn me like that again. Now excused me, I have to use your other bathroom."

I nodded and roughly patted his back. He let out a grunt and groaned helplessly.

Eric beamed at us, "I love our friends."

Donna leaned against him, "Me too."

I giggled, "Me three." Even if they did end up making a literal shitty mess in both my bathrooms; I was not looking forward to cleaning any of that later.

Steven pulled me into a side hug, "Yeah. This was pretty great."

wvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvw

The new hires seemed to be fitting well into our bakery, and our regular customers seemed to like them. It helped that they were pretty nice all around people as well as good workers. More people streamed in and out of the store, throughout the day. The Rolling Stones really upped our consumer base and it didn't look like that was going to slow down any day soon. It made me kind of nervous, to be honest.

Charlie caught on quickly to the training Mabel provided, and just as I had predicted, he was a total boy scout. It was like he was a nicer version of Eric. I didn't know if that bothered me or not, but he got along with everyone else so I just tucked that thought away. He was also pretty fast at making a frappuccino, so that helped me like him a little more.

Rhonda despite her intimidating presence, normally, was rather sweet to the customers. Besides that, she also managed to scare away some of the shoplifters that we had. They really didn't need to shoplift though. If they straight up asked me for something and just told me that they didn't have the money, I would've gladly given them some baked goods on the house. It wasn't that big of a loss if I was helping feed someone hungry.

Brooke whistled while she worked today. She seemed entirely too perky, but I think that was because we heard that Michael caught Laurie cheating and was promptly dumped right after. The rumor mill was pretty efficient around here, especially at my bakery. I think it was all those gossiping girls and the older women that usually took the plush booths that we had recently installed.

Brooke took a look at Charlie and cooed, "Awe, he's such a boy scout. He's making a happy face on that frappuccino for that little kid."

Rhonda tilted her head and chuckled, "He also has a nice ass on him."

I choked out a laugh, "Rhonda." We really should've gotten back to work a while ago. It was fun watching Charlie though. He seemed to wiggle and dance with the radio while he worked.

Rhonda smirked and rolled her eyes, "What? He does."

Brooke shook her head and shrugged, "I don't know, I think he's weird, but he seems nice."

Steven walked in front of our view from the bakery kitchen and raised a brow at all of us, "Why are you guys spying on the new guy on your break?" I idly wondered who was manning the cash register now.

I let out a sheepish laugh, "Mabel seems to be working well with him."

Leo popped up behind us and glanced at Mabel and Charlie working together, "Humph. She doesn't like that kind of guy."

I grinned and raised my brow at Leo, "How would you know, Leo?"

Brooke giggled behind her hand and went back to her till. Rhonda quickly followed her as she ducked to hide her smile.

Leo grumbled and marched back into the kitchen, "Just cause."

Steven let out a snort, "Right." He rolled his eyes and made his way to my office.

I idly wondered if Mabel and Leo were dating. I didn't make it a rule to date other employees at the bakery, but I hoped that they wouldn't let it interfere with work.

wvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvw

Donna let out a grunt and waved her hands in the air as the basketball swished through the hoop. She cheered, "Oh! Oh! That's 16 for me and Hyde and four for the losers!"

I nodded and noted it down on the chalkboard that I was holding. I found that it was much better to be a score keeper rather than a player when they got this way. I wiggled my toes and tried to get the feeling back into my legs. Sitting cross legged for long periods of time always made my legs feel tingly.

Steven laughed, "You guys ought to get a mascot- a big, green, furry loser!" He planted a kiss onto my head and ran back into their basketball game.

Michael grimaced and shook his head. "That's- That's not even a thing," he panted and rested his hands against his thighs.

Eric dribbled the ball while Donna checked him. She smirked at him, "Come on. Take it to the hoop."

They danced around each other while Eric dribbled the ball. Donna happily taunted him, "Or maybe you're afraid, 'cause you know I'm gonna slap it down." She swiped at the ball.

Eric held onto the ball with both hands and dogged Donna, "Oh, yeah?"

Michael yelled and tried to get around Steven, "You tell her, Eric!"

Steven barked out a laugh, "Ooh! Oh!"

Donna checked and blocked his hands from passing the ball to Michael, "How can he stand the embarrassment?"

He tried to pass it, but Donna managed to yank the ball away from him.

Eric stared after her, a disgruntled look painted on his face. I chuckled and shook my head, "She told you what she was gonna do, Eric."

Steven smirked and shook his head while he tried to lose Michael, "You gotta listen, man."

He huffed and started to block her way towards the hoop. Donna turned right, she turned left, and Eric mimicked her every move. It was a pretty interesting game of basketball for once.

Donna dribbled up to the hoop as she blocked the ball with her body, "Eric, why don't you just give me the two points? Save yourself the humiliation."

He grunted and shook his head, "Well, why don't you just save yourself the two points, and then the humiliation will be-"

She rolled her eyes and tried to dunk the ball into the hoop, "Whatever!"

Eric growled and jumped up to intercept her, "Come on!" He didn't calculate the distance though and ended up pulling down on Donna's legs. This promptly made both of them fall down, but not before he accidentally pulled down her sweatpants.

Eric landed with a thud against the cool asphalt of his drive way. Michael shrieked, "Eric!" I rolled my eyes. Eric would be fine. He'd been in stupider, and tougher, scrapes than this. I got up and walked over to Donna's currently prone form.

I looked over her and poked her head with my forefinger, "Donna, are you okay?" She leaned up onto her elbows and blinked before letting out a decidedly put out huff.

Michael helped Eric up and let out a loud barking laugh, "Oh, my God! Donna's wearing granny panties!"

I looked down at Donna's pulled down sweatpants. Huh. Must've been laundry day or something. I helped her up and she quickly pulled her pants back up.

Eric snickered, "Nice panties, Granny."

"I'm fine, Lin. I'm fine," she scowled at them and patted my shoulder before stomping off to her house.

Well that game did not go well.

wvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvw

It took a little while to cajole Donna into hanging out with us in Eric's basement after he pulled down her sweatpants. I ended up having to bribe her with cookie dough ice cream in the near, very near, future. It worked though, so now we were all attempting to lounge around and enjoy one another's company waiting for Donna to come over. It was kind of hard though when Caroline sashayed into the basement like she owned the place. She kind of ground on my nerves; I wasn't quite too sure why, but I would figure it out eventually.

She cozied up to Fez and snugly sat on his lap while they both lay on his lawn chair. Caroline jangled a plastic bag full of candy hearts in his face, "Okay, Fez, I got you some Valentine conversation hearts just because."

Fez giggled and took a candy heart from her baggie, "Oh, thank you, Caroline. Awe…it says 'be mine.'"

Caroline preened, "Okay."

Fez let out a lecherous laugh and pulled out another one, '"Sweetheart.'"

Caroline sighed wistfully, "It really is."

She pulled one out and throatily stated, '"Kiss me.'"

Fez nuzzled her and muttered, "Well, I'm not about to argue with candy." That got them to makeout on the lawn chair. I idly wondered if it would break under their combined weight. Eww. She looked like she was eating his face. I shuddered inwardly and leaned into Steven's shoulder.

He glanced at them and snorted before he whispered, "I think Fez's new squeeze is just fishing to be cute. I know it's not Valentine's day today; it's the wrong month."

I nodded and frowned, "She gives me bad vibes."

He pulled down his shades and raised his brow at me, "What do you mean?"

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "When I herded Tina back towards us-"

Steven chuckled and pulled me around so I was facing him while I straddled his legs on our chair, "Oh because of those boys?"

I flicked his forehead and steadied myself, "They were ogling her. That's inappropriate."

He nodded and held my hips, "True, she is 10."

I let my head fall onto his shoulder and whispered, "Anyways, Caroline was glaring at the two of us while she and Fez hugged. It was the weirdest thing." I let my feet dangle while I straddled him. It would've become sexual if I started gyrating, but I didn't think it would be appropriate with the others around. I could do that at home with him, naked, later on in the day.

I felt his breath tickle my ear, "Huh. I think she just has problems, doll. Don't worry about it."

I pouted and mumbled, "Do you think I should just try to kill her with kindness?"

Steven's chest rumbled, probably silently laughing at my worry, "Yeah, but if she doesn't like you, it's not the end of the world. She could just be a psycho."

I let my head loll as I sighed, "I guess."

Caroline let out a little squeak. We turned our heads towards her. She leaned away from Fez and stared at her watch before she hopped off of him, "Ooh, I gotta get going. My shift starts in like 20 minutes."

Fez nodded as she dashed out of the basement. He called after her, "I'll see you tonight."

The door closed behind her before she could reply. I guess she really was in a hurry. Fez let out a dreamy sigh and slumped back into his lawn chair.

Eric cheekily grinned at Fez, "Well, well, well. Look who has a lady."

Fez grinned and let out a happy sigh, "I am so happy."

Michael cleared his throat and held up the magazine he had been perusing, "Hey, hey. Check out this article in Boys'Life. "The Square Knot: Not Just For Squares"? No, this one is about being an astronaut. I think I'm gonna do that."

I rolled my eyes at him and laughed. I smiled and shook my head, "Michael, I think there's a lot of prerequisites for being an astronaut."

Steven snorted and added, "Yeah. You have to be not dumb."

Michael shook his head and grinned, "Uh-uh. If they can send a monkey into space, they can send me."

Eric laughed and popped in a piece of popcorn into the air before catching it with his mouth, "I don't know. Monkeys are pretty smart." I eyed the popcorn on the makeshift coffee table and decided against it. I wasn't that hungry today.

Michael waved away our teasing and huffed, "Fine, fine. Make fun, but when you see my shoe prints on the moon, what are you gonna say then?"

Steven smirked, "Probably, "Hey, some monkey's wearing Kelso's shoes!""

Fez chortled, "Hey, hey, astro-chimp. When you come back down to Earth, if your parachute does not work you could always use Donna's monstrous panties." He mimed his mock parachute with his hands.

I rolled my eyes at them and frowned, "You guys, really?" I contemplated throwing some popcorn at their heads.

Steven smiled at me and nuzzled my neck, "Yes, doll. Granny panties are lame."

I huffed and crossed my arms. This only proved to amuse Steven apparently, since he just tucked me into a tight hug. I wriggled around and swung my legs to the side. He grunted a little, but I figured it served him right for making fun of Donna. I smugly smiled to myself and stole some of Eric's popcorn. I doubted that he'd mind.

Eric waved his hands in front of himself and grimaced, "Hey, hey, hey, you guys. None of that when Donna gets here, okay? I don't need her mad at me anymore."

Steven raised a brow as he shot Eric a wry grin, "All right, Forman, relax. Wearing granny panties is a very sensitive issue that I don't find funny, and I refuse to exploit."

Eric shoved a bunch of popcorn into his mouth and slumped into his seat, "Good."

The basement door creaked open and revealed a hesitant looking Donna. I smiled and waved at her. She grinned at me.

Steven barked out a laugh, "Hey, everybody, look. It's Granny Panties!"

Eric swallowed what he was eating and hissed, "Hyde!"

I frowned and pinched Steven's inner thigh, "Steven."

He flinched and stared at my face, "Wha-?"

I raised my brow and quickly motioned to Donna's deep frown with my head. He grunted and rolled his eyes, "Oh, I'm sorry. It's in my nature to burn, though. Granny Panties understands. Don't you, Granny Panties?"

Donna gracelessly stomped towards the couch and let her hands fall onto her hips, "Okay, look. I didn't have anything else to wear. It was laundry day."

Michael looked up from his magazine and snorted, "I didn't know they made a washing machine big enough for those panties."

Fez wiggled his eyebrows, "It must have been a super-size washer."

I let out a disgruntled sound, and glared at them, "Hey! Hey, you guys can all just shut up, okay? So she wears big panties. So what? It's really not that big of a deal."

Steven unapologetically laughed and nuzzled my neck, "Of course you would side with her, Lin. You're a girl."

I tried to shove his affections away, but he just held me tighter against him. I rolled my eyes and hoped that my irritation prominently showed on my face. Steven was being kind of a dick right now.

Donna shot me a grateful smile, "Well, I appreciate it. Thank you, Lin."

I nodded and tilted my head at her, "You're welcome, Donna." The guys really shouldn't make such a big deal about this. I wore granny panties on my period days, although I wouldn't want the world to really know about that.

Eric bit his lower lip and imploringly said, "Donna, look, I am really, really, really sorry."

Donna grunted and waved off his apology, "Look Eric, I'm fine. Let's just forget about it."

He visibly sagged into his seat and let out a deep tired breath, "Really? 'Cause when I saw your sweats around your ankles, I thought I was dead." A nervous laugh escaped his lips and I shook my head. He was in very deep water. That look on Donna's face told me that she had certainly not forgiven him, even if she said so. I wondered if she was going to rant about this to me later on. I inwardly shrugged. I couldn't really blame her.

Donna let out a snort and pointedly stated, "Eric, I said, I'm fine."

Eric frowned and searched her face, "Okay." I doubt that it really was okay, but I suppose that was the end of that. For now at least.

Michael broke the silence that was slowly descending down on us with a loud guffaw. He grinned up at us and showed off the picture in his magazine, "Chicks must really dig astronauts, 'cause it says here that astronauts get all the tang they want."

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I happily hummed under the warm light that filtered through my kitchen curtains. I popped open the fridge and pulled out some cookie dough ice cream for me and the girls. Donna pulled down a couple bowls while Annette sighed on her stool.

I raised my brow while I started scooping up some ice cream for the three of us, "So Annette; how was Texas?"

She happily accepted the bowl I passed her. Annette spooned a large piece of ice cream into her mouth before replying, "It's okay. Way too hot though. So Michael cheated on me with Laurie, and Laurie cheated on him. There is a God, and he's on my side." She grimly smiled around her spoon.

"Well, I'm glad you're happy, although I don't know how you found out about that so quickly," I inwardly sweat dropped and awkwardly laughed outwardly.

Annette shot me a chipper grin, "I have my informants." She took a big gulp of her water before winking at us.

Donna barked out a laugh, "That didn't sound ominous." She hummed happily as she dug into her ice cream.

I choked out a guffaw as I shook my head, "Right?" I gobbled up a large spoon full of cookie dough ice cream. Ahh…this was the good stuff.

After a little while of mindless chatter Donna paused mid bite and spat out, "You guys my boyfriend's a giant baby. "Ooh, underwear is so funny. Poo-poo, pee-pee, caca."" I guess reminiscing about the stupid stuff our boyfriends, ex-boyfriend in Annette's case, did, wasn't the best idea.

Annette sat up straight and her face glowed with her sudden idea. She bounced in her seat as a mean grin spread across her face, "You know what'll make you feel better? Let's go make mean jokes at Michael's expense." I think she was still a little bitter about the whole Michael thing.

"How will that make me feel better?" Donna scrunched up her face and spooned more ice cream into her mouth scraping the sides of her bowl.

Annette finished off her icy treat and water before shrugging, "'Cause then I'll feel better, and I can cheer you up."

I rolled my eyes and finished off my ice cream. I got up and took out the rest of the ice cream from my freezer. I turned around with an ice cream scoop in hand, "Oh Annette, here just take another scoop." I plopped another large chunk of ice cream into her bowl with a quiet plop.

Annette's eyes widened as her shoulders relaxed, "Oh! Is this more cookie dough ice cream?"

I nodded as I scooped some more ice cream into my own bowl, "Mhmm."

I scooped a sizeable chunk and pointed my scooper towards Donna's bowl, "Donna?"

A slow smile spread across her face, "Thank you, Lin. This makes me feel better."

Annette huffed around her spoon and shot Donna a sour look, "Oh whatever, Pinciotti." I chuckled internally. If Annette really wanted to pick on Michael, she chose the wrong people. Well…right now anyways. We tended to pick on Michael whenever the mood struck us, really.

After a pregnant pause, Donna moved around her melted ice cream and whimpered, "On what planet did Eric think it was okay to pull down my pants?"

I leaned back against the counter and shrugged, "There are some things that are private, for instance, everything under your pants."

Donna sat up and pulled her arms in the air, almost as if to emphasize her point, "Thank you! I completely agree. It's something that you keep to yourself. Why doesn't Eric understand that when I said, "I'm fine," I meant, I will be fine so long as he kisses my ass for two weeks until I'm actually fine?"

"He's, like, brain damaged. You should dump him, Lin should dump Hyde and then we can all move to Dallas and be weather girls," Annette stated dreamily as she helped me collect our empty bowls and cups.

I snorted out a laugh and gently patted her shoulder, "Nope. Not doing that."

Donna shook her head and shot her a sympathetic smile as she collected all our dirty spoons, "I'm not doing that, Annie."

Annette pouted and bonelessly shrugged, "It was just a thought. What's up with Eric's head anyway? It's completely out of proportion to that skinny body. He looks like a Blow Pop."

I started to load up my dishwasher while Donna wiped down my counter. I raised a brow at Annette, "Uncalled for, and not really."

Donna tilted her head, and seemed to consider Annette's comment before shaking her head, "Yeah, I wouldn't really call him a blow pop."

Annette puffed out her cheeks and plopped back onto her stool petulantly, "Humph. You know, I bet Michael's gonna want me to feel sorry for him. He's outta luck 'cause I'm gonna be all like, "Aww. Bite it, Casanova!""

I heard knocking on my kitchen door before Michael poked his head in. He gave us a wary smile, "Hey, ladies."

I shot him small smile, "Hey, Michael." I scrubbed down my kitchen sink and kept my ears open to what may or may not have been the start of another fight between Annette and Michael.

Donna plopped the washcloth onto the kitchen counter beside the sink and leaned against the counter beside me, "Kelso."

Annette regally pulled herself up off of her stool. She shot Michael a considering look before curtly nodding towards him, "Michael, I heard what happened."

He walked further into my kitchen and paused when he was right under the door way. He looked away from Annette and timidly murmured, "Yeah…me and Laurie are done."

She shot us a look before whipping her head towards Michael again as she asked, "Doesn't Eric look like a Blow Pop?" I inwardly snorted and finished off my task. Donna shook her head, a smirk sneaking its way onto her face.

Michael gave her a confused look before uncertainly nodding, "Uh, yeah, sure…I guess."

She triumphantly grinned at the two of us and primly stated, "Yeah. See?"

I rolled my eyes while Donna shook her head. We both knew that Michael was just agreeing with her because he didn't know what else to say at the moment. The atmosphere did feel kind of tense right now.

He let out a deep breath and rubbed his neck uncomfortably before muttering, "Uh, listen, uh, Annie, can we go somewhere and talk? Privately?"

Annette shook her head resolutely and crossed her arms across her chest, "No! Look, anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Donna and Lin."

I was about to interject when Donna put a hand on my shoulder. I searched her face and read her silent signal. I sighed and rolled my eyes, but complied and just let Annette have her way. It didn't seem right to have this kind of conversation in front of other people though.

Michael shot us a wary look before pulling himself up out of his slumping stature. He searched Annette's face before burying his hands into his jean pockets, "Uhhh…well, okay. Uh, listen what happened with me and Laurie got me thinking. And what she did was really a betrayal and it hurt so much."

Annette raised an imperious brow at him before curtly asking, "So you want me to feel sorry for you?"

Michael whipped out his hands and shook them rapidly in front of him, "No, no, don't feel sorry for me."

Annette's eyes widened as she reeled back minutely, "Wait, what?"

My brows raised and a small smile tugged on the edge of Donna's lips. Well this was an intriguing turn. Had the whole Laurie debacle have the inadvertent consequence of making Michael grow? I idly wondered if this meant that Brooke and him could actually be something now instead of later. I knew Brooke wouldn't mind it being sooner rather than later, that was for sure.

Michael shook his head somberly and steadily stated, "No, I deserve this. After what I did to you? I don't know if you've made the connection, but there are a lot of similarities between what Laurie did to me and what I did to you. Except you and I were really in love and you trusted me. Annie, I let you down, and I'm sorry."

Annette held up a hand and warily glared at Michael, "Wait, wait, wait, wait. Are you just saying this stuff so I'll give you pity sex? 'Cause if it is you should be ashamed of yourself."

Michael let out a disgruntled huff, "No. I just said what I wanted to say, and I don't blame you if you never want to speak to me again. That's it. Good-bye." He turned and shot me a tiny smile before opening and exiting through my kitchen door. The door closed with a quiet thump, and I couldn't help the grin that bloomed on my face. Michael was growing up. Awe.

I glanced at where Annette was standing stiffly staring at where Michael had been. I walked over and gently patted her shoulder, "Annette, are you okay?"

When she looked up again, I could see her eyes were glassy. She let out a desperate sort of laugh before she replied, "Sure. I'm just great. I'm just sitting here contemplating why I even visit." She shook her head and slumped down onto a nearby chair.

Donna moved over to where she sat and gently patted her head, "Hey, we're here for you. Don't be so glum."

Annette looked up at Donna and leveled her with a wary look, "Donna, why are you here though? You should be with the one you love. And you love Eric for some reason."

She blinked repeatedly and took a step back from Annette, "Well he-"

Annette let out a frustrated sound cutting Donna off mid-sentence. Her eyes were still glassy and she seemed to be gaining more fire in her eyes again. "Shut up. There's a lot of reasons why you should be with him instead of being here. He's not really a Blow Pop," she heatedly stated as she stared off into space.

My smile softened as I took in the image of both of my close girlfriends. It was weird seeing them grow this way, but it felt nice all the same. In my best mom voice I stated, "Well, he is a sweetie pie sometimes." Annette snorted and shot me a tiny smile.

Donna pursed her lips and nodded slowly, "He can be thoughtful and romantic when the thought strikes him."

Annette glanced back at Donna and tilted her head, "Then you should be with him. Look, take it from someone who has loved and lost. Whatever he did isn't worth being alone."

A surprised look crossed over Donna's face along with a mixture of pride and happiness, "Annie, are you actually thinking about me instead of yourself?"

Annette rolled her eyes at us and pushed herself out of her chair. She rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hands and let out a watery laugh, "Yeah! God, I've had way too much sugar!"

My face hurt from all this smiling, but it was worth it. I shook my head and massaged my cheeks, "I think it's a good thing."

A thoughtful look spread across Annette's face, "Think so?"

I resolutely nodded and bumped Annette's shoulder gently, "Yeah. Thanks for visiting Annette."

She bit her lower lip and grinned before saying, "I'm happy I came."

Annette didn't stay long after her encounter with Michael, maybe thirty minutes tops. She said she had to have her mandatory dinner with her cousin Pam. I felt for her, especially since Pam didn't get any nicer when Annette left. That might've been just how she was though, I wouldn't know since I wasn't that close with her.

Donna and I lounged on my couch watching a late night movie as we munched on lemon pepper popcorn. She looked through my living room window towards Eric's house before huffing, "Lin, Eric is so annoying."

I raised my brow at her as I finished chewing and swallowing my handful of popcorn, "Donna, is there something you need to talk about?"

Donna pursed her lips and looked around before whispering, "Can you keep a secret?"

I let out a chuckled at her actions. Who would come here to try and eavesdrop on us? Everyone else was out doing their thing tonight, which meant Donna and I were by ourselves again. I shot her an amused look, "Yeah of course. You know me." I certainly had more secrets than I was comfortable with, but I supposed one more couldn't hurt. I just hoped that it wasn't something bad, like Donna accidentally killing someone or something. At that point, I wouldn't know what to do. I shook away my rambling thoughts and focused on what Donna was about to say.

She looked up and glanced around before sighing, "I'm holding out on Eric cause of the whole granny panty thing."

I raised a brow and let out a loud barking laugh, "Why? Doesn't that mean you're also holding out on yourself?" Wasn't that counterintuitive?

Donna made a face and slumped back into her seat, "Well…yeah, but I need to punish him somehow."

I continued laughing lightly before I asked, "So, how long has it been?"

"Three of the longest days of my life, maybe I should just cave. I think I want it more than Eric," she pouted and shot me a desperate sort of look.

I reeled back and grimaced, "Eww. He's like my brother, so that's gross. That a side, sex is supposed to be a mutual thing between two people; it shouldn't be used as a tool for vengeance." That could go wrong in so many ways. I swear they made a couple movies like that in my original timeline.

A confused expression found its way onto Donna's face while she munched on some more popcorn, "Why not?"

I shot her an exasperated look as I shoved another handful of popcorn into my mouth, "Donna, sex is like bonding and sharing love between a couple. Don't you think so?"

She rolled her eyes at me and finished off the rest of our popcorn, "You and your crazy conspiracies." Feh…if she thought that was a crazy conspiracy I wondered what she would think of how I actually got here. It'd probably be two parts amusing, and one part horrifying I supposed.

I shrugged and looked down at our empty mixing bowl, "Well that's what I think any ways. Want some more popcorn?"

She shot me a cheeky grin as I got up, "Yes, please." I rolled my eyes at her smiling all the way back to the kitchen. Silly goose.

wvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvw

Leo's garage looked like it belonged to a hoarder from that show on TLC. I made a face as dust blew up into the air as we organized box upon box upon box. Steven handed me a bandana that I tied onto the front of my face. At least we had some sort of protection.

I don't know how I got roped along with helping Steven help his boss clean out his garage, and on such a nice day too. I looked through the open garage door at the bright blue sky and fluffy puffy clouds that lazily floated through the sky.

Steven finished emptying out a box full of old crumpled newspapers into a giant black garbage bag, "Leo, man, this place is a mess."

Leo let out a deep chuckle before hauling down another box, "Yeah? You should see my garage."

Steven shot Leo a frustrated look, "This is your garage, man."

Leo shrugged and smiled at us wanly, "Well, then you see what I mean. It's a mess." He gestured to all the dust covered boxes we had yet to deal with before he wandered towards a nearby box. As he opened it, dust motes flew up into the sky, stirring up against the gentle breeze. He blew away more dust before holding up a magazine.

"National GeograPhic is a beautiful magazine. There are volcanoes and a gazelle. Oh! And look a naked-" Leo happily flipped through the magazine and I couldn't help but compare him to an absent minded child sometimes. I smiled to myself as I cleaned up another box of forgotten mementos.

Steven cut him off when he pulled away a large tarp covering something, "Leo, man, there's a car under here here. It's an El Camino." He looked closer at it, probably to inspect if it was in okay condition externally.

Leo slowly walked over and excitedly asked, "Ohh! Wow. Do you think it's mine?"

I let out a kind smile and tilted my head down to look at the license plate, "Well the plate does say "Leo's.""

Leo hummed and scratched his head thoughtfully, "I can't really drive it since the Man took my license." He glanced at me and Steven before his face lit up, "Oh hey! I'll sell the El Camino to you for 500 bucks."

Steven leveled Leo with a dry look, "What?"

I blinked and noted how happy Leo seemed to be with that idea. I tugged on Steven's shirt and whispered, "Puddin' pop, he looks like he really wants to sell us that car. What's the harm in complying?"

Steven shot me a frustrated and confused look, "What are we going to do with two El Caminos?"

I shrugged and murmured, "Well we could just give the car to someone."

He raised his brow and let out a disgruntled sound, "Ugh. Really?"

I bit my lower lip and looked up at him under my eyelashes, "Well, just make it look like you're haggling though. Make it believable."

He sighed and ruffled his hair before muttering, "I can't believe I'm going to do this."

I leaned into him and wrapped my arms around his waist before whispering, "Please? Don't you feel sorry for him?"

He looked back at Leo before glancing down at my pleading face, "Well, yeah…but this El Camino is a junker compared to mine."

I pouted and sighed, "True, but come on." I privately thought that Leo might actually need the money, and that could be why he wanted to sell the car. It wasn't like 500 dollars was a big amount to us, but to other people around us, that would really help for a rather long while.

Steven let out a deep breath before he glanced back at Leo. He must've seen something that got to him because his face crumpled, "God damn it. Fine. $400, Leo." I grinned happily at my small triumph and turned to look at Leo. I wondered if he was happy he was getting rid of his car.

A sly smile slipped onto Leo's face as he countered Steven's, "$600."

Steven rolled his eyes and I felt his hands tighten on my hips as he quipped, "That's the wrong way, man."

Leo let out an awkward laugh and rubbed his neck sheepishly, "Um- Uh $500 then."

Steven sighed as I nuzzled against him. He glanced down at me one more time before muttering, "Sold." Leo let out a triumphant laugh while Steven rested his head against mine.

He searched my face and whispered, "How was that?"

A huge grin dimpled my face as I murmured, "That was perfect, thank you puddin' pop."

Steven planted soft kiss on my lips before smirking at me, "I don't know where the hell we're going to put this thing for now."

I licked my lips and grinned happily hugging him, "We'll be okay." Leo started to organize and unload another box.

He tugged me closer until I was flushed right up against him. He slowly murmured, "If you say so."

I tilted my head onto his chest, "I love you."

I could hear the smile in his voice, "I love you too, doll."

wvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvw

AN: I'm sorry that this chapter came out so late. I've been stuck on making it flow, so I've only been working on it one small part at a time.

On a different note, I didn't have the heart to write out Tina. Just as a heads up, Charlie Davison (known in the show as Charlie Richardson), Rhonda Collins (known in the show as Rhonda Tate) and Tina Pinciotti might be a little out of character; forgive me. I tired looking up their character profiles, but not much was said about them. This leads me to trying to improvise a little. If anyone has any suggestions as to how to make them better, please leave a review.

You're all awesome. I sincerely mean that. Virtual cookies and hugs for everyone! c':

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The Barnetts will be more present in this universe, but that'll come later on in the story since they haven't had much interaction with Lin and Steven yet. They will be back soon enough though, especially when Steven finds out about who his dad really is.

Laurie indeed does have a food disorder, anorexia nervosa. You can't quite see the symptoms since Lin doesn't know how to spot them. Laurie is getting better though, ever since she went back to school that is. You'll see her progress throughout this story.

LaineLove: Thank you for following and adding my story to your favorite's list. c:

dleshae: I'm glad you love the story so far! Thank you for your review. c: