Warped

by JJOAS

A 30 year old get's reincarnated into the body of one ten year old Jackie Burckhart and because of this cosmic hiccup this That 70's Show dimension get's a little warped. Slice of life.

11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: 1978

Eric's washing machine whirred while the dryer made it's normal cachunk sounds as it did it's best to dry everything. The basement was kind of chilly today, but that was probably because I wasn't seated on Steven's lap right now. The ground was certainly uncomfortable and cold in comparison, even with a lumpy throw pillow under my ass.

Steven sat behind me on the couch, his legs surrounded both of my sides as he kneaded my shoulders with his strong hands. I bit the end of my pencil and shot Michael a patient look, "So if "x" equals seven, then "y" equals?"

He leaned closer to his math binder and squinted, "Two?"

I sighed and let the pencil drop onto the coffee table, "Wrong. Try again."

He seemed to zone out for a moment as he hummed a song that suspiciously sounded like something for a gum commercial.

Steven let out an impatient snort and threw a throw pillow at his head, "Kelso. Concentrate."

The throw pillow hit his head with a dull thunk making him fall back onto his hands. He let it fall to the side and bit his lip, "Uh "L"?" Math, like many other things, was not Michael's strong suit. At least, he asked for help instead of just asking to copy someone's homework this time though.

Another deep sigh escaped me as I leaned back into Steven's lap. I shot Michael a look that clearly said that I was getting fed up with the lack of effort he was putting in, "Also wrong."

Annette piped up from her position by the old TV, sitting in the lounge chair Eric borrowed from Donna, "It's a pretty simple equation, guys. Just think about it for a second."

Michael's attention swirved onto Annette like a cat towards a mouse. A dopey grin grew onto his face, "You're so pretty. You don't even need to know math." I know he meant it as a compliment, but it felt more like a backhanded comment to me.

Eric let out a snicker and muttered just loud enough so we could hear, "That's so weird. I was just thinking the same thing."

Annette put her nose up into the air and huffed. The twinkle in her eyes before she looked away from us, told me that she didn't actually take any offence though.

I giggled and batted my eyes up at Steven, "Steven, you're so pretty you don't need to know nothin'."

He raised an eyebrow before smirking, "That's good, 'cause I'm stupid." Steven then leaned over closer towards me. He then planted a wet raspberry onto my cheek.

I laughed and pushed him away, gently smacking his knee along the way. Steven chuckled in return, holding me tighter before planting a kiss onto my head.

Donna snorted at all of us from over her latest Cosmo magazine, "Oh, real mature, guys." Eric smirked and pulled her closer to his side. Donna, continued reading, but the slight crinkle in her eyes told me that she enjoyed the attention that Eric was giving her.

Suddenly, the basement door slammed open revealing a panting and red faced Fez. The distress on his face was clear as daylight. I blinked and sat up and I could feel Steven tense. Neither of us liked it when people picked on our friends.

Steven gently nudged me so he could go over to get a closer look at Fez. A frown furrowed his brow as he looked down at Fez past his sunglasses, "Fez, man, what happened?"

Fez's bottom lip jutted as he turned puppy eyes at Steven, "Oh Hyde! I was walking back from the pep rally flush with school spirit when-when-when some boys from Fort Anderson, they jumped me and they slapped me, and they beat me- And look at what they did to my pom-poms." He pulled out what was left of his pom poms from his pockets. The sad little balls of pulled string, made my insides shrivel. That was beyond mean.

I shot Fez a sympathetic look, "Oh Fez, I'm sorry that you had to go through that."

Fez sniffled and nodded, but when he looked over towards the others, his sad look turned into irritation. Michael couldn't contain his laughter and ended up laughing so hard he fell over, which made Eric do his snorting laugh, which set off Donna, which then set off the rest of us. I shook my head and muffled my laughter with a cough. I was determined to not laugh at something like this. Bullies sucked.

Steven was the first to recover and let out a couple coughs. He shot the others a dirty look, "Hey, okay, that's not funny, man."

Fez huffed and nodded empathetically, "It is really not. They spray painted me on my ass. See look. The bullies!"

At the image of a turtle spray painted onto Fez's dark jeans, all the boys burst out into laughter. I shook my head and sighed. Fez pouted as they laughed and I didn't quite know what to do in order to make his ordeal any better. I'd been bullied too, in this life and in the last, but I usually just needed a hug from my mom and some ice cream. I didn't have ice cream here, and I'm fairly certain Fez didn't think of me as his mom, so...

Steven managed to stifle the rest of his laughter and took off his sunglasses to get a better look at what they'd done to Fez, "That's a bad picture of a turtle, man. It looks like a dick."

Eric blinked before bursting into another laughing fit. Breathlessly holding his belly he guffawed, "Oh my God. It does!"

Fez grunted and looked at his spray painted rear over his shoulder, "I want revenge against those mean Fort Anderson Snapping Turtles."

Steven shook his hair with one hand and patted Fez's shoulder with the other, "Look, Fez, I'll tell you what. Let's go to my garage, and I'll get you some paint thinner."

I inwardly beamed. He said his garage. It made me feel fuzzy inside to know that he really considered our house his home.

Fez backed away while shaking his head, "Ay, no."

Steven let out a frustrated sigh, "I'm sorry, Fez. It has to be done, if you want most of that paint off, man."

Michael bounced up to his feet, a anticipating grin on his face, "Yeah, and we have to watch."

Eric converged with the other guys and gave Fez a thumbs up, "Oh, yeah. We'll be moral support."

As they herded Fez out of the basement towards my garage, Fez loudly sighed and stated, "Fine, but this time no smoking." With that the basement door closed, leaving the three of us sitting there with only the Gilligan show buzzing in the background.

I got up and plunked myself down to sit beside Donna on the couch. With a great big sigh I let my head fall onto the back of the couch and stared up at the ceiling, "Great. Now Michael's gonna flunk his math test."

At the subject of Michael being brought up, Annette let out a dreamy sigh, "Michael's so sweet."

I sat up and raised a brow at her, "Don't go down that road, Annette. It led to nothing, but trouble. Remember."

Donna let her magazine lay onto her lap and tuned into the newest bit of Annette drama. She clucked her tongue, "Uh-oh."

Annette paid neither of us any mind, her eyes dreamy and sort of glassy, "He's just so-"

I huffed and threw one of the smaller throw pillows at her, "No!"

The throw pillow caught her in the middle of her daydream. With a pout she pulled the throw pillow to rest against her chest, "Oh, Lin stop it. Do you guys think that Michael and I-"

I slumped back into the couch and rolled my eyes, "Don't even say it, Annette. I swear, don't dare." I hated how neither of them learned anything when they were together. Sure they had some good times, but usually those same times were tainted by shit Michael did. At the end of the day, they didn't work to make each other better, they just kept hurting each other.

Annette hummed to herself and twirled a stray blonde hair with her forefinger, "I think maybe…"

Donna rolled her eyes and let herself slump against me, using my head as a prop, "If you keep going, I'll kill myself, I swear to God."

I prodded Donna and frowned, "Donna. Really?" I didn't like how she joked about that. Suicide was a real problem, and I never found it funny. Even now.

Donna rolled her eyes and sat up. She carelessly shrugged and pulled on an irritated face, "Lin. She keeps doing this every time she visits. It's not healthy."

At that comment, I had to nod and agree. A triumphant smile graced Donna's face. Biting my lower lip, I cast Annette a curious glance, "I know. How can you even afford to visit here so often, Annette?"

Annette raised a perfectly sculpted blonde brow at us and smugly stated, "My grandparents live here still, duh." Waving away any other questions we had about her constant traveling, a dopey grin flooded her face, "Back onto what I wanted to say. Girls, maybe he and I should get back together."

An utterly put out look morphed onto my face, raising my brow I let out a disgruntled noise, "Ugh. Annette, do you not remember how Michael cheated, hurt, and lied to you? Also he's in a relationship with another girl. Shouldn't that be a big deterrent to you?" It certainly would've sent me running to the hills at the very least.

With a decidedly unladylike snort she rolled her eyes and waved away my comment, "Listen to yourself, Lin. Cheat-ed. Hurt-ed. Lie-duh. It's all ancient history. Besides, that girl is just a phase. He'll be done with her soon enough. Lately, when we look into each other's eyes and I know we're both thinking about the same thing."

Donna picked up her magazine again, probably thinking that this conversation wasn't going to go in our favor, "Your hair?"

Annette pouted, "No."

I shrugged and curled my legs under me so I could lean against one of the couches arms, "I dunno. Sex?"

With that, Annette's face pinkened before she let out an aggravated, "No!" Managing to compose herself after her slight outburst, she patted down her hair and clothes before shooting both of us an annoyed look, "Look, it means that we're meant to be together. I need to know that he's really changed. I need to test him somehow."

Donna tilted her head from side to side before pinching the bridge of her nose, and letting her Cosmo magazine rest onto her lap again, "I agree."

I gave Donna a curious look and shrugged. Might as well. With a short nod towards Annette, I agreed as well, "I do, too."

"Oh! You girls do?" Annette bounced in her seat, a happy bright smile lighting up her face.

Donna slowly nodded, "Absolutely."

I tilted my head and bit my lip, letting sarcasm coat my words as subtly as I could, "Certainly; if you get back with Michael, and if his new girlfriend is really a 'phase' like you said, you better have him tested." I put a strong emphasis on 'phase' and 'you', but both the sarcasm and the emphasis that I had put on certain words didn't seem to get through to her.

Donna noticed though and gingerly pinched my shoulder. I shot her a put out look as she turned back to Annette with a sympathetic smile, "You really might want to, Annie. He hasn't exactly been a saint since you guys were together."

She shook her head and stood up, holding both her hands together and gently swaying, "This just makes me more determined, girls." A fire burned in her eyes as she pumped her fist into the air, "Okay! I want to see if Michael is ready to be in a healthy, adult relationship so I've come up with five psychological tests."

Snickers spilled out of me before I could smother it, "Damn, Annette. He can't even spell psychological."

Jutting her hip to the side and letting her hand fall onto it, Annette scowled, "Look, besides, he only has to get three out of five. And the first test is on maturity."

Before anyone else could add onto Annette's comment, or really question where she had found these tests, the basement door banged open once more. A chortling Michael strolled back into the basement. He paused, saw us all and beamed, "Oh, man. We're trying to get the paint off of Fez's butt, right? So I started to spray lighter fluid on it. And Fez gets all mad, right? And then he started chasing me, but he had his Pants around his ankles. So then he tripped and fell and I think he hurt himself, but I don't know, 'cause I was, like, out of there. So what's going on with you guys?" With that he took out one of the folding chairs that Mrs. Forman had put away beside the basement door.

Annette jumped in and hurriedly made her way to Michael, batting her eyelashes all the while, "Donna, Lin, and I were discussing our careers. I'm going to high-end cosmetics, Lin's gonna keep running her bakery/café, and Donna thinks she'll make a great lumberjack."

A very irritated look flickered across Donna's face as she flatly demanded, "Stop telling everybody that."

I snorted. I knew that Donna didn't want to do that, but I bet that if she wanted to, she'd have enough strength to do so. Donna pinched me again, and I swatted away her crab fingers. I pouted at her triumphant look, as I rubbed my now sore shoulder. Damn woman, and her pinchy fingers.

Annette tilted her head and twirled a strand of hair with her forefinger, "So what kind of career do you see yourself in?"

A thoughtful look crossed Michael's face as he sat down onto the folding chair. After a moment he crossed his arms and nodded to himself, "Okay, well, I was considering becoming a doctor."

Annette bounced and shot us both a look that clearly stated that we were wrong for doubting her, "Ooh."

"Seriously, Michael?" Disbelief painted my face as I slowly blinked. Was he actually serious?

"Mhmm," Michael murmured as a concentrated look spread across his face. It was clear to all present, that his mind was whirring away.

Annette slinked up to him and gently caressing his arm, "A doctor? That's so mature."

Suddenly, Michael planted a fist into his palm and grinned at us all, slightly jostling Annette, "Or a rodeo clown."

I beamed at his answer and gave him a thumbs up, "That's more like it." Oh, I knew he wasn't that dumb, but if he was faced with a career that counted on him for people to live or die, or a rodeo clown. Well, the choice wasn't hard.

A triumphant grin blossomed onto his face, "Yeah. I know, right?"

Annette stared down at Michael, disappointment clearly painted onto her face, "A Rodeo clown? You want to be a rodeo clown."

Michael tilted his head up at Annette and shrugged, "Why, not? Rodeo clowns are the unsung heroes of the new West. And you know I've always enjoyed being inside of barrels."

With that, Annette's face morphed into fury as she spun away from him and out of the basement.

"What'd I say?" He frowned at the now open basement door in confusion.

Annette was certainly good at making a dramatic exit.

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Sunshine shone down onto Eric's driveway, heating the concrete and everything along with everyone else. A slight breeze blew by, carrying the scent of summer flowers, manure, and something else in the air. I breathed it in and hid under the shade of a nearby tree.

Donna tugged on my arm, and I whined, "Please, don't touch me, Big Red. You're sticky."

A frown found it's way onto Donna's face as she dropped her hand, "Hey, you can't blame this on me. We could be inside in your air-conditioned house, but Annette wanted to do a test, remember."

I stuck my tongue out at her and pulled my thin black NASA tank top away from my skin, "Yes, I'm aware of why we're here outside. In the middle of June. On one of the hottest days in the week."

Annette called us over and tapped her stilettoed foot impatiently, we both rolled our eyes as we meandered closer to her. She grinned at us, despite the sheen of sweat on her forehead, "Okay, this next test is about consideration. I want to see if he'll choose my interests over his."

As we saw Michael making his way up the drive way, Donna giggled behind her hand, "This is gonna be so funny."

An amused look flooded my face, "You are so right, Donna. It's gonna be grape." I shot her with my fingers shaped into pretend guns after my joke.

She rolled her eyes and gently swatted away my finger guns, "Oh ha ha. Cause of my thing for grape soda. You're so punny, Lin."

Annette skipped towards Michael and let her hands fall behind her back, "So Michael…There are two events occurring this weekend. One that you might like and one that I would really, really, really want to go to. Now, should we go see the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders or go to the new high tea service that they have by the dentist and bookstore?" I perked up when she mentioned the new tea place. They were the new high tea store that ordered all their baked goods from us. It was a nice place to go to, and also very profitable.

And cue the batting eyelashes. I idly wondered if that worked for her more often than it usually did. Because Michael didn't seem phased by her outright flirting.

Michael tilted his head and squinted down at her. He snorted out in amusement, "Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, duh." When I heard him say duh, I inwardly cringed. They were using that phrase because of me. Crap.

Annette recoiled slightly before she tried again. With a forced smile, she gritted out, "Yes, or -?"

Michael turned from her and started walking away from us, "If that's really all you wanted to ask me here for Annette, it's the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders."

Annette spluttered and hurried after him, "But Michael, I want-"

Michael waved his hand dismissively as he continued walking away with Annette on his heels, "No. Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders!"

Donna snorted, "See? Funny."

I shook my head and smiled, "I see what you mean. Come on, let's head back inside."

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The air conditioner in their room rumbled away as it spat out cold air, chasing away the summer heat that started slinking in mid June. I tugged onto my towel tighter as I sat down onto the edge of the bed and proceeded to dry my wet hair.

As I finished drying my hair, I started slathering lotion onto my arms and legs, "So Annette's trying to test if Michael is gonna be a good enough boyfriend."

Steven turned towards me, making the covers slip lower past his naked torso, "She wants to go down that disastrous road again? She does know that he's actually dating someone else right?" Disgust briefly flitted onto his face. He hated cheaters too. It was probably because his parents had constantly done that to one another while they were still actively in his life.

A smile dimpled my cheeks and crinkled my eyes, "I know, right?" At least someone got why all of this was so ridiculous and stupid. I finished putting on lotion and left the bottle onto my night stand.

"So what kind of test is it?" Idle curiosity laced his voice as I slipped underneath the blankets.

I fluffed up my pillow and hummed, "Maturity, selflessness, and parenting so far, I think." I tried to cuddle closer to him, but he stopped me and instead pulled me up to brush my wet hair.

Before I could protest, I sagged under his gentle hand, "You think I'd pass those tests?" His breath tickled the back of my neck and made tingles run down to my toes and other places.

My cheeks flushed as I let out a high pitched giggle, "Oh, puddin' pop. You'd thrash those tests to death. Besides, you don't need anything stupid like that."

He deftly finished brushing my hair and pulled me against his warm chest, "Yeah?"

A warm look filled with love flooded my face, as a gentle smile tugged at my lips, "Yeah. Have I told you lately that I love you?"

Chuckles filled his chest, causing vibrations to run through my back, as he murmured against my skin, "I love you too, doll."

I pulled back away from him in order to slink in beside him instead. I turned onto my side and gave him a saucy wink, "So...you wanna...?"

Steven let a smirk swing onto his face, his blue eyes filled with mischief, "Hah. Like you need to ask. Look under the covers."

I raised a brow before lifting up the blanket to take a peek at what he meant. I let out a little laugh that sort of sounded like a gasp to me, "Oh my!"

Roguishly grinning he pulled me closer, "Come here, doll."

I bursts into laughter as Steven dragged me under the blankets to have his way with me. I was definitely going to have my way with him too, so this was okay in my books.

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The air felt vastly different as we stepped outside of our house. It felt warm and humid as it encircled us. Steven wrapped a comforting arm around me as we each held on a canvas bag filled with plants. I let out a giggle at his last joke about an out of business sign and a brothel. His smile suddenly slipped off his face as he stared out at something. Following his eyes I turned and frowned.

Steven gently let the canvas bag drop onto the ground, and waved, "Kelso, Fez, what the hell are you two doing?"

I rolled my eyes and called out, "And why does it have to be on our lawn?"

Fez happily waved at the two of us, while Michael called over his shoulder, not a care in the world, "Don't worry! We're just tossing around this egg Annie gave me to take care of."

I let the canvas bag I was holding gently thunk down onto the ground. Fishing out my inhaler, I took in a puff, and shot Michael a dry look, "Don't you think it might break, Michael?"

Michael kept his eyes on the flying egg and caught it before throwing back to Fez, "Yeah, uh, well, I just thought we'd have some fun with it before I threw it at somebody."

Steven let out an aggravated sigh and snarked, "You are such a moron, and that egg's gonna break. Both of you better clean it up, when it does."

"You are so gonna fail Annette's test," I leaned against Steven and shot Michael a disappointed glare.

Michael looked over at the two of us before chuckling, "Yeah, yeah. Wait, test? What test?" His eyes had gotten wide and confused, kind of like how a golden retriever looks when you say go fetch, but you actually kept the ball instead of throwing it.

I bit my lip and huffed, "I'm not supposed to say anything, but Annette's testing you to see if you're ready to get back together. Although, in my opinion, you shouldn't because-"

Michael let out a gasping breath filled with surprise and happiness, "Oh, my God! Are you serious? Do you think I have a chance?" At that exclamation, Fez held onto the egg and tilted his head in confusion.

"No. Not really," I shook my head and slipped in closer to Steven, even with the sweat that made my shirt start to cling against my skin. I didn't really like confrontations like this, but Michael really needed to hear this.

Steven rubbed my back in comforting circles and shot Michael a derisive look, "You've already failed two tests and you're about to fail the third, Kelso. That egg is a test of your parenting ability."

Michael blinked and slowly nodded, "So what you're saying is if I break that egg then I fail the test, and lose Annie, one of the girls I love more than anything in the world?"

Both of us silently nodded, while a judgy look edged onto my face. Try as I might to smother it, it still threatened to rise if we kept talking about this.

He whipped his head towards Fez, waved his hands and yelled, "Fez, give me the egg!"

Fez eagerly nodded and chucked the egg towards Michael, he might have underestimated his throw though, "Okay, catch. Whoops."

Michael jumped up as high as he could, but the egg sailed past him and splattered against our lawn.

I let out a sigh and made a face at the mess that they'd put off cleaning, "Finally, karma. Maybe this'll make him think it's some sort of sign."

Steven adjusted his sunglasses before giving my behind a gentle squeeze, "I doubt it, doll. I doubt it. Hey, how about you plant the things for our walk way, and I'll deal with the duffuses and the mess." He gestured to the two shell shocked boys and the splattered egg all over our lawn.

My face brightened at that suggestion and I gave him a chaste kiss on the lips in thanks, "Thank you, puddin' pop. You're the best."

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I tossed a cheese puff into the air and watched as Steven deftly caught it with his mouth. Quickly chewing it he shot me a roguish look before capturing my lips in a gentle kiss. I laughed against his scruff and patted his chest.

The basement door creaked open, stealing everyone's attention, as Annette walked in holding an oddly made contraption in her hands. It was made out of popsicle sticks and paper, and sort of resembled a badly made basket. A cheerful look flashed onto her face as she caught sight of all of us, "Hey, guys."

Annette made her way the basement couch and gently set the basket thing onto the coffee table. Donna quirked a brow and lowered her magazine, "Hi, Annie."

I let Steven take hold of our bag of cheese puffs and gave Annette a brief wave, "Hello, Annette. What's that?"

A satisfied smile pulled at her lips, "Oh, it's just this little crib-like thing I made for Eggy."

Eric just about choked on the grape soda Donna and him were sharing. He coughed, "Eggy?"

She shot Eric a short squinty look before happily replying, "Yeah, I named him. I don't know, this egg is, like, bringing out all sorts of maternal stuff in me... Wait... Michael, what happened to the pencil mark I made on the bottom?"

Michael looked up from his seat and fidgeted for a bit before a brittle smile tugged onto his lips, "Oh. Must have come off when I was giving him his gentle bath."

Steven coughed into his hand, "Nice."

I rolled my eyes and popped in a cheese puff into my mouth. I think Steven was enjoying this a little too much, but I did have to admit that it was much better than watching more reruns on TV.

Annette dreamily sighed as she looped her arm around Michael's arm, "Michael, I knew you had this in you. You are gonna make a great dad one day."

He shot her a smirk and carried the egg delicately as they walked off out of the basement, "Yeah. Uh-oh. Somebody needs a change."

I stared at them as they disappeared up the stairs. Biting my lip, I looked around at the others, guilt and irritation swirled in my gut, "Do you... Do you think we should say anything?"

Steven shook his head and snorted, settling me more firmly against his lap, "And miss this train wreck, not a chance, doll." He gave me a gentle squeeze before planting trailing kisses up my neck. My worry faded for a moment as I felt him distracting me in the best way he knew how.

Donna clucked her tongue and swiftly added, "Besides, Annie won't listen to us. You just have to let this happen, Lin. Don't worry."

Eric happily hummed and let his arm fall around Donna, "Yeah, my lovely lady is correct, little sister o' mine. Annie's a big girl. She'll figure out that this entire thing is dumb."

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Sunshine shone through the store windows and bathed the entire bakery with a warm glow. The air conditioner that we'd put into the shop, worked over time, gently humming on in the background. I adjusted my apron and swiped away the sweat that gathered on my brow with my forearm, before punching in the price for a tall chocolate chip frappacino with the works. They were selling like hot cakes today, probably because of the heat.

"That'll be 85 cents, Mrs. Erdman," I handed Mrs. Erdman her drink and noted that she was looking much more spry under the heat than the rest of us, especially since she was 60 years old.

Mrs. Erdman happily took her drink and took a long sip, smiling around her straw. She pulled out a dollar and gently placed it in my hand, with a warm pat, "Here you are, dear. Keep the change."

As she left, I smiled to myself and put the dollar into the till. I called out and waved, just as she left, "Come again!" I tied up the space around my till, but before I could spray it down, I felt Steven pat my shoulder.

He nodded towards Annie, who happened to have a head wrap as her main accessory of the day, "Hey, doll, isn't that Annie?"

I sighed and looked at the oncoming drama, "Oh, hey it is. Wonder what she's doing here." With no other customers at the till, I helped out Mabel with tuning and cleaning the machines that were resting on this shift. I could probably hear them fine from this range too. Her head wrap made me feel nostalgic. I used to wear things like that now and then from before. I idly wondered if it would be weird if I took to that style again. I shook that thought away, it'd be too weird in this body.

Annette sniffled and sadly confessed, patting her head all the while, "Michael, I have some bad news. I just found out I have B.H.D."

Michael stopped munching on his pizza roll and frowned at her, "B.H.D.?"

Annette pulled her hand to her forehead and dramatically leaned against Michael, "Yeah. Brittle Hair Disease. I have to go to the hospital tomorrow and get all my hair shaved off."

A confused look spread across Michael's face as his eyes squinted a bit in thought, "So you'll be...?"

Annette's brow twitched slightly before she pulled on a sad smile, "Bald, Michael. B-A-L-D, no hair, shiny head, bald. And my hair won't ever grow back either. Will you still love me when I'm bald?"

"You could wear a wig," Michael helpfully suggested. At hearing that Mabel snickered into her arm as she continued cleaning down the frappacino machine spouts.

I shook my head, an amused grin making its way onto my face, "I see. That's why she's here."

"Sure answers that," Steven added as he passed by, subtly grabbing my butt, before wiping down the top of the pastry/baked good display.

"So, Michael, are you saying that you would not love me if I didn't have a luscious, full-bodied head of hair?" The impatience in her voice was clear to me, but I wondered if Michael could hear it too.

"Oh! No, Annie. I would love you even more. You know; I would shave off my hair and paste it to your head."

"Michael, that's beautiful. I'll be right back, I just have to go to the ladies room for a moment."

Charlie let out a snort as he finished ringing up a customer, he murmured under his breath, "Nice job, Romeo. Not."

Turned out, a lot of my employees didn't like Michael right now. I was honestly surprised that they hadn't planted some laxatives or something in the food that he ordered today.

I let out a deep sigh as I refilled some of the baked goods in the display, "God, I'm so glad that Brooke's off today and not here to witness this utter train wreck." Just looking at the two of them making goo goo eyes, made my stomach fill with guilt.

Leo popped in from the back, carrying a tray of fresh scones, "I dunno, boss lady. If she was, maybe then she'd give up on this shmuck."

I sighed and leaned against the counter. Steven's arms encircled me for a moment, which drew out my irritation into a just becoming a feeling of being very tired of it all, "Oh, Leo. I doubt it. Love blinds her."

Mabel shot them a dirty look as she deftly made a frappacino for the next customer, "He's not good enough for her."

I bit my lip before slowly nodding, "Yeah, I know that. Heck we all know that, but Brooke likes him. So maybe he can grow up into someone that will be good enough for her."

"You're a cheese ball, doll," Steven murmured against my skin before he attended the customer pointing at one of our new experimental cakes; a s'mores cake with toasted marshmallow buttercream.

I let out a snort, "Hah. I know. But, seriously, you guys know I'm right." With that I got back to work like everyone else, but I made sure to keep a subtle eye on them though, it wouldn't hurt. Besides, if they caused any chaos, I could kick them out. As a good upstanding citizen of course. I inwardly snickered at that thought.

Michael happily bubbled, "That was a test, right? 'Cause bald chicks are gross." He looked our way and when I noted that no one replied to him, I shrugged. Michael took that as conformation though and smugly settled back into his seat.

I shook my head and inwardly rolled my eyes. Sometimes, I wondered where his moral compass actually pointed. Or if he even bothered to look half the time.

A short svelte blonde sashayed up to Michael and wiggled her fingers at him, "Hey there, Kelso."

Michael finished off his pizza roll and nodded at her, "Hi, Tiffany."

Tiffany hummed and pulled down her, already exceedingly low, top just a little lower before throatily stating, "I'm so glad I ran into you. I've been meaning to ask you something."

Michael's eyes were instantly drawn to Tiffany's slightly exposed cleavage, as he gulped out, "Yeah? What's that?"

She bit her lower lip and pressed her shorter frame against his, "Will you take me back to your house and make out with me?"

Red splotches visibly drew on Michael as he rapidly shook his head. Sweat drew on his brow as he nervously chuckled, "Well, I- I don't know. I'm here to waiting for Annie to get back, so-"

Tiffany winked at him as she traced her fore finger down his chest, "I promise she'll never find out. It'd be an afternoon of secret make-out fun. You can drink grape juice from my belly button."

Steven let out a choked laugh as we continued to wipe down the counter as though we couldn't hear their lurid conversation. Why were they doing this here? I shook my head and let out a slight snort. If they didn't stop soon, I'd have to step in. It was getting ridiculous.

Michael reeled back and shook his hands in front of him. A sheepish smile stole across his face, "I can't. I mean, I appreciate the offer and all 'cause you're, like, really hot but the only girl I want to make out with is Annie, so-"

Annette popped out from behind the ficus plant she'd been hiding behind with stars in her eyes, "Oh, Michael, you did it! You did it! You passed the last test!"

Tiffany pulled back and did up her shirt. She shot Michael a coy grin, "Did you believe me, Kelso?"

Michael blinked rapidly and looked between the two girls in front of him before slowly nodding, "Yeah, sure."

A bright beaming smile pulled at Tiffany's lips as she bounced up and down on her heels, "Oh, good! Because I'm in drama club, and I really want-"

Annette threw the poor girl a stink and and shoved her away, "Yeah, thank you, Tiffany, bye-bye. I need to talk with Michael now."

Tiffany huffed and gave both of them the bird before stalking out of the store.

Why would we need a TV in the store, when my friends were just dramatic as a Spanish soap opera? I rolled my eyes as my cohorts snickered and snorted as subtly as they could.

Michael held Annette's shoulders and took a deep breath before blurting out, "Annie, Lin and Hyde told me about the test. So I knew what was going on, and I didn't say anything. So maybe I don't deserve to be with you because that wasn't very honest of me. I'm sorry. Plus there's this whole Brooke thing." A sheen of guilt crossed his face as he gazed down at Annette's crumbling face.

Annette blinked back tears as her smile vanished off of her face. She shrugged off his hands and took a step back, "Oh... I- I didn't know that. That... That changes things. I can't take you back. Not like this. I'm sorry."

"It's alright…you know that I still love you though, in my own way, right?" The soft apologetic look that graced Michael's face wasn't something that any of us had seen. Maybe Michael really could grow into someone that deserved Brooke.

Annette shot him a wry grin before she turned to leave, "I love you too, Michael."

wvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvw

Circle Time:

PAN TO MICHAEL

"Honesty's cool, man. It's like I can do anything wrong and then ask for forgiveness, and then I'm almost good again. I mean, someone should invent a religion like that."

PAN TO LIN

"I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to lie when you're a Catholic. I could be wrong though."

PAN TO MICHAEL

"Really?"

PAN TO STEVEN

"Sure. Maybe you should do some hail Mary's, or something."

PAN TO MICHAEL

"Huh."

PAN TO ERIC

"Okay, so did anyone besides me think that some of the guys in that movie were not completely average? Like, you know, they were way, way above average?"

PAN TO MICHAEL

"Well, you don't go into that line of work when you are below average. You go, if you have a large package that the ladies will enjoy."

PAN TO LIN

"Why are you guys obsessing? It was like, a five minute scene in an hour long movie with so much more action. Why don't you guys talk about that cool gun fight? That lady pistol whipped a guy's face! That was awesome."

PAN TO STEVEN

"Cause they showed their dongs to everyone, doll. Just like boobs, dicks need a time to shine."

PAN TO ERIC

"Gah. God, don't tell her that. I don't need to hear it. La la la la la!"

PAN TO LIN

"I've seen a penis before, Eric. Grow up, man."

PAN TO ERIC

"God, no! NO more. Size doesn't matter, and you have virgin eyes. And ears. End of discussion."

PAN TO LIN

A snort escaped past Lin's lips as she leaned her head against Steven's shoulder.

PAN TO FEZ

Fez snickered into his snicker doodle.

PAN TO STEVEN

"Okay then. You just pray some hot, redheaded neighbor girl likes you for your personality and not your size, Forman."

PAN TO FEZ

"What are you talking about? Those men were completely average. In fact, I found the guy with the mustache downright puny."

PAN TO HYDE

"See now, Fez, that's not honest. I mean, we all know you're small in the pants."

PAN TO MICHAEL

"Guys. Back to what I was saying. So, like, from here on in, I'm only telling the truth. In fact, I'm gonna come clean to Brooke about everything. I don't wanna make the same mistakes that I made with Annie…"

PAN TO FEZ

"Fine. You want honesty? I shall give you honesty. We are all small in the pants."

PAN TO STEVEN

"Fez, no. And Kelso, this honesty thing... It might be your best idea ever."

PAN TO LIN

"You know what? Yeah. Steven's right. You should confess about the entire Annette debacle to Brooke. It's the least you can do. Like literally."

PAN TO STEVEN

"Yeah, you should make a list of all the lies you've ever told to Annette. Then tell 'em to Brooke! I'll even help you. 'Cause all's I really want is for you to be happy."

PAN TO ERIC

"Hey, you guys, honestly you don't think Donna's, you know, bored, right? 'Cause those guys in the movie, they didn't do the same move twice. And I've done the same move, like always."

PAN TO MICHAEL

"I'll bet they go to a special school or something. They're like doctors at doing it."

Kitty's voice called down past the door from the kitchen to the basement, "Eric, Steven, Lin, dinner!"

PAN TO ERIC

"Oh, no. Now I have to act normal."

PAN TO STEVEN

"I can totally act normal."

PANT TO LIN

"Ditto. I just get sleepy with this stuff. Come on. Before your mom starts getting suspicious."

wvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvw

The Forman's dining room was decorated nicely and a veritable feast was laid out before them. The nice linens were out and everything looked much fancier than normal.

At the sight of a black haired lady in a light pink pants suit, it all became clear. Especially when Kitty looked like she'd eaten a lemon, Red looked happy despite the tense atmosphere, and Laurie seemed to sulk. Paula was back.

It was an odd picture in her rather hazy mind. That weed that Eric managed to acquire really did a number on her tonight.

Eric gave his aunt a happy salute as he dug into his mashed potatoes, "Aunt Paula, you look great."

Paula preened under the compliment and fluffed up her hair, taking a sip of wine before smiling, "Oh, that's sweet of you to say."

I gave her a little wave as I slowly cut up my steak, "Hello again, Miss Paula."

Paula sent a happy wink my way before raising a perfectly sculpted brow, "Hi there, little Lin. Not so little now though. And who is this, strapping young man?"

I didn't like the considering look she was giving him so I butted in, "This is my Steven." A proud look crossed Paula's face before she nodded.

Steven nodded at her and muttered, "Hey."

A grin dimpled her face while her blue eyes twinkled, "Ahhh. Well it's nice to meet you, kid. Treat her right, or I'll have to call a friend to deal with you."

Steven recoiled slightly at the threat and frowned, "Uh... Okay."

Eric tilted his head and pointed at her with his steak speared fork, "You're so pink today."

A happy flush filled Paula's face, "Oh, Eric, you're so cute. Here's 20 bucks."

Eric let his utensils clank onto his plate as he took the 20 dollar bill from his aunt, "Aunt Paula is awesome!"

Kitty cleared her throat, "So, Paula, tell me more about the ship captain."

Paula waved away her sister's question, "Oh, that was just a fling, you know."

Red hummed and pointed at her with his fork, "Didn't you have a fiancé the last time we saw you?"

Kitty gave Red a chastizing look, "Red, now there is no reason to rehash ancient history, is there?"

Paula gave a blase shrug and laughed, "No, it's okay. It turned out he lived on some sort of commune where everyone called him God. And there were- there were guns. And I really could never figure out why God would need a gun. But there were some fun parties."

Eric let out a whoop after swallowing more of his dinner, "Whoo!"

I hissed and kicked him under the table, "Eric." Note to self, never let him get high before going to dinner. Especially not with someone his mother wanted to impress.

Laurie drank down her soup and snickered, "That's hilarious!"

Kitty shot her a betrayed look, "Laurie."

Laurie pouted and huffed, pushing her potatoes around, "What? It sounds like it was."

Paula let out a tinkling laugh and nodded, "Oh, it was. Life has gotten so much better since I moved to Indianapolis though. I mean, things move so much faster in the big city. One day you're wondering if you'll ever find happiness and the next, you're waving the starting flag at the Indy 500."

I blinked at her, slowly chewing my steak before gulping it down with some water, "You waved the Indy flag?" Was that a regular thing in her life?

A smirk smeared onto her face, "Mm-hmm."

Steven let his utensils clank onto his empty plate, "Oh, God, you are the coolest."

Paula barked out a laugh and tossed some money at Steven, "And that's 20 bucks for you, Lin's Steven."

He tensed for a moment, and I figured that he didn't like the way she just gave him money. Kind of like a dancing monkey. I frowned and rubbed his thigh under the table. Steven's shoulder's loosened as he gave Paula a curt, "Thanks."

Laurie pushed her plate away from her and leaned onto the table with her too skinny forearms, her food only half eaten, "Mom, how funny is it that while Aunt Paula was at Indy you were probably at, like, Price Mart."

The look Kitty shot her daughter was glacial as she hurriedly got up, "Ooh, ooh, ooh, who wants pie? It's meringue." She quickly dashed out of the dining room and into the kitchen. A tense silence was left in her place before she came back moments later with a meringue pie in hand.

Quickly serving everyone some pie, she sat back down next to Red and delicately ate her pie.

Paula gave her sister a considering look before biting into the pie, "Well, enough about me. Kitty, dear, what have you been up to?"

Kitty looked up from her dessert and pulled on a brittle looking smile, "Well, you know, it's funny you should ask because we have been super, super busy at the hospital. And I've been busy being, you know, a mom and a wife. Busy, busy, busy."

Eric snorted and shook his head after inhaling his pie, "Oh, no, she's not up to anything. It's kind of boring at the hospital. People live. People die. So, did you meet Dick Trickle?"

Red barked out, "Eric!"

Eric blinked at his parent's embarrassed faces, brain still foggy, "What? He's a race car driver. His name is Richard 'The Dick' Trickle."

wvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvw

A languid breeze blew against the grass around us, like a child sending a dandelion seeds on their way. Above us, downy white wisps of clouds trailed in the sky. The early summer sun brought about a welcoming warmth. It coated me and Donna as thoroughly as caramel over a harvest apple.

My watch said that it is near noon and I started digging faster. Donna didn't seem to mind that time seemed to slip away while she helped me garden, but I wanted to hurry up so we could get out of the heat.

Donna looked up at me from under her straw hat, "It was just so strange. I mean, usually he just sticks to, like, two or three key moves. Then he goes and pulls out this crazy thing!"

I looked up past my floppy straw hat and blinked at her, before biting my lip as I glanced at her, "You know, I bet it's because of that x-rated flick we saw yesterday. And I really don't want to know about what his crazy thing is." An amused look trickled onto my face as I planted another bunch of Aster in the garden bed.

Donna got up off of her knees and stood up. She frowned down at me and huffed, "Oh, don't be a baby, Lin. I wasn't talking about his thing, I was talking about his moves."

I waved away her comment, and planted the last Aster plant in the garden bed, "Still gross though." With a pat on the moist dirt, I got up off of the ground and stretched towards the bright blue sky.

Donna sighed and stretched out, "Okay, off topic. You guys went to an X-rated movie?"

I cracked my back and with the pops of sound, sudden relief came over me. Humming and nodding absently, I yawned, "Well yeah. Mind you, it wasn't all sex, it had a bunch of action too. Why? Didn't Eric tell you?" I tilted my face to look up at her, curiosity brimming in my belly. Why wouldn't Eric tell her something like this?

Sadness creeped up onto Donna's face making her lower lip wobble, "Do you think my sex life is so boring that he'd just rather watch other people doing it, than just asking to do it with me?" Her voice had trailed off becoming tinyand hesitant. This sort of insecurity wasn't something that I was used to, well coming from Donna anyways.

I frowned and shook my head. Tugging on her dirt covered arm I pulled her towards the back entrance into my house, "Donna, of course it isn't. It's okay. Come on inside."

Donna blinked away tears and muttered, "How is it okay?"

As we entered back into my air conditioned house, I tugged off my hat and wiped the sweat off of my brow, "Porn is perfectly healthy. It's not like he wants the other people on the screen."

We both started started washing off the dirt and grime at the kitchen sink.

Donna let out a put out sigh, "How can you know that though?" She slowly dried her hands on a nearby kitchen towel.

I shrugged as I dried off my hands on my shirt, "I don't. I just trust my boyfriend, and you just have to trust yours."

Donna leaned against my kitchen counter on her elbows before blowing a stray hair out of her face, "Man. Do you really trust Hyde?"

I hopped up and sat on the kitchen counter that Donna was leaning against. I shot her a warm smile, "Yes. Very much so. And I'm confident that he doesn't want those other women more than me when he watches porn. Have some confidence in yourself, lady. You're a catch. Don't forget it."

Giving me a slight nudge, a grin bloomed on Donna's face, "Awe! Thank you, Lin."

"Don't worry about it. Still upset?"

"A little..."

"You want some ice cream?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Let me get down. I have just the thing at the back of my fridge."

wvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvw

In the bakery, the air was saturated with wonderful smells against the warm rays of light that only paused because of every stray cloud now and again. The scent of coffee, sweet syrups, various cakes, and the many pastries lingered in the air around them. Interspersed now and again, was the faint whiff of apples. It was my favorite choice of cleaning agent. I didn't quite like the lemony scent the others gave off.

I sprayed down the counter again, and smiled at another happy customer. The radio hummed in the background as chatter filled the rest of the bakery. Brooke came out of the back beside me, clean apron strung around her, and a retail smile pasted onto her face.

A grin grew on my face, "Feeling better?"

Brooke shot me a sheepish smile, "Yeah. I had the weirdest bout of the flu. Thanks for letting me have that day off."

I shook my head as I finished up cleaning the counter, "No worries."

Michael dragged a tired looking Steven towards the front, he looked aggravated. I mean. I would be too. Steven was supposed to be on his break. Eric and Fez seemed to be tagging along with Michael. I tilted my head and raised a brow. What was that boy up to now?

He took a breath and puffed himself up, before deflating like a sad balloon, "Okay, Brooke. There are some things I that I feel you should know before, you know, we get together. You know, officially and stuff."

Fez and Eric lingered behind him, a small popcorn bag between them as they sat at a nearby table.

Brooke shot them a wary look as she tightened her already perfect apron, "Okay. Why are they here?"

"Well, Hyde helpfully pointed out that it's not really honesty unless your friends are allowed to watch. Besides, Lin and Hyde seem like the best people to screen this stuff," Michael nodded and shot both me and Steven a smile. Although, I doubt that's what she'd meant. It was mine, well our, bakery/cafe, so it would be odd if we weren't here before he came waltzing in.

A snort escaped Brooke before an indulgent smile slid onto her face, "No, I meant Fez and Eric, but okay…."

Micheal promptly ignored her comment and pulled out a crumpled list from his pocket. Clearing his throat he shot her a sheepish smile, "So, anyway, I made a list."

Steven strode to stand beside me, wrapping an arm around my waist, and piped up, "The list was my idea."

Brooke rolled her eyes and nodded, "Thank you for that, Hyde."

A sneaky smile split Steven's face as I patted his arm before kissing his jaw, "It was a lovely idea, puddin' pop."

With a wink he tightened his hold on my waist as he plopped a kiss onto my crown, "Thank you, doll."

Heat flooded Michael's face before he shot her a sheepish look, "Okay, so let's just get started. Um, that picture you saw of me in kindergarten when we were younger? Those weren't puffy pants. It was a big boy diaper."

Blinking repeatedly, Brooke slowly nodded, "Huh. Well alright. We've all had really bad photos of ourselves when we were younger."

His cheeks cooled as Brooke's understanding expression spread across her face. Michael smiled and continued on, "Oh. Cool. That's good then. And do you remember that time you came out of the shower when we were camping while we were growing up?" He shuffled his feet from one foot to the next.

Perking up at the mention of that, Brooke tilted her head with narrowed eyes, "Yeah? Why...? What'd you do?"

He flinched and looked away while scratching at his cheek, "Remember how you thought you saw a flash? Well... I- Uh- I took your picture." Looling away from her, he took out a picture from his jacket pocket and shoved it towards Brooke.

Brooke's jaw twitched before a strained smile spilled across her face. Delicately holding the picture between her forefinger and thumb, her brow rose, "Huh. Is this the only copy?"

A relieved look fell across his face, "Yeah. You're not mad?"

"I'm not exactly thrilled," she dead panned, a sigh escaped past her lips before she could stop it.

Michael perked up and shot her a bright grin, "Bright side. It's clean."

I choked on my spit and coughed out, "Oh God, Michael. You're gross." Steven steadily smacked my back as I coughed until I felt like I wasn't going to die. Mabel, Rhonda, and Charlie shot Michael dirty looks, but he blithely ignored them.

At the slightly queasy look on Brookes face, he huffed crossing his arms, "What!? It's a normal human thing to do."

Brooke grimaced, and stuffed the picture into her pants pocket, "Ugh…well…thanks? I guess. I should keep this…maybe burn it."

Steven rubbed my back while he took in a deep breath, "Jeeze Kelso. That's low." Fez and Eric nodded in the background, both still stuffing their faces with popcorn.

"Hey, man. I was a kid. Give me a break. Anyway, there was this one time when you asked me if you had anything in your teeth. You did, but I said no, because it was funnier that way. But that's not as bad-"

Brooke formed an x with her arms and snapped, "All right, Michael, stop! I think we need to work on selective honesty."

Steven snorted out a laugh and murmured under his breath, "Yes, that and basic hygiene. Seriously, good God, man."

She must've heard Steven though, because she smothered a laugh with a cough. Brooke turned her arms down and reached out to clutch at Michael's hands. Her eyes bored into his, "Okay, how about some ground rules. Michael unless one of your secrets involves kissing girl, sleeping with her, or having some love child with someone, I don't really need to know about it."

Understanding bloomed across his face, "Okay. Alright… Oh, how about a science fact! Dogs are cleaner than humans." Fez and Eric booed whilst throwing popcorn at Michael. I shot them a disapproving grimace. They better be cleaning that up later. Brats.

Shooting Michael a curt nod, Brooke turned towards me with a sheepish smile, "Right, well I'm going back to work now. Okay, boss?"

An amused look covered my face, a smile twitched onto my lips, "Thank you for indulging him, Brooke."

She carelessly waved at me, throwing a wink over her shoulder, "No worries, boss."

Steven smelled my hair and murmured against me neck, "How come she calls you boss, doll?"

My cheeks felt hot as I let out a strained laugh, "Cause I'm the boss."

With a nip and a closed kiss against my neck, Steven hummed, "Suuure."

I grinned and leaned back into him, "You love it."

He shook his head, "No. I love you."

I turned back around and muttered against his lips, "I love you too."

wvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvw

Warmth radiated from the tender savory chicken thighs. The mashed potatoes, baked vegetables, and the salad looked just as good as I breathed it all in. My mouth watered. I loved dinners with the Formans. I bounced in my chair as we all took turns taking dollops of food onto our plates. My stomach grumbled and I hoped no one heard it.

Steven snorted and patted my leg before he dug into his chicken. Drat. I flushed slightly against the warm fluorescent light of the dinning room. Well. Hopefully no one else noticed.

With that thought, buoying my spirits, I gently tore apart my chicken and swirled it into my potatoes and veggies. I tried to pace myself, but I had forgotten to eat all day today. Trying my best not to imitate a starving man on a deserted island, I gobbled up my food.

For a while, nothing could be heard around the table except the scraping of knives and forks.

Kitty cleared her throat after swallowing her last bite of chicken. She grinned at all of us, "So, is everyone enjoying dinner?"

Laurie looked up past her bangs and slowly nodded, "Good." She looked better today. Less likely to be blown away by a breeze.

Red perked up and happily swallowed his mouth full of food, "It's great, honey."

My plate was clear and clean, but my stomach still ached. I looked up and beamed at Kitty while contemplating seconds, "Thank you, Mrs. Forman."

Not one to be outdone by everyone, Eric pipped up with a mouth full of potatoes, "Yeah, thanks mom."

Steven finished his last bite and slouched in his seat. He shot Kitty a grateful grin, "It's great, Mrs. Forman."

She straightened up and smilingly nodded. In a blink, her eyes had gotten sharper as she folded her arms in front of her, "Well, I'm glad that everyone liked it. Now... I want to talk to everyone about helping me with the church fundraiser before I bring out dessert."

Everyone froze for a second and it felt like we were all deer in a forest right after hearing a gun shot. Red's jaw clenched and unclenched. Laurie's eyes darted towards the only exit past Kitty. Eric had a rebellious look brewing on his face and Steven had settled his zen onto his visage. Inwardly, I rolled my eyes at all of them. It's not like she really asked too much from us. If this made her happy, I'd do it.

Inwardly, I admitted to myself that I really did love Kitty like the mother I never had in this life. Like the hazy image of the mother I must've had from before here. My heart constricted and ached as I tried to shake those thoughts away.

Seeing that no one had tried to bolt right away, her tense shoulders relaxed an iota, "Okay, so God's Magic Circle is our church's women's auxiliary and I volunteered to help organize their next fund-raiser."

Red's lips turned down as he murmured under his breath, "Greaaat."

Kitty's head whipped at him, her eyes narrowed in a silent challenge.

He blinked and gulpped before fixing a sheepish smile onto his face, "I mean, that sounds great, honey. Wonderful even."

Kitty's brow rose and twitched as she hummed, "Mhmm."

Laurie looked green for a moment before coughing into her napkin, "And bravo, I say. Bra~vo." Her smile was as strained as Red's.

I nodded at her request as my eyes crinkled and my lips quirked up, "That sounds like fun, Mrs. Forman."

Kitty's expression softened as she nodded in my direction, "Why thank you Lin, sweetheart. I thought so too."

With his plate clean, he pushed back against the table and sat on the edge of his chair. Eric's eyes darted about as he smeared on a strained smile, "Yeah, dad's right. It's great! Now, if you'll please excuse me, mother dearest, I have to attend a meeting. It's, uh- It's very important, so-" Just as he was about to bolt, Kitty harshly cleared her throat. He stopped and gulped.

"Okay. No, sit back down, young man. I don't ask for much from this family. But I'm asking now," Kitty narrowed her eyes until Eric's face was shrouded with shame as he slumped back down onto his seat.

He bit his lip and murmured, "But, Mom, I think-"

"Sweetheart, I love you, but hush up. I want your support which, by the way, I always give you Mr. "I want to be a jazz guitarist" and Miss. "I want to be a pilot princess." I can see the gears in your brain plotting a way to get out of this," a put upon look painted Kitty's face as she gave her children a dry look.

Laurie spluttered as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, "Mom, I was six. And I was not plotting."

Kitty's eyes softened at the childish tone Laurie's voice had inadvertently taken, before clucking her tongue, "Mhmm. Doesn't mean you don't get to help either. I need everyone's help yours included."

"Ugh," Laurie slumped into her chair and huffed, resignation pulling her shoulders lower and a frown flitting onto her face.

Red looked around the table and barked out a laugh, "If your mother wants Archie, Jughead, Lin and your sister to help her, well then you're all going to help her. It's the very least you could do for the parents that brought you into this world."

Laurie pouted and batted sad eyes at her father, "Way to lay on the guilt dad."

I coughed out a laugh and muttered, "It's true though."

Her eyes turned flinty and dark before she sneered at me, "Shut up, suck up."

I rolled my eyes at her hostility. I take back my earlier compliment of her looking better. She's hag still no matter how much health she seems to acquire.

Kitty pursed her lips in displeasure and snapped, "Laurie, don't tell Lin to shut up."

She rolled her eyes as a disgusted look pulled her lips into a sneer, "Ugh!"

Eric broke the rumbling argument between the three of us with a snicker at Steven, "You're Jughead."

Steven rose a brow and scoffed, "You're Jughead. It's not even debatable."

A mischievous look twinkled in Eric's eye, "You are so- Ow!" Steven had discreetly frogged Eric in the shoulder. He wasn't into fighting just because right now. I wondered if he could sense the underlying tension?

I shook my head, a smile tugging my lips up before muttering, "Steven, stop hitting Jughead."

Steven shot Eric a smug smirk, "See?"

Red hit his fits against the table stalling the brewing argument between Eric and Steven, "Hey. Quit it the two of you. This is important to your mother and we should all support her for this. So you guys'll help out."

Kitty preened and shot Red a syrupy smile, "Why, thank you, Red. And you're coming too. Support your loving wife and all."

Panic flitted through Red's eyes as he coughed into his hand, "Oh, no, Kitty. I, uh- I have a meeting…."

Kitty tilted her head and leveled her husband with an unimpressed look, "Mhmm?"

A sigh escaped Red's lips as his shoulders slumped down in resignation, "Uhh... With you at church."

Eric snickered into his napkin, "Nice save, Dad."

Red shot Eric a dirty look, "Shut up."

wvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvw

The midday sun pooled through the tiny windows that the Forman's basement had. Heat suffused the basement as the small new electric fans that Donna had convinced Eric to buy whirred around as fast as they could. The heat dissipated slowly, but it was enough for everyone not to sweat to death. Still though, it would've been better if they would just let me install an air conditioner down here.

I wiggled and settled into a more comfortable position on Steven's lap. His near silent groan during my ministrations made me smirk into my chips as I leaned back into him. He nipped at my neck and I threw him a coy smile before offering up a single chip.

Steven rolled his eyes and bit the chip in half before our attention was drawn back into the current conversation.

Eric leaned back into his seat on the couch and sighed, "No, see, Fez, Bazooka Joe wanted to see time fly so Mort threw the clock out the window. So time flew. Get it?"

Fez pulled Caroline closer to him as she sat on his lap while he narrowed his eyes over her shoulder at Eric, "Did the clock break?" The lounge chair creaked slightly at their combined weight.

Eric threw him a confused look as he took a sip of his root beer, "I don't know."

Donna chewed her gum and looked up from her latest magazine, "That's not really the point of the joke, Fez."

Fez shot them an unimpressed look, "It's still a pretty big waste of a clock." Did he not have jokes like that in his country or did it just not translate all that well?

Caroline rose up from Fez's lap and slid out of the lounge chair. She shot him a sultry look, "Okay. Well, I gotta go."

Fez leaned towards her and pursed his lips, "See you later, sweetie."

She leaned down and pecked his lips before hurrying out of the basement, "See you."

Once the basement door slammed, Annette turned back to us and swung her legs from her spot on the dryer, "Fez, you guys make such a cute couple."

Fez beamed up at Annette and puffed up like a peacock, "Thank you, Annie. I really like Caroline."

Steven snorted out a laugh and added, "She's nice. For a psycho." It wasn't the best way to say it, but the girl was clearly a couple crayons short of a full set. Well...at least from all of my interactions with her.

A fierce glare flitted onto Fez's face, "Hyde, take that back." A bit of hurt leaked onto his face.

Steven rolled his eyes and silently hissed out, "Psycho." I hid a snort behind my hand and shook my head at the two of them. I wasn't going to get into this fight since they'd just all call me biased. Was I really being biased when it was true though?

Fez crossed his arms and huffed, "You are a gifted mime. But that hurts."

Annette pipped up from her seat and tsked, "Hyde, Caroline's not a psycho. You just don't get women. We have emotions. We're ruled by the moon and the tides. And pretty clothes."

Internally, I rolled my eyes at that. Steven totally got me. Was I not a woman? Sometimes Annette... I sighed and leaned back against Steven's chest. He tightened his arms around me and kissed the side of my head. My irritation faded somewhat, and I shoved another chip into my mouth.

Donna perked up and blinked before letting her magazine fall onto her lap, "Yeah, we should hang out with her, you know, make her feel welcome." I hid the wince that had threatened to overcome my face. Really? Forced contact with her even more than necessary?

Annette danced over to the couch and wrapped her arms around Donna's shoulders, "Yeah, you can never have too many friends."

I couldn't hold in my snark any longer, "If you both think so." Realization pooled into their eyes when they figured out that I was in total agreement with Steven. At least they didn't straight up tell Fez though. It would probably hurt his little boy heart if I also had no faith in his crazy girlfriend.

Donna shot me an impish look, "Oh, come on Lin! It'll be fun."

I chewed my lower lip as I stared at their puppy dog eyes impression. My shoulders sagged in defeat as a sigh escaped me, "Ah. How about at the bakery raffle thing then. We could always use more help, and the two of you could come and 'hang out' with her too."

Annette crowed and pointed her manicured finger at me, "Ha! Fine. You'll see, she's not crazy and perfect for Fez."

My brow rose as I deadpanned, "Whatever you say to help you sleep at night, Annette."

Eric broke away from the crazy Caroline conversation and guffawed, "Hey, you guys, you know who was crazy? This camp counselor I once had who used to make everyone do turbo sit-ups. But he'd put a towel over your face, and then when you went to do the sit-up-"

Donna shoved his shoulder gently and deadpanned, "He'd pull the towel away, and you'd have to put your face in his butt."

Eric shot her a put out look and blew a raspberry at her, "Donna, you stole the funny part."

She rolled her eyes and leaned her head onto his shoulder, "Well, Eric, I've heard it like eight times."

Eric slumped back into the couch and slowly nodded, "Okay, I'm sorry." To be honest, we'd all heard it about three times this last month. It was heaven sent that she'd stopped him from saying it again. I doubted that we could fake another laugh at that joke.

Donna caught sight of his disappointed look before letting out a sigh. She kissed his jaw and patted his knee, "Tell the story again. I'll laugh."

He gave her a considering look before raising his brow, "But it'll be fake though, right?"

She fluttered her eyes at him, "Oh, yeah."

Eric nodded slowly before he grinned at us again, "Okay, guys, I once had this camp counselor- -"

The rest of us shared a groan and before he could continue, the basement door slammed open.

Michael panted and beamed at us before yelling, "Oh, my God, you guys! The Petersons just got a new dog. Let's go!" With that he dashed back out side, leaving the basement door swinging in his wake.

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AN: This the completed version of this chapter. Because of all the reviews, follows and favorites that have made this my most popular story to date, I have a Steven POV for you guys burried in the next chapter. You guys are the best! An additional thanks to those that reviewed: animebird, moon of starless night, taj14, Annabelle, Guest, Luthein Faye, Kikari no Segaiu, Steven J, and Sohpie-M.

animebird: Thank you~! I'm hoping to keep a regular monthly sort of update with this story since the chapters are kind of crazy long.

moon of starless night: Thank you! I love their romance too. Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks! c:

taj14: Alright, I'll keep that in mind.

Annabelle: You are awesome! Thank you for all the reviews. I'm glad that it's your favorite That 70's Show fanfiction. Alright, I'll take that into account.

Guest: Lin is 30 and grew up in 2008 watching shows from the 90's because her parents had loved those shows as children. She got reincarnated at the year 2038.

Luthien Faye: Thank you very much! I'm glad that you love my stories. I'll be trying to keep a more consistent time frame when it comes to updates, so hopefully you'll see them every month or so. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. c:

Kikari no segaiu: Thank you for all your reviews! I'm so happy that you liked my story so far, and that you're enjoying all the relationships between everyone.

Steven J: I have fixed that hiccup. Thank you for pointing it out! c:

Sophie-M: I'm so happy that you love it so far. Not everything in this story will be in the same time line in comparison to the episodes in the show. I'll be fixing up the chapter titles so that it'll be clearer.

1. They might marry before the epilogue and have children during the time skip, or they might not. I do know that I want them to get married sooner rather than later though.

2. Tina will come up now and again when it makes sense, but she's doing fine in case you're wondering. In this AU, Donna's parents aren't fighting so she's not really going to have to handle anything in that sense.

3. She's going to be mentioned in the next chapter, but won't be showing up from reasons that Donna touches on. In this AU, Donna does have an older sister and a younger sister.

4. Annie will have her own Prince Charming, but it won't be a new character. He's already been introduced in the story and I'll try to finagle a good way to give them a start to their relationship that can slowly bloom into something more.

5. I doubt it since this is in Lin's POV for the most part, and I'd like to avoid that whole fiasco.

6. With every day spent in this universe, Lin's losing more and more memories of her past. Eventually, she won't even know she's in a show universe and will just think she's been reincarnated with fuzzy memories left over. Just because of the way her personality is, she'll make ripples that could turn into waves. With that in mind, she'll only really affect her life and the lives of her loved ones, or those that she keeps in contact with.