I own nothing except what I own!

Michael Kelso stood in the mirror of his room, wearing pants a size too small. They almost looked like flood pants, and he laughed. To him, it was funny. Anything could be funny to him, because he made it that way. He could get a headache, and it would be hilarious to him. He was one of ten children. Casey was the oldest, and he got all the girls, so of course he got his own attention. Mary was the only girl. Kelso fell somewhere in the middle. He wasn't the smartest out of the ten either, and he wasn't very athletic. Therefore, he couldn't compete with the other eight boys, and one girl in his family, because in his parents' eyes, he was obsolete.

Kelso knew this. He was oblivious, he wasn't the smartest boy. But he wasn't a complete imbiscile. So rather than let the neglect kill him on the inside, he decided to do the only thing he knew how to do. Laugh.

He was only left alone with his thoughts when he went to bed at night. It was like his brain didn't have an off switch. Later on in life, around fifty years old, he would find out that he had GAD, or Generalized Anxiety. However, right now, at sixteen, he was just jittery, twitchy, and generally got really nervous around bedtime. The doctors gave him sedatives for sleep and sent him on his way. Sedatives that he never got, because his parents couldn't keep all of the kids in mind. Only the special ones.

The teenager sighed, walking up to the attic, where most of the older boys' clothes were. Lucky for him, his brothers were all bigger than him right now, so he had an unlimited supply of hand-me-downs, with out ever having to beg and plead his parents to get him clothes, because that process often took months. He grabbed the bin labeled "Lenny", and truged back down to the bedroom he shared with his younger brother.

"Dinner time!" Was called, and the house shook as the other nine kids bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen. He took off, forgeting about the clothes, and getting to the table, pushing his way through to get the small amount of food he would ingest. He was very thin, and Red made it a ritual to point it out when they were shooting hoops in the driveway. This was mostly because he didn't always get fed a lot. Hence why he spent so much time at the Foreman's. Red and Kitty always made sure they were fed, no matter the situation they were in.

He huffed, munching on his small portions, before going to switch clothes. Today was a Sunday, which meant that he would go and smoke with his friends, and Eric would pick him up for school in the morning. He was almost glad that school was back in session, because the teachers always paid him special attention. Whether it was because he was easy and would sleep with anything that walked, or simply because he was academically challenged, nobody would ever know. However, it was like being at the Foreman's. They doted on him and showed him care that he didn't get at home.

He also wouldn't understand that until later on in life when it was somewhat acceptable in society to see a mental health professional, and even then he still didn't fully grasp it. In the present moment, he was just excited about school. And, for an outcast like himself, that was a rarity.

"Michael." The boy was snapped out of his thoughts when twin sister, Mary, knocked on the door. "Your stupid foreign friend is here." The girl rolled her eyes. Michael never understood why Fez consisantly came to the house, when his family was very openly racist. "Kelso, your stupid sister is getting on my last nerve." The boy's brow furrowed, closing the door behind them. "Sorry, Fez. Just getting dressed, and then we can meet up in the basement." He still hadn't looked at the boy in his room, that held his head down. His voice wavered and his friend was oblivious, which Fez was somewhat grateful for. Kelso was a caring boy. However, he was oblivious, so if something was bothering you, you would have to come right out and say it.

"What did you do today?" The taller one asked, pulling a shirt over his head, and putting on a pair of shoes. The smaller one hesitated, before speaking. "I went to the hospital." He mumbled, looking up to meet the eyes of his friend, who was now concerned. He had a black eye, and his bottom lip had a few stitches in them. Kelso wasn't normally one to get angry, and when he did get angry, usually it was for good reason. He hated being angry. He felt that hot bubble in the pit of his stomach, and managed to get out. "Is that the only part they got?"

Fez lifted his shirt to reveal a nasty bruise that spanned his ribcage and stomach. His friend's eyes squinted together and fueled in anger. " They said it was because I was too much of a fairy." He mumbled, putting his shirt back down. "There were four of them, seniors." It was silent, until the taller one broke it. "Well, we'll be together on the walk down the street. Hopefully they will leave us alone."

The walk to the Foreman house was virtually silent. Often, Fez fell victim to taunts of racism, as they lived in a small, white town in 1970's America. "Foreigners" were not broadly accepted. However, the boy had never been taunted for being too flamboyant. Fez was very confident in his masculinity, and in his sexuality. He knew he was straight. And, this was the first time he had ever been accused of being gay. He still did not understand why it wasn't just accepted. He thought this was the land of the free.

They walked through the white gate, and down the stairs. The back door was unlocked, as always, and they let themselves in. Everyone was chatting, until they saw Fez, who stood with his head down. Jackie was the first to tick off. Her brown eyes melted in concern, and she immediately walked over to him. "Fezzy?" The smaller girl asked, head tilted to the side. Donna walked over, and gently used her finger to tilt his head up towards them. The room was now dead silent, and Jackie could practically feel the rage radiating off of everyone.

"Someone jumped you?" Eric asked, eyes squinting. The boy nodded, eyes glazing over in shame. Kelso didn't know why he felt so angry for his friend. He assumed it had to do with the fact that him and Fez shared a bond that would have been expected between him and Mary, or even Lenny, who was also close in age. Fez was like his brother. They helped each other out, treated each other like family, more so than their own.

"Ai, it's no big deal." He spoke, and Hyde huffed. "Man, they're trying to oppress you. You can't let them win! It's what congress and the government want! The 'American Dream' to only count for white people." The foreign boy's shoulders sagged. Naturally, Steven assumed it was racism, as that was what people usually taunted him with. Kelso coughed, and Fez turned red, looking at the floor. "That's not why I was attacked." The boy mumbled, sitting on the couch between Donna and Eric. Donna's red eyebrows furrowed in confusion, watching the boy play with his fingers.

"They said he's a fairy. Caught him off guard, kicked the crap out of him." Kelso had a rare moment of seriousness, and his tone was flat. "Again, the American Dream, only available to straight, white men."

"I'm not even gay! And, I tried to tell them that. Buddy's gay! He never get's jumped." The foreign boy groaned, huffing. "I mean, it's like they only wail on me because I'm easy. I also probably shouldn't have told them to kiss my brown ass, but it was for good reason." He nodded, making Donna snort.

"At least you're keeping it light, Fez." She bit her lip, "The light part wasn't a pun, I-" She was cut off by Fez putting a finger to her lips. "Shh, Donna, it is okay. Maybe one day you will be lucky enough to get a piece of this dark ass."

"If you weren't already hurt, I would hit you." She laughed at him. They all laughed. Fez was glad he hadn't stayed home in shame like he had intended to. It's not like his host parents would care, or even ask. They would just get the bill, and he would move on. They made him laugh, and Kelso made him feel valid. Like he had a brother.

Eric's house was almost like a safe haven, but it was also a war zone at the same time. Kelso remembers not wanting to come here because Red scared him so much. He was constantly fighting with Eric and Jackie, yet there was a double standard when it came to Laurie, who had a hard time with Kitty. When everyone got older, they realized that Red suffered from PTSD, and wasn't treated well at home growing up. Kitty was sweet, but her mother tortured her when she was younger.

Kitty's pitter patter came down the stairs, and the group turned. "Fez? How are you holding up?" Kelso smiled, and Fez shrugged. "I'm in a lot of pain in my ribs now, but the doctor said that would be there." He looked at her, and she ruffled his hair, before turning to go back upstairs.

Jackie grumbled after looking at the clock. It was time for her to get her ass to cheer practice. She had just gotten over a really bad bout of the flu, and they had warned her about missing another practice. She loved cheer, but despised the girls on the squad. The group knew this. The cheer squad knew it. Jackie vaguely remembered being friends with them when she was young. They never made her feel very good. Not the way she felt when she hung out with Donna, who was one year her senior. Hell, she never knew why Donna continued to be friends with her when she was younger, as she was a spoiled brat. Later she realized that it was because she was the only girl that was willing to hang out with the red haired girl, and wormed her way into the group. She moved to get up,

"You want a ride?" Eric questioned, and his sister shook her head. "Can you pick me up, though?" She questioned. It would be dark by then, and cold. "One of us will be there." Donna smiled at her, and she smiled back.

The basement fell into a comfortable silence, and Hyde lit the joint. Kelso reveled in the time he spent with the group. He didn't say it back then, but now he still calls them his family. His girlfriend left, and he giggled. "Man, next week when we go to Kenosha, I can't wait to be with some foxy Kenosha girls."

"Ai, Kelso, you dirty boy." Fez rolled his eyes. Hyde felt anger bubble up in his stomach. He was starving, he hadn't eaten properly in over a week. He was getting increasingly agitated, but he ignored Kelso's dumbass remark.

Eric huffed, remembering that Jackie knew about Kelso's plans. Hell, he knew the basis of their whole relationship. Jackie was bossy like a parent would be. He recieved guidance, no matter how annoying it was, or toxic between the two of them, and Jackie just did it because he was totally hot. She did end up gaining feelings for him, but she grew to realize it was nothing deeper than a good fuck, and someone to tell her they loved her, no matter how fake it was. They were toxic to each other. Co-dependancy is a dangerous thing. Eric refrained from hauling off on Kelso, and passed the joint to Donna, who also spent most of her time there.

Fez stuck to the group like glue. In fact, the week he had come to the States, the boys had rescued him from an attack. They took him to the Hub, and got to know him. They were in seventh grade when this occured, and his host parents had done nothing about the first dozen attacks. He realized his attatchment later on in life, but he was so incredibly grateful for Hyde, Eric, and Kelso, and eventually ended up getting closer with Donna and Jackie too. Him hitting on the two was purely for shits and giggles, although he was a perv deep down. What teenage boy wasn't?

They sat like this for hours, until it dwindled to just Eric and Hyde. Eight o'clock rolled around, and Eric, who's tolerance was considerably lower than his own, probably shouldn't be driving. He forked over the keys to the cruiser, and Hyde practically skipped out of the basement, leaving scrawny little neighbor boy by himself.