"You gotta get up right now or you'll never eat bacon again, you hear me?"

Oh, I hear you alright, was the first thing that popped into Eric's head once he heard his dad threaten him with the promise of never getting to eat his favorite thing in the whole world ever again. But even a hard-ass like you wouldn't do that to his own son.

With that in mind, he just tossed a little in his bed and decided to ignore Red's angry voice.

Red noticed the movement on his son's bed and waited a few seconds to see if he'd come to his senses. When he saw Eric had no intentions of getting up, he continued. "So that's how it is," he spoke, putting on his best 'menacing' tone. "I guess I'll just have to throw all your precious dolls out the window, I bet even you couldn't live with that. Knowing they're out there, alone, where anyone with a car could just run them over and -"

"Okay!" Eric cut him off. "Don't do anything to my collection, it was really hard to assemble it! Do you even know how many lunches I had to skip in order to save up for all of them?"

Red didn't even try to hide the triumphant grin that made its way to his face. "No, and I don't care. You've had it easy, what's being a little hungry when compared to going to war with communist scum?"

Eric just groaned and got up, looking for his slippers under his bed. "May I remind you that you were the one that worked his ass off so I could actually have an easier, quieter, and overall better life?" At this, Red had to frown. "What you're dealing with right here and now is called consequences."

"Alright dumbass, if you're gonna act like that, why don't you get your own place, then?" Red asked, with an amused tone. "But this time let it be for real, I wouldn't want to have my heart crushed again when I wake up and see you in the kitchen having breakfast in your boxers." He decided to add more fuel to the fire. "Again."

Eric, now in his slippers and walking over to the door, couldn't help but let out a small, somewhat bitter laugh at his father's words. "Don't you think it's too soon to joke about that? Or anything regarding Donna, to be honest."

Red followed him out and down the stairs. "It's been a week, Eric. Your grandfather would've made fun of me 5 minutes after he found out if anything like that ever happened to me. You have it easy, remember?"

Eric snorted and sat down on the table, his stomach grumbling with hunger. "Yeah, yeah. The PAA called, and they said you won the prize for Father of the Year." With that, he dug in and started devouring the scrambled eggs with toast and bacon Kitty had made for them.

"Just eat your food."

With that, they fell into a comfortable silence. Eric was listening to his dad for once, chugging down his breakfast with gusto. Red was eyeing the newspaper, not really paying attention to the words written down on it. Seemed like a slow news week, even for a small town like Point Place.

After a few minutes, when Eric was done eating, he got up and walked over to the sink, plate, fork, and glass in hand, and started washing everything he could find. It's time I make myself useful around here. Can't be a freaking sloth all summer just for the sake of it. He thought.

This little action didn't go unnoticed by Red, who figured if Eric was feeling up to it, he had to take advantage. "Since you're in the mood to help around here," he said, gesturing to the dishes Eric had set aside. "After you're done with those, go to the mall and get Kitty the shoes she's been bugging me about."

Eric froze for a second and decided not to fight it. "Fine. I'll need the shoes' description." Just as he said that, the kitchen door flew open, Kitty walking in. "Color, size, and the name of the store where she saw them."

"That's easy honey, it's the new 'Almendra' store they opened a few weeks ago. Sandals, blue, black, and white. Small square-shaped decorations. Can't miss them, really." She said, giving her son a little kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for being a great kid."

Eric smiled a little at that. "I'm just trying to be of help here."

Red got up and grunted. "About time!" He then walked over to Kitty and gave her a small hug. "Alright honey, I'm off to work. See you later."

Eric's eyes widened. "Wait, off to work?" He looked stricken. "What time is it?"

"Seven forty-five, son." Red let out a small snort. "You're not sleeping in for the rest of the summer. It's time to earn your keep if you want to keep having a roof over your head." With that, he was out the door, not giving Eric even the tiniest window of time to process the last thing he said.

Eric sighed in defeat. "Great. Just what I needed."

"He's just trying to help you get over what's happened in the last few days," Kitty said, her voice full of affection. Eric just have her a funny look in response. "In his own, Red Forman way, he is. Trust me."

"I know." Eric conceded. "I'll take a shower and get ready for the mall. Who knows, maybe getting out of the house for a while will do wonders for me." Kitty hummed in agreement.

xXxXxX

This wasn't how I thought I'd spend my day when Red woke me up. He thought, with a hint of amusement in the back of his head.

He had gotten to the mall minutes after it opened. He had to walk, given that his dad had taken the car to go to work. It took forever to get there, but he found it very nice. He had time to himself, just taking in the surprisingly unique and diverse scenery of the town.

Now, where's this Alondra store I'm looking for? He asked himself while he kept walking around the mall. He'd been here for close to 40 minutes and he still hadn't found the damned store. It's new, isn't it supposed to have a huge line of women waiting to enter and buy whatever?

Maybe after this I can go to the comic book store and see if they have any new merchandise, it's time I get new action figures to –

His train of thought came crashing down after he felt a not-so-proverbial bump in his road. He opened his arms, looking to regain his balance and not fall off on his butt. After making sure he wasn't going to make a fool out of himself in front of everyone, he allowed himself a peek at the person he had bumped into.

"Hey! I'm really sorry, are you hurt? It's my fault, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going -" When he saw who it was, his face changed completely. "Oh."

A beat.

"It's you." They both said at the same time.

xXxXxX

"Didn't expect to find you at the mall, of all places." She said, with a small smirk. "And at this time of the day? You never gave off early-riser vibes to me."

Eric dignified her (very good) attempt at teasing with a small roll of his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I know. If you must know, this obviously wasn't my idea, Burkhart."

"Obviously not." She giggled. "You only go to the comic book store and the movies." He looked at her with mock hurt in his eyes. "Don't look at me like that. You know it's true."

"It is." He had to give her that. "But you say it like it's a bad thing!"

"Isn't it?"

"It isn't! Do you even know how much cool stuff you can get at the comic book store?" He gasped exaggeratedly. "Besides, what's so wrong with going to the movies? That's where you can watch Star Wars, the greatest work of art there is!"

"I can't be seen there!" Jackie had to shake her head at that. "Not in a queue to buy Star Wars tickets, at least. You know what that would do to my reputation at school?"

"It would… Make it better?"

She punched him in the arm jokingly. "Has yours gotten any better since the first time you saw your beloved film?"

He rubbed his arm, pretending to be hurt. "Actually, it has. My reputation is what helped me land a fine gal like Donna in the first place." Jackie let out a snort. "I'm serious! Think about it, what else could it possibly have been? My charming personality? Great-looking face? Amazingly bulky muscles?"

Jackie tried to keep a straight face for as long as she could, but by the end of his rant, she just couldn't do it anymore. "I was thinking it was your incredibly sharp fashion sense that lured her to you."

Eric practically howled at that. "Compliments will get you nowhere, little lady."

"Whatever, Forman," Jackie said, getting back up. "Don't try to distract me with your surprisingly good sense of humor. I'm still thinking about the ice cream you promised after you practically shoved me to the ground with your body."

"I said I was sorry!" He said defensively. "I said I was really sorry!"

"And you really thought that would be enough?" Jackie said, offended. "You know me better than that. Even if we're just truly getting to know each other now."

"Fine. Let's go get that ice cream." He replied, starting to walk once again. "But you're helping me find that damned Alondra store. My dad sent me here to get my mom some shoes she's been raging about for the last couple of weeks."

Jackie laughed as she kept up with Eric. "'Alondra?'" She said, mockingly. Eric took notice of the tone and braced himself for what surely was coming next. "Don't you mean 'Almendra'?"

"You obviously know what the correct name of the store is. Why make me suffer?"

"Would I be Jackie Burkhart if I passed on this huge opportunity?" She asked, albeit with no serious undertone.

Eric frowned a little, feigning to be mad at her. She instantly knew it was all a fluke. "I was under the impression you were trying to be…" He trailed off, pretending to be deep in thought. "A better person? Nicer towards others?"

Jackie shoved him a little, not enough to make him fall to the floor, only looking to make him trip a little. "Are you saying I'm failing at it? 'cause I've been receiving some nice comments from other people, mind you."

He really liked this new dynamic of theirs, so he decided to keep playing along. "Yeah? From who, exactly?" He asked, glancing at her. She had a small smile on her face, one of those she so rarely flashed. Now that I think about it, it might be the first time I've ever seen her smile like that. He told himself. Not that I have seen her smile that many times since we've known each other. He finished the thought, somewhat amused at his small, but nevertheless good, burn.

Jackie decided to humor him but turned a little more serious. "If you must know, Amanda, Barb, and Anya actually accepted my apologies." She lowered her eyes, trying her hardest not to look at Eric. "They're really nice, once you actually talk to them…"

Eric noticed the sharp change in the air. The atmosphere around them had turned heavy. His gut was screaming at him, letting him know that Jackie had stopped kidding all of a sudden. He decided to step in and try to make her feel better while he had the chance.

"Hey." He said softly, turning to her, trying to get her to look at him in the eye. "You did the right thing." He assured her in an earnest tone. "You have been doing and saying all the right things to the right people these past few days. I don't know who else you've spoken to but," he paused momentarily, trying to find his footing. He had gotten better at cheering people up, but it still felt a little foreign to him.

Jackie just glanced up and found his eyes, waiting for him to continue.

Somehow, when they locked eyes with each other, the words came very easily to Eric. "If what you said to them resembled even remotely what you said to me, to Hyde, or to Fez, I know you meant it and I can vouch for you that you did your best."

Jackie let out a breath she didn't she was holding. "Thank you." She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"No need to thank me, little devil. You're the one who's been doing the Lord's work."

"Luke Skywalker's work?" She said, hoping to change the mood around them to something a little lighter.

Eric snorted. "You actually remembered his name right!" Before she could reply, Eric turned his eyes away from her, looking for the ice cream stand. "C'mon, we're almost there. I'm guessing you already know what flavor to order?" He asked while walking toward the counter.

Jackie nodded and stopped for a second. Seriously Forman, thank you. Was her last thought before joining Eric and ordering a chocolate & vanilla double.

xXxXxXxX

"Turns out coming to the mall isn't as dire as other men make it out to be," Eric said, walking with a bag of shoes in his right hand. "I should do it more often."

Jackie looked up at him with a playful look on her face. "This is what actually makes your reputation go to the moon, you know. Every girl wants a guy that can take her shopping to the best of places."

Eric's face fell a little. "Donna sure didn't." He said, more to himself than to her.

Jackie heard him nonetheless. Guess it's my turn. She thought before speaking up. "Stop that." She said, clearing her throat. "You probably won't, but believe me when I say that you'll get someone better than Donna." Eric opened his mouth as if to rebut what she'd just said. She was having none of it and spoke first. "You just need to give it time. Time to heal, time to get to know yourself, and learn to be by yourself. You'll come out of this on top."

Eric's face changed to one of utter shock at her words. Jackie smiled triumphantly.

"Didn't know you had it in you to be so…" He trailed off.

"Deep? Wise? Mature?" She helped.

"Yeah." He spoke, still amazed.

"Don't look so surprised!" Jackie said. "It's insulting. Besides, Cosmo helps a ton, I can't hog all the credit."

Realization dawned upon him. "Of course, it's that magazine." He said while glancing at the watch on his left wrist. 1:13 P.M., it read. "It's past one." He said, a little taken aback by how much time had passed since he got to the mall. "No wonder I'm starving."

"But it hasn't been that long since we had ice cream! Is your stomach a bottomless pit or something?"

"Or something." He replied, laughing a little.

"How are you so skinny? Gosh, what I wouldn't give to have your metabolism."

Eric had to bite his lip to stop a smile from forming on his face. "Yeah, you can have it. I'd rather be ripped and jacked than skinny, thank you."

Jackie snorted. "Not every girl wants a ripped and jacked dude." She responded, doing her best to imitate his voice.

He went along with it. "Is that really what I sound like to the rest of the world?"

"Yes." She rolled his eyes. "You definitely sound like a little girl with a macho complex, geek boy."

Eric's proverbial light bulb lit up above his head at that nickname. "That's right!" He stopped dead in his tracks, looking at Jackie. "You have come with me to the comic book store!"

No, I don't. She automatically thought. Then, she decided to say it out loud. "No, I don't." The words came out of her mouth in a flat tone.

"Yes, you do!" Eric wasn't about to give up. "You said so yourself, you've never even walked into one. What if you see something that catches your eye? Besides, I bought you ice cream as a way to apologize for bumping into you, but don't forget that you also bumped into me." He winked at her. "It's only fair you come with me. It's not like you actually bought anything here. Your hands are completely empty, so there's no valid excuse."

Jackie looked unfazed. "I helped you find the Almendra store."

"Nuh-uh, you just told me the right name and I found it all by myself." Jackie opened her mouth to keep going, but Eric beat her to it. "And you just told me the name in order to make fun of me, so it doesn't count."

After a few seconds of weighing the pros and cons, Jackie conceded defeat. "Fine." She said. "But if I find something cute, you're buying."

Eric just laughed off that possibility. "Fine by me, little devil." There's just no way in hell she'll ever pick up anything from there.

xXxXxXx

"I can't believe you did find something 'cute'," he said, quotation marks and all, "and actually decided you wanted to take it home with you. At my expense, no less."

Jackie was humming, pleased with the purchase she had made. "Not my fault. I said you were buying and you agreed to it."

Eric looked down at Jackie's right hand, which held a small silver necklace with a tiny 'House of El' logo charm. "You don't even know what that stands for!"

"Of course I do." She sounded pretty convincing to Eric, which surprised him. "It's Supergirl's symbol, right?"

A quick look of horror flashed on Eric's face before he spoke. "It's Superman's symbol!"

Jackie just snorted. "Why do men always have to take the credit for what a woman does, comes up with, or invents?" She sighed, annoyed. "It's 1978 Eric, it's not a good look on you."

Eric's jaw dropped. "Hey!" He complained. "I didn't write the comics, Superman came out first! Supergirl's the cousin that got introduced later in the run!"

Jackie wasn't about to admit to anything. "Yeah? Well, it all makes sense now. No wonder Supergirl is better."

"How could you possibly know that? I thought you didn't read this stuff?"

"I know a guy." And she left it that, opting to keep her mysterious vibe. She couldn't give Eric the whole truth. Not yet, at least.

Eric rolled his eyes. "Don't we all?"

Jackie just shrugged and they kept walking in comfortable silence. After their run to the comic book store, they passed by the town square and were currently making their way to Jackie's place, Eric having insisted on escorting her, just as he'd done a couple of days back.

20 minutes later and they once again stood in front of Jackie's porch. Eric glanced once again at his watch. 3:38 P.M. Can't believe it's way past lunchtime now. Mom's gonna kill me.

"This was… Interesting." Jackie said, breaking him out of his trance. "You know," she began, as she walked toward him. "If someone told me a year ago you'd be walking me home twice in a week, I would have laughed my ass off."

Eric nodded, letting out what sounded like a giggle. "Yeah, tell me about it."

Jackie stopped right in front of him, her back to her house. "Thank you again for today." She said, flashing him a small, but genuine smile. "You've been a good… Person, to be around these last few days."

Eric returned the smile with the same amount of honesty. "You as well, little devil." He ran his free hand through his head. "Never once in a million years would I have thought that the first girl I took to the comic book store would be none other than the geek-repellent Jackie Burkhart."

Jackie punched him in the arm lightly once more. "Yeah, about that…" She tried to put on her best 'amused' tone. "Don't think this means we'll be nerd-buddies from now on, okay? I owed you, now I don't. Debt's been paid in full." With that, she turned around and began strolling towards her home.

Eric couldn't leave her to have the last word in their conversation. "Don't hold your breath, midget. It's not like I don't have a reputation to live up to." He spoke, raising his voice a little since she was a little farther away from him now. "What would the other guys say if they saw me again with you there?"

She giggled. "That you have one hot girlfriend?" She opened the door. "Don't see what's so wrong with that." There was an underlying… Meaning, perhaps? That he couldn't place.

Eric was rendered speechless.

She seemed to take notice because the last thing she did was glance back at him, flash a devilish smile, and say, "Bye, geek boy!"

Then she closed the door behind her.

Hot girlfriend? Was all he could say in his mind. He turned and began walking back to his house, a little faster than he normally would.

Jackie Burkhart and hot girlfriend don't go in the same sentence. He thought after a while. At least not where Eric Forman is concerned.

He pushed it all to the back of his mind and decided to just take in the scenery, as he'd done in the morning. He also slowed down his pace. I'm already gonna get my ass handed to me, better delay it as much as possible.

xXxXxX

Turns out he didn't get his ass handed to him. He didn't even get scowled or lectured by his mother. Must be my lucky day? He asked himself while climbing up the stairs to his room after finishing his lunch and helping his mom with the chores.

Apparently, his mom also wanted him to be useful around here. She'd said it sweetly so there was no way he could have said no to her. He was a mamma's boy at heart. And boy, was he proud to be.

He threw himself on his bed as soon as it came into view. Being busy all day had made him feel… Better. Not miserable or sad. He figured it was good to keep his mind off of things. If he was going to think himself to death, he resolved it better be while doing something worthwhile. Something productive.

"I also need money. That necklace wasn't as cheap as it looked." He mused out loud.

Right there and then, he made a choice.

"I'll look for a job. Starting tomorrow." He whispered, decisively. "Even a part-time gig will do."

While he thought about what to look for, he felt his eyes get heavier and heavier with each passing minute, until he couldn't fight it anymore and drifted off to sleep.

xXxXxX

"Forman!"

Nothing.

"Hey, Forman!" Hyde repeated, this time twice as loud in Eric's ear.

Eric woke up with a jolt. "What!" He said, panting. "You scared the crap out of me! What's wrong with you?"

Hyde had a smug look on his face. "A lot of things. I thought you knew that." Eric just put his hands on his face, trying to process that he'd been woken up from a blissful sleep. "But that's not why I woke you. Your mom's been yelling at you to go downstairs. Seems like someone's on the phone for you or something."

Eric had never gotten out of bed that fast. "You think it's Donna?" He asked, a hopeful glint appearing in his eyes.

Hyde just shrugged. "Don't know, don't care. Just go and find out."

Eric didn't need to be told twice.

He comically made his way to the kitchen, where the house phone was, and saw his mom fixing dinner. "It's for you," she said, gesturing toward the phone. "A lady, no less."

Eric's eyes lit up even more at his mother's words.

It's her. I can't believe she actually called, he thought as he picked up the phone. Breathing in and out in an attempt to sound calm, he then said, "Hello?"

"El Mayarah."

What?

It wasn't Donna on the other end. He suddenly felt foolish. Of course she wouldn't call from freaking California to ask about me. Came a bitter thought. She probably forgot the number by now.

A beat passed. He didn't say anything. All he could hear was the breathing of the other person over the phone.

"It means 'Stronger Together'. That's why I wanted it."

Oh. Right.

It was Jackie on the other end. Now that he was actually listening, it was obvious. She's talking about the necklace she bought today. He said to himself, with surprise.

He figured it would be rude to keep her waiting for him to talk. "I know what it means. I'm a full-blown geek, remember?" He finally said, trying his best to mask the disappointment in his voice.

"I know you know." Eric swore he could hear the eye roll she was giving him. "I just wanted you to know that I know."

Huh. Jackie surprised him, not for the first time in the past week or so. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you, midget?" Now he didn't have the need to mask anything, his voice conveyed pure and absolute amusement.

"I am." She answered, sounding proud of herself. "Aren't you gonna ask me how I know?"

"Since you're clearly dying to tell me, I'll bite." He said. "How do you know?"

"It's a secret!" She said, giggling. "Just know I'm not fully against the idea of telling you some other time."

He sighed. "Of course it is."

They fell into silence after that for a few seconds. It wasn't uncomfortable per se, but Eric just didn't know what to say. Call it an after-effect of how much Jackie had surprised him.

Jackie decided she'd had enough quiet. "Well, that's that." She let out a breath. "And remember, Stronger Together, geek boy." With that, she hung up.

Eric was completely, utterly, and totally dumbfounded by what he'd just heard. Jackie Burkhart… knows Kryptonian?

What?

After what seemed like an eternity, he only had one thing to say out loud.

"El Mayarah." His voice was quiet, soft, disbelieving.

"Stop speaking Commie and come join us at the table! Don't you see I'm starving, boy?" Ah, dear old Red.

xXxXxX

Author's Note: If Supergirl wasn't around in the '70s, let's just agree to pretend like she was? For the sake of these two, at least.