[Hyde POV]
The word of mouth spread quickly. People who left prom early were disappointed. Soon, even the parents knew about the fireworks show, and they felt bad they weren't invited.
"I didn't think it would be a big deal." I said as I sipped beer in Forman's basement.
All of us were there, including Barbara. The Formans were sleeping so we drank beers quietly.
"It is a hugeeee deal!" Barbara said, a bit tipsy from drinking. "No one ever did that before. Like Ever Ever."
"Are you drunk? You had like half a sip." Jackie scolded Barbara with a face full of disbelief.
"No. I'm not drunk. I'm giddy." She said, bouncing slightly on the couch. "It feels like a loss going back home now."
"So that's why…" Kelso interjected cheekily, "Me and Jackie are going to do it in my van."
"MICHEAL!" Jackie scolded him, "That's private Micheal!"
"Well Jackie, they are going to know when they see the shaggin wagon a' rockin'." Kelso said defensively.
Eric and I laughed and Donna covered her face, slightly embarrassed for Jackie.
"What are you guys going to do?" Donna asked me and Barbara.
"I'm going to send her home, then, I'm going to go to sleep. I need to be in Milwaukee tomorrow." I said as I stretched my arms up tiredly.
"Really? You're sending me back now?" Barbara was in disbelief.
Eric asked skeptically, "what are you going to do in Milwaukee? Did you tell my dad about it?"
"It's for work. So I'm sure it'll be fi ne." I said as I stood up and held Barbara's hand, pulling her up too. She pouted and said, "Sure. I'll go, but I'm bringing the beer with me."
"Suit yourself." I replied easily.
Fez smiled and called with a singy-song voice, "Oh, Hydee~"
As I turned to him, he added, "Are you actually leaving, to go do it with her?"
Jackie and Donna scolded him instantly. Barbara blushed, but she too wanted to hear the reply.
"Nah, her dad's home and he has his eyes on me." I said cheekily. "He whispered whatever I do to her tonight, he's going to do it to me. So tomorrow, he's going to bring me to watch a firework show and slow dance."
Barbara burst out laughing. Eric laughed too and said, "Hyde. That sounds like a romantic night for you and her dad."
"Maybe you'll get lucky too." Donna added, and everyone laughed.
"You should wish that to your boyfriend. He's been desperate about it." I turned it back to her.
Everyone teased Eric while I left the basement with Barbara.
"Should we go to Mount Hump?" She asked suddenly.
"For humping?" I said teasingly.
She chuckled and said, "Well, we'll see."
I went into a silence for a while and said seriously, "Barbara. I actually have a girl. Kind off."
She widened her eyes and her face froze. "What? I thought–"
"We're not official. She didn't want to make it official yet. But we are together, I think."
She raised an eyebrow and didn't say anything for a long time. As we arrived at her house, she turned to me before getting out of the car.
"You know, you've been a gentleman tonight. So I'm going to let it slide that you didn't tell me you have someone."
I sighed and said, "Sorry."
She actually giggled and said, "Don't be. Even if I knew sooner, I don't think I'll stop myself."
I was slightly taken aback. She continued, pressing her boobs slightly, "Usually the guys I'd gone out with, they wanted to touch or taste this before they even brought me somewhere. This god-given gift is like a creep magnet."
"That sounds about right." I agreed with her.
She giggled again and said, "You have some self control. I like that. And you're really mature too."
She leaned in closer and gave me a peck on the cheek. "Thank you Steven. It was a really amazing night. If it didn't work out with you and your so-called girl, give me a call."
"I'll be sure to remember that." I smirked slightly and got out of the car. I opened the door for her and escorted her to the door before I left.
…
I was driving on Victoria's street on my way home.
"That necklace came by this evening. I should surprise her." I muttered and took out the sunflower necklace from the box.
"Wait… Is that…?"
I pulled over, and saw Victoria in the arms of another man, kissing him deeply. My expression faltered. My smile faded away. She saw me and her eyes widened.
"Ste– Steven! It's not what you think–" She quickly rushed towards me.
I just drove away after accepting what had happened. She screamed my name, but I ignored her.
My feet pressed the gas pedal hard, and the turbocharged Celica blew past a lot of cars on the road. I didn't know where to go, so I went to my body shop.
I drank a lot of beer and tequila before going to sleep in the office.
…
The next morning arrived suddenly. "Ugh." I groaned as I had a headache from all the drinking.
"Why was I drinking again– Oh yeah, that's right."
I yawned, washed my face and brushed my teeth. Changing into normal clothes, I went to Milwaukee in my Celica after Tyrell and Bruce came to the bodyshop.
It wasn't till late in the night that I returned to the Forman's house.
Red and Kitty were in the kitchen when I walked in.
However, instead of being angry, they were just glad I was back.
"Steven. We heard what happened." Mrs Forman was a little shaky. "Victoria came by this morning, afternoon, and evening."
I frowned and said, "I don't care."
I turned to Red and smiled, "Guess what car I drove at the race track today?"
"I don't know. A Corvette?" He replied, slightly excited. But as he saw Kitty's face staring at him with disbelief, he cleared his throat and said comfortingly, "Son. These things happens–"
"A Corvette Stingray. Last year's model." I interjected.
"Holy crap!" Red was astonished. The Corvette was his favorite car.
"Red!" Kitty scolded him.
"Mrs Forman, I know you want to comfort me, but I don't need it." I said to her calmly.
"Why not Steven? You can't bottle everything up you know! That's not healthy!" She said, frazzled.
I smiled bitterly and said, "I'm not bottling up."
"I brought her to nice places, but she's never taken my hand or wanted to show anyone we're together. But with the other guy, she brazenly kissed him on the street. Clearly, she's too ashamed to be with me."
"Steven– That's not. That's not true at all." Mrs Forman became frazzled. Even Red was taken aback by it.
I walked past her and went to my room to sleep it off. Eric was in the basement with Donna, and when I walked downstairs, both of them stood up and tried to talk to me.
"Hyde, we heard–"
I ignored them and went straight to my room.
Donna said quickly, "Hyde! Victoria told me what happened. She's not dating the guy. She's just–"
I locked the door as I entered the room. Putting on the Walkman at a loud volume, I ignored everything Donna was yelling about outside and closed my eyes.
…
The next morning, on a Sunday, I woke up with a dull heaviness sitting in my chest. As soon as I stepped out of the basement, I ran into Victoria.
Donna and Eric were there too. It seemed to be their idea.
"Steven. Please listen to me," Victoria begged, grabbing my arm.
I sighed, stopped and crossed my arms.
"Please. It didn't mean anything—" she tried to explain, slightly relieved as I was hearing her out.
But I bursted her expectations immediately. I placed a hand on her shoulder and said calmly, "I hope you'll be happy with him."
Victoria burst into tears. Her voice cracked, "You didn't even want to hear what I have to say?"
"Not really." I shrugged nonchalantly.
"Steven!" Her chin quivered, betrayal plastered on her face. "I– I thought I meant more to you."
She ran off crying.
Donna shoved my chest hard. "What the hell's wrong with you?! You callous prick!"
She chased after Victoria. Eric stayed behind, shifting awkwardly.
"Are you really not going to hear her out?" he asked.
"Nope." I shrugged. "We weren't dating. She made that clear. So there's nothing to explain."
"But it was a mistake—"
"Cheating is never a mistake," I cut him off. "It's a decision. No one cheats accidentally. There's never, 'It's just happened'."
I continued, "She made the choice to go out with him. She made the choice to entertain him. She made the choice to kiss him. At any point she could've stopped it, but she didn't."
He frowned. "So that's it? One strike and you're done?"
"Yup." I nodded. "I thought I could be a gentleman. But who am I kidding?" I said lightly. "I should go back to how I was before. A scumbag."
I smirked slightly. Eric sighed and said, "Fine. I kinda miss the scummy Hyde."
In the next two days, I slept at the shop. Drove until the tank was low. Didn't talk unless I had to.
That was when the system notifications finally resounded while I was at work. It stitched everything together and turned it into an episode.
From before prom. Barbara cornered me into going with her. Donna telling Victoria without looping me in.
Their conversation about defining our relationship, and Victoria saying she wasn't ready after her divorce.
At prom, Donna whispered nonstop to Eric. Confronting Barbara. Barbara admitted I was a perfect gentleman, even when she made it clear she wouldn't have said no.
When the cheating scene was revealed, the system even added sad music to the footage. They focused on my face, my smile slowly fading away.
"Bitch," I muttered, rubbing my nose in embarrassment.
After that, Victoria explained everything to Donna. Regret. Vulnerability. Excuses.
I didn't really care about her explanation in the episode.
Then came the part where she tried to explain it to me and I shut her down. Donna and Jackie cursed me out behind my back, even though they understood why I did it.
Kelso was really afraid of Jackie's reactions since she warned him a lot about cheating on her. Yet he still slept with Laurie on the same night he went out with Jackie.
[Season 2 Episode 9: Fireworks]
Rating: 7.5
Favorability Point: 150 / 150
Fan Letters: 3
I gained 7.5 points for the new episode.
"My favorability's maxed out," I muttered. "Wait… what's the fan letter thing?"
I opened it.
[Fan Letter System–For every 100 letters the actor receives in real life for portraying your character, you receive 1 Fan Letter.
Fan Letters can be used to create direct connections to approved online stores in the system marketplace.]
"Oh," I said quietly. "That's… useful."
Like the Eastwood and Rustoleum connection I have in the system shop, this would make my life much easier.
I selected Pelican Parts and American Powertrain. Pelican Parts was perfect for imports, especially exotic cars from this era. The last part was the American Classic website.
I wanted to select Autozone too, but I only have three fan letters now.
Maybe I just needed the distraction, I focused on the parts lists and started ordering what I needed to fix Megan's Mustang.
In the past two days, the Mustang has begun taking its shape back. I recorded the entire process, and edited the new video for the public access channel.
They released it on Wednesday again, also without any commercial and marketing. Yet, a lot of people were tuning in for the show.
…
Wednesday, at the school's parking lot.
The students were all going home. I drove my Celica alone as I wanted to head straight to the workshop when Barbara and Amy approached me.
"Hey Steven. I heard what happened. I'm so sorry." Barbara comforted me.
"What?" I was taken aback. "Who did you hear it from?"
"From… Your foreign friend." Barbara replied hesitantly. "Hey, you're going to release another show today, right? Why don't we go to your place and watch it all together?"
I thought about it and said, "Alright. But I'm going to be at work till seven. The show's at 7.30"
"We'll be there at that time." Barbara said cheekily. "See you there."
I shrugged and went to work.
There was a Ferrari sitting in one of the bays. A red colour, 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona that hasn't been used for two years.
Bruce introduced the owner to me on Monday. The car has been going in and out at the dealership for 10 months, but once he got it back, it only drove for a week before it shut off again.
Bruce convinced the owner to let me have a crack at it. I was done with the fix, so I called the owner to come pick it up.
"Boss, we're really a big shop aren't we?" Megan asked, face full of disbelief when she saw a Corvette Stingray, a Porsche 911, a De Tomaso Pantera, and a Ferrari pulled into the driveway.
Tyrell also has the same look on his face. This was a small town. It was rare to see a Lincoln, much less foreign exotic cars.
All of the people who came to my shop were leaders of industry and politicians. Even Mr Burkhart was there– Jackie's dad.
The owner of the Ferrari came to me, Bruce following him from behind.
"So, you got it for two days. Yet you're already done with it? The shortest time I had it in the dealership was 3 months."
Bruce whistled as he saw the car. "Did you buff the paint too?"
"Yup. Let me explain what I have done." I said, popping the hood of the Ferrari and shaking the engine.
"Since it was in the garage for a long time, the old rubber fuel lines started to collapse, carburetors out of sync, and the ignition wires showing tiny cracks."
I added, "The dealership had swapped parts here and there, but they never traced the root causes. They just patched the symptoms."
I hooked up my modern diagnostic rig—no OBD, just 2025 tools adapted for a 1977 car.
Voltage fluctuations in the ignition coil revealed it was heat-sensitive and failing after short drives. I replaced it with a modern coil fitted into the original housing.
The six Webers got a full wideband tune with vacuum leaks sealed, and I swapped all fuel hoses for high-quality lines I ordered online from 2025 suppliers.
Tiny heat shields went in where the engine ran too hot, and I rebuilt the grounds with proper crimping and soldering, something the dealership never bothered with.
After the mechanical work, I turned to the paint. Using a modern dual-action buffer, I polished the red body to a mirror shine and sealed it so it would stay vibrant, making the car look almost brand new.
Every trim piece got restored, every detail touched up. It was something the dealership's basic wax could never achieve.
"Why don't you take it out for a drive." I gave him the keys.
He grinned, fully satisfied by my explanation and grabbed the keys. I let him test out the car on the road for half an hour.
Bruce smiled and said, "You're really amazing. I know my eyes didn't deceive me. I have a 1973 De Tomaso too. It was kept in the garage for a long time."
"You want me to fix that too?" I asked.
"There's nothing wrong with it. It just looked so boring. So I want to order a paint job and make it fresh again." He said with a grin.
"Alright. Just bring the car in. I'll take a look."
The owner came back and his face was beaming. "It doesn't shake like before. The sound is smoother too."
"I put some sound deadening in the pan. It can easily be taken off if you don't want it–"
"No! Keep it. I like it this way." He said and took out a checkbook.
"How much do I owe you?" He asked.
For the full repair and detailing, I charged him $2,700 in 1977 dollars, which was a bargain considering I'd sourced parts from 2025 suppliers and used tools no other shop could touch.
The car felt much better now since I tuned it too.
The total cost I spent on it was only 300 bucks.
"The cost is also cheap!" He said excitedly. "The cheapest the dealership charged me during a visit was 3200."
"Hey, you fi x the Corvette too?" Another rich person asked.
"I need to take a look first." I replied to them.
"I'll leave it here," he said casually. He drove the Ferrari owner here, and now he went back with his friend.
I sniffed and went to work on the Corvette casually after they all left. The two workers were still reveling at the sight of the foreign cars.
"Boss." Megan called me softly. "What is it?" I replied.
"I feel like my Mustang is so out of place here." she confessed.
I burst out laughing and my mood was lifted. "Once we're done with it, it will look much much better."
Right now, the Corolla, Granada, the 62' and the Mustang took all of the bays in the shop.
"Once the show's airing, I think we can sell the Corolla, Granada, and Nova quickly." I mumbled.
The Oldsmobile was already fi xed up and given back to Tyrell. I need to clear out the inventory to take in new projects afterward.
"I need to hire one more person." I mumbled. "To become the store helper."
They'd need to answer calls, set up appointments, bring the car to the parking in front of the building, and keep everything clean.
Megan heard me and said quickly, "What about my sister?"
"The one who smokes weed?" Tyrell frowned a bit.
"No, the other one. She's a good kid." Megan said, clasping her hands together and begging me with her eyes.
I sighed and said, "Alright. Call her. But her pay's going to be only 3 bucks an hour."
"That's good enough." Megan said excitedly.