[Hyde POV]
The bar was packed. Cigarette smoke hung low under the lights, voices overlapping into a constant hum.
I spotted some familiar faces inside, but I didn't greet them and moved away from them to sit at the opposite end of the bar.
The girls and I drank beers to loosen up as we talked with each other, the cold glass sweating in my hand, frost on my lips before I wiped it off.
"Why don't we play the game again?" Julia leaned forward on the table, eyes bright. "We've been playing that all day long."
"Two truths, one lie?" I asked. "It is a good game to get to know each other better. But we're at a bar, so I thought Truth or Dare is better."
I gently nudged them into the game I wanted to play. It has been a while since I hung out with girls at a bar, so I wanted to enjoy this.
The girls exchanged glances, small smiles forming, then nodded.
Fez turned to Bethany and said, "We can still play the two truth one lie game. Just us."
"I'd love that." Bethany blushed a bit.
I then realized, Fez has an actual shot here tonight. Bethany's eyes tell me that she was really into him.
After the third cup of beers, the mood changed. Voices got louder, laughter lingered longer, accidental touches and shoulders bumping into each other.
"I swear, I can do a full split standing up." Julia pushed her chair back with her heel and stood up, slightly swaying but steady.
"I don't believe you. Only ballerinas can do that. Are you saying you have more skill than them?" I slightly instigated her, leaning back in my seat.
She grinned, a little competitive spark in her eyes. "Stand up, Steven. I'll show you that I'm better than those stuck up bitches."
I stood. She placed a hand on my shoulder for balance. Light at first, then firm.
Then, she lifted her leg smoothly, stretching into a 180 standing split. Her heel rested against my shoulder, but with her jeans, she couldn't do it perfectly.
A few people nearby glanced over.
"How's that?" she asked, a little breathless. "Do you believe me now?"
"Definitely," I said, looking up at her. "I think you're much better than those stuck up ballerinas."
She laughed, cheeks slightly flushed as our crotches accidentally bumped into each other.
She lowered herself carefully before sitting back down, brushing her hair behind her ear. I dared her to show me a full split as I won the coin toss game.
We had to bounce a coin on the table, and if it entered the empty mug, that person won, and the last person who got it in was targeted.
We played for a while, doing riskier and riskier dares.
"Should we get one last round, then go to a hotel room?" I asked Julia.
Bethany interjected, "Can I get in on that too? We've been travelling for days and slept in the van. It'll be great to sleep on a bed today."
The girls were from Montana. They were only passing by this town on their way to New York.
"I'm fine with that." I replied. "I'll just get two rooms."
"Three." Fez interjected as he pulled back from making out with Bethany.
"Three it is." I laughed.
The beer jug was empty, so I went to the counter to pick up a new one with Fez.
"Do you have any protection?" I asked him.
"Do– Do you really think we'll go that far?" Fez was excited.
"No. But it's not a bad idea to still keep one with you."
As we got back, a couple of guys were sitting at our spot, leaning too close, talking over the girls.
Julia's posture had stiffened, her arms crossed tight. The others looked uncomfortable.
"Hey. Move." I said firmly, setting the jug down with a dull thud.
One of them, a young guy with a mustache, barely looked at me and waved a hand dismissively. "Fuck off. They are with us now."
Julia straightened immediately. "No. We never agreed to that." Her voice sharpened. "Get lost!" She shouted.
Another guy slammed his palm on the table, making the glasses rattle, and grabbed Julia's arm roughly. "So you'd rather sleep with a foreigner instead of an actual American? You must be out of your mind."
Julia flinched at the grip, her jaw tightening. The guys were quite drunk, and they openly showed hostility at us, especially towards Fez.
I abruptly kicked him in the stomach.
The impact folded him in half, sending him stumbling backward into a chair that screeched against the floor.
"You're dead—!" one of them snapped, shoving his chair back as three others stood up with him. One of them flicked open a butterfly knife, the metal glinting under the bar lights.
"You guys watched way too much Fonzie." I said, rolling my shoulders slightly as I set the beer jug down and folded my sleeves up.
"Steven! Just… Don't fight." Julia grabbed my arm for a second, her fingers tense. "Hey, we'll go with you guys. Don't fight him—"
Before she could finish, the guy lunged forward, knife thrusting toward me.
I caught his wrist mid-motion, twisted it, and pulled him forward. His body lifted over my shoulder and slammed into a nearby table.
The wood cracked. The glass shattered.
The noise cut through the bar. Everyone finally saw what was happening.
I was a bit buzzed now. Yet my hands moved fast. Well, not always.
A fist caught me across the cheek. Another slammed into my stomach, knocking the air out of me for a second.
"Clench your jaw you—"
Fez jumped in to save me, but he got hit clean across the face and staggered sideways.
I planted my left foot, twisted my body, and drove my right leg into a guy's jaw.
His head snapped sideways. He dropped instantly.
Before I could reset, two arms wrapped around my neck from behind, locking me into a headlock.
"I'll kill you—!"
The pressure tightened. My vision blurred slightly, heat rushing to my face.
I stepped forward, forcing my weight into motion. I kicked upward, built momentum, and dropped my weight forward.
The guy flipped over me and slammed head-first into the table.
His forehead split open immediately, blood spilling down into his eyes. I held my sore neck.
Everything went loud. Then–
*BANG*
A gunshot appeared. The entire bar froze.
"Hey. What do you think you're doing?"
I turned toward the cold voice, breathing heavily. The bartender stood behind the counter, a smoking shotgun in his hands, aimed steady at the group.
"He hit us first!" one of them barked, backing up a step.
"Shut up." The bartender's voice cut through the room. "You boys just made a real bad decision. You dared touch the pride and joy of our town?"
Silence spread throughout the bar.
"Hmm?" I hummed, still catching my breath. Fez staggered beside me, wiping blood from his lip.
"What did he mean?" Fez asked, confused.
Then chairs started scraping one after another. Around thirty people stood up.
Julia's grip tightened slightly on my arm. "Hey, are you okay?" She checked on me quickly.
"What– What do you want–" The guy with the split forehead stammered fearfully.
Tyrell. Jeff. The rest of my guys who were celebrating here today finally realized I was the one fighting. All of them were moving forward to back me up.
"You touch our boss," Jeff said with gritted teeth, "you're not walking out of here alive."
The bad guys froze. One of them glanced around at the bartender, the shotgun, the crowd closing in.
"Let's—let's go," one of them muttered.
They backed away first. Then turned… Then they ran.
"GET THEM!" Jeff shouted and the rest of the group ran to get those guys.
"What the fuck is happening?" I laughed in surprise.
…
-I booked hotel rooms at the Holiday's Inn, a high class hotel in the town. This particular room has mirrors on the wall and the ceiling. It wasn't that I purposely picked the 'Love Suite', but it was the only room left.
Fez and Bethany went to another room that has two beds.
It was supposed to be shared by Marilyn and Bethany, but Marilyn ran towards my room as she said, "they are being really weird."
Julia put a towel with ice inside on top of my cheek. "Does it hurt?" she asked.
"No. I'm used to this." I replied with a smile.
Marilyn suddenly stood up and took off her outer shirt, leaving only the white tube top.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Julia was shocked.
"I'm going to take a bath. For about an hour. I want to relax and listen to a song. So I won't know what is going on around here." Marilyn said teasingly as she walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.
The sound of running water echoed faintly.
Julia blushed and looked at me. I looked at her intently.
We leaned in close and began making out with one another. I took off my shirt. Julia took her jeans off.
Suddenly, there was a loud banging from the front door.
"HYDE! HYDEEEE!" Fez called, his voice cracking with panic.
Julia grabbed my arm before I could stand up, her fingers tightening slightly. "Are you sure you want to open it?"
"I mean, he sounds like he's in trouble."
I pulled away and opened up the door hurriedly.
"Hyde—" Fez staggered into the room, eyes wide, breathing heavily like he had just seen a ghost.
"What's going on?" I asked him, slightly annoyed at him ruining the mood.
"They are virgins." Fez replied with a pale face.
A thunder clapped in the background.
I blinked once.
"So?"
Fez leaned closer, lowering his voice like he was revealing a horrifying secret.
"They are waiting… till…"
Another thunderclap.
"Marriage!"
I froze. Slowly, I turned my head toward Julia.
She didn't look embarrassed. Instead, she showed a smile.
"Well, Steven…" she said softly, tilting her head as she stepped closer. "Are you going away?"
I didn't answer. "Um.."
"I'm pretty flexible, you know." She added, almost teasing, almost serious. "You can bend me over whichever way you want…"
She gently tapped her ring finger.
"Of course… after we get married."
Suddenly, she cackled like a witch. Fez and I screamed and we tried to get out of the hotel, but the corridor became endless. Julia floated from the ground, her hair wriggled around like medusa.
"Where are you going?" She grabbed my shoulder with her claws. –
I almost cried and I suddenly opened my eyes.
"Wait. I'm back in the basement?" I was shocked when I realized it was all a dream. I was sleeping on the basement couch instead of my bedroom.
It was 7 in the morning. I rubbed my sore cheek and said, "When did I come back home?"
The memories of last night were in pieces. I remembered going to the hotel with Julia and Marilyn. Fez went to the other room.
But then, Fez fell asleep as he was too drunk. Bethany joined Julia and Marilyn in our room.
I did it with Julia, Bethany and Marilyn. Then, I got out of there, leaving the girls to rest before they resume their trip to New York.
"Oh. So I did sleep with them."
It was pretty fun. They were very bendy, and quite competitive. Then, the bed was too small, so I decided to go back home as I couldn't get Fez to open the door.
While I was thinking hard, Eric came downstairs and said, "Oh. You're already up. Are you hungover right now?"
"Yes." I replied while I squinted my eyes. I put on my sunglasses again and asked, "Where's Fez?"
"How should I know?" Eric was confused.
"How did I get home?" I asked again.
"Again. I have no idea what you did last night." Eric shrugged and said, "Did you lose Fez?"
"He could be at the hotel I went to last night." I yawned and said, "I'll go see if he's there."
Fez was sleeping on the floor when I got there. It was time for school, so I picked him up and brought him back to his host parent's place.
The Christian Evangelical host parents were pretty worried, so I just told them Fez was beaten up by some thug last night, so we hid out in the hotel. Fez also has the bruises to cover up the story.
The event ended here, and I finally checked on the score rating for the episode.
[Episode 19: Parents Find Out
Old Rating: 7.5
New Rating: 7.8
Rating point: 0.3
Top favorability counter (5/10) ]
"Wait. What happened in the episode?"
I watched the entire thing, and was surprised when they included the scene in the house I bought. The one where Red came to take a look at the house.
It showed how Red picked up the photo, telling Mrs Forman he'd give it to me when it's time.
This was after Mrs Forman got up from being so depressed that Eric was caught having sex. She even called Donna that jiggly red-headed tramp, which was the most accurate depiction of Donna I've ever heard.
"I wonder why he brought back the picture."
I shrugged and didn't think about it any further.
…
"So, you're out fighting like a ruffian now?" Mrs. Ling scolded me when I came to school today.
I wanted to skip, but Red forced me to go despite the hangover and the bruise on my face.
He said that I should live with the consequences of my own actions.
"I was ganged up on by some bar– I mean, some people I met on the street."
"You went to a bar?" Mrs. Ling's disappointment grew bigger.
I smiled mischievously. "It's fun. We can go together sometimes."
"I'm never going to a bar with you. Here." She handed me a letter.
"What's this?" I asked curiously.
"Gym class schedule for the summer." She grinned.
"Oh damn it. So I really have to go to summer school?"
I groaned with displeasure, crinkling the paper in my hand. "It's twenty hours, right? Can't we do two hours of gym per day for the next two weeks?"
"You can. But you'll have to convince the coach. And I guess you and Coach Jefferson don't have a good relationship."
"Damn." I muttered under my breath. I was really out of options now.
"I guess I'll have to go nuclear." I said with a sigh.
"Like what?" she asked, intrigued.
"Bribery." I grinned.
…
At gym class on the same day, the coach immediately rejected my suggestion of doing two hours per day.
There were around four hours of gym a week on a normal schedule. I wanted him to do ten hours just for my class, which was… perfectly… unreasonable.
"Hyde. You're the only one who doesn't have attendance. Everyone else is moving on to the next grade smoothly," the coach said mockingly.
"If you manage to convince even half—no, a quarter of the class to take the gym class with you, then I'll do it. Two hours a day. If not, you'll have to suck it up and go to summer school."
"Over my dead body." I said flatly and walked toward the bleachers.
The coach had already made them do a warm-up, and now he let them sit around and waste time.
"Everyone. Gather up. I need to talk to you about something."
The teens looked at me with confusion and intrigue.
Kelso jumped up beside me instinctively and cupped his hands around his mouth.
"EVERYONE LISTEN UP! HYDE HAS SOMETHING TO SAY! DON'T JIBBER JABBER!" He pointed at someone and scolded, "ERIC!"
"They are focusing—We are all focusing on him," Eric was flabbergasted. He was sitting right in front of me, with Donna on his left and Fez on his right.
"What do you all think about doing two hours of gym per day starting today?" I asked carefully.
The entire group groaned in unison.
Some people slumped. Someone threw their head back dramatically.
"Why should we do that?" Amy asked with a disdainful expression. "I'd rather stay in class than change into my gym clothes."
A wave of agreement followed.
"Yeah, screw that."
"No way."
"That's torture."
"Look—" I raised my hand.
The chatter stopped instantly.
"LOOK!" Kelso shouted, copying me.
"Can you just piss off?" Donna shoved him aside without even looking at him.
"To be honest," I continued, "I'm the one who has to go to summer school. My attendance is too low. But as you all know… I'm busy."
"Because of the TV thing?" Fez asked.
"Yes, Fez." I nodded, then looked back at the group.
The crowd muttered something like, "That actually makes sense."
"Didn't the school give him a deal on that?"
I let people talk for a bit before interjecting.
"So here's the deal. If I get a quarter of you to agree, the coach compresses everything into two weeks. Two hours a day. I'm done. You're done. Everyone's done."
"And we suffer for you?" Tara, my ex, raised her hand slightly.
"Yes." I pointed at her. "That's exactly what I'm asking."
Some people laughed.
"Honestly, Hyde," she said, crossing her arms, "this sounds like a 'you' problem."
A lot of people nodded in agreement with her.
"Well," I shrugged, "it is."
I let that sit for a second.
Then I tilted my head slightly.
"So I'm going to solve it like it's my problem. I don't actually need all of you. I only need a quarter."
I pointed casually.
"With my friends here, I already have four."
Kelso puffed his chest out proudly.
"Amy's five. She owes me."
Amy rolled her eyes but didn't deny it.
"Chuck is six. Pretty sure he'll say yes if I buy him beers."
Chuck laughed loudly. "You got that right buddy."
A few people chuckled. I spread my hands.
"Class of thirty. I need four more."
I started pacing slowly in front of them.
"I could just… focus on those four people. Make them a really good deal."
Tiffany, the girl from the drama club raised her hand and said, "I'll back you up."
"Seven now. Three spots left. Now, how do I get these three people? Maybe, give them a gift?"
Everyone else held their breath.
"Or," I stopped and looked at all of them, "I make it fair."
"How?" Timmy, the weird kid who loves to take off his pants asked.
"I give every single one of you a coupon. Sandwich and a drink at the Daily Grind. Every day. Until school ends." I said with a salesman smile.
"What?"
"Every day?"
"No way…"
I nodded calmly.
"You do two hours of gym. You get fed for two weeks."
I paused.
"So what would you rather have? Something exclusive for three people… or something for everyone?"
They fall into a deep silence. "I'll give you ten minutes to discuss. Then, I'm going to need to hear your decision."
I walked away from the spot. Kelso, Fez, Eric and Donna followed me from behind.
"So, what do you think they'll decide?" Kelso asked.
"They'll decide on the coupons." I said casually.
Eric laughed and said, "Yes. We never heard about the other benefits. But everyone heard about the coupons. 3 people can't beat 25 people."
"Oh, sometimes the ill-informed majority won't be able to beat the well informed minority. But in this case, the minority is the one who's ill informed. So I guess you're right. The coupons will win."
Like Eric expected, the coupons win. Everyone agreed to do gym everyday for two hours.
However, there was another problem.
"Unless they actually participate," The coach said, "your hours don't count."
"That's not the deal–" Eric tried to defend me.
"The deal is whatever I want it to be." He smirked.
I nodded and said, "Cool. I'll babysit if you want. You must be so tired from sitting on your ass all day."
"What did you say?" The coach got all up on my face and huffed angrily.