[Hyde POV]
"Can I take a hit?" A girl next to me asked after she smelt my blunt. "I'll trade you for a kiss." She giggled slightly.
"Sure." I leaned in, and blew the smoke into her mouth. She was absorbed by it and kissed me slightly on the lips, then she opened her mouth and stuck her tongue down my throat.
The slutty girl with a crop top, booty jeans and thigh high boots was quite hot.
"What's your name?" I asked her.
"Jessica." She replied.
Linda's face froze as she saw what's happening.
"What are you doing?" She snapped at me.
"Hmm?" I turned to her and asked, "Why are you mad? We're not here on a date."
"We're not?" She was surprised. "Then why did you invite me to come?"
"Leo gave us the tickets, remember?" I was confused. "I told you, I don't date my employees."
"You–" She opened her mouth, and suddenly she realized I was telling the truth. "Oh." She exclaimed flatly.
"Although now that I think about it, it is rude of me to leave you alone." I said and turned to Jessica. "Can I get your number? I'll call you later."
"Sure." She grinned and gave me her number instantly by writing it on my arm.
Linda rolled her eyes, clutched her bag and left without waiting for the final song to end.
I didn't follow her, but Donna saw it and went with her. Jackie followed them too.
Three minutes later, everyone dispersed, and I walked with Eric, Kelso and Fez to the car and saw the pissed off girls there.
"Hyde." Donna called me angrily. "You suck."
"Hold on, where's Laurie?" Kelso turned around and didn't see his other girlfriend there.
"She went with some friends." Eric replied.
"Why do you care about her , Micheal?" Jackie squinted her eyes at him.
Kelso was frazzled and quickly replied, "No. I don't care. It's just that we go together. I assume we are getting back together too."
Linda was still angry and was sulky as she leaned on the Vista Cruiser.
"How could you kiss another girl when you're on a date with her?" Donna scolded me.
"It's not a date." I replied.
"You get her tickets. You bring her here. That implies something." Jackie snapped at me.
"So, I guess when we hang out without your partners, I guess that also implies something happening between us?" I said to Donna and Jackie.
"Well, no." Jackie was caught off guard.
Donna was also frazzled, "I guess you should've told her from the beginning."
"I told her when she starts working." I said with disbelief.
Linda stammered, "We-Well. I forgot about that."
"So, I should be responsible for your misunderstanding?" I added sarcastically.
"Enough, let's just go home first." Eric stopped the fights, standing in between us.
Linda didn't go back with me, instead she drove together with Jackie, Donna and Eric.
Kelso and Fez came with me and we even stopped by a McDonalds on the way back.
When we got back to the basement, the air there was bone-chilling. The girls were waiting for us for a while now, minus Linda who went back home.
"Sup." I greeted casually and sat on my chair. Donna turned to me and asked, "Have you thought about what you did?"
"Donna. Honestly, it's none of your damn business what I'm doing." I snapped a bit.
Donna got even angrier. Jackie gasped slightly.
"You're a scumbag." Donna said before leaving together with Jackie.
"And you're a Schrodinger feminist. So bye-bye." I crossed my legs and watched the TV.
"Schrodinger feminist? What's that?" Fez asked.
"You don't need to know." I said to Fez.
The phone rang, and I picked it up. Leslie called and asked, "Is Dustin over there?"
"No. He's not. What's wrong?"
"Maybe he's with a friend." Leslie almost cut the call, "Thanks for answering–"
"Tell me what's going on." I said assertively.
She sighed and said, "He's not home yet. And the gun's missing. His brother kept saying, 'Slenderman'. I don't know what that means. But I have a really bad feeling about it."
"Huh?"
…
Kelso, Fez, Eric and I went to the forest to check for Dustin.
"Dustin! Where are you!?" Kelso shouted, using a flashlight to check where he was going.
"DUSTIN!" I shouted.
Eric shuddered, wearing a thick parka and carried a plastic bat with him. "Do you think he's really captured by the Slenderman?"
Fez whimpered and said, "Why are we all here looking for him then you sons of bitches? I don't want to die yet."
"No one's going to die, Fez." Kelso said confidently. "If I saw the monster, I'll just hit him with my Kungfu!"
Bruce Lee was a famous figure in this era. Almost all teen boys knew about him.
"I sure hope your Kungfu will be able to save us from a bear." I muttered sarcastically.
"Well, I guess I should have brought a gun. I'll be right back–" Eric tried to escape, but both Kelso and I grabbed him.
"We're going to die you sons of bitches!" Fez cursed again, almost crying.
"Hey, remember that old shack by the creek where we used to sneak dirty magazines in?" Kelso asked.
"Oh yeah, he could be in there." I said with a slight relief.
"So, what you're saying is that he's not caught by anything. He's just forgotten the time since he's busy exploring his changing bodies?" Eric said, gulping his saliva , trying to calm his nerves.
"I'd say that with a little less creepiness." I said as I looked at Eric with disdain.
The bushes rustled, and Fez immediately jumped into Kelso's hand. Kelso grabbed him like a princess, and Fez locked gazed at Kelso.
"Fez, what are you doing?!" Kelso released him instantly, which made him fall down.
"I'm afraid for my life you sons of bitches." Fez cursed.
"I thought you're already used to walking around in a jungle at night." I teased.
"And now, I'm halfway across the world in America. You can figure out why." Fez complained.
"Shouild we split up?" I asked everyone. "Cover more ground?"
"And let me die first?" Fez shook me violently. "In every horror movie, the colored guy is killed first. I'm not going to be the first victim!"
"Calm down Fez. We don't have to split up." Eric pushed him away from me instantly.
I used my walkie talkie to talk to Red.
"Is there any sign of the kid?-- Over."
"No, there's nothing. We'll go east. You go west.--Over." Red said as he led another group of people to find Dustin on the other side of the forest.
"We'll check out the lake first.-- Over and Out."
My feet hurt from all the trekking. I didn't get enough rest, so I was trudging through the mud. We crossed over a gentle stream and went to the hut we were talking about.
There was surprisingly a light on in the hut.
"Dustin, you're in there?" I called.
The door of the hut opened, and the 8 year old got out of the hut. He has scratches all over his face and forearm.
"What happened to you?" I asked, puzzled by his appearance.
"I thought it was Slenderman. Turns out it's a cat." Dustin replied.
I used the walkie talkie and said, "We found the kid. We'll bring him back to his house– Over."
"Come on Dustin. Let's go home." Eric reached out to the kid.
However, Dustin avoided Eric's reach. "I'm not done yet. I can't go home right now."
"Done? What are you trying to do?" Kelso asked with a laugh. "You're reading dirty magazines in there?"
"What– NO!" Dustin flushed with embarrassment. "I need to find Slenderman and kill him!"
"Oh, I tried that once." Kelso interjected.
"Really? Did you find him?" Dustin's eyes lit up slightly.
"No, the most important part is, why do you want to find him?" Eric asked, glancing at me secretly. "Did he steal your dog?"
"No." Dustin lowered his head slightly.
"So, why–"
I interrupted Eric before he could continue asking. "It's late. His mom's worried about him. So it's better for us to head back now."
Fez agreed with me, "Yes. Please, let's go home. I don't know if Slenderman's here, but I'm pretty sure something is watching us."
All of us looked around warily. The cold breeze shook the tree branches, producing a whistling sound.
"Let-Let's go back." Eric said quickly. Dustin grabbed my pant leg slightly, "Yea–Yeah, let's go back now."
I scoffed at the cowards and led the way. Inside, my mind was tumultuous.
'Is this my fault for telling the story?' I thought.
…
"Dustin!" Leslie rushed and hugged Dustin as she saw him. "Where did you go?!" She asked scoldingly, her chin quivering. She slapped his arm to punish him. "What were you thinking?!"
Dustin's face contorted into an ugly crying, and he sobbed slightly. "I have to go kill the monster."
"Here you go." I gave the gun back to Andy. Both Andy and Ron also went out to search for Dustin.
"Why do you need to find the monster?" Leslie asked.
"Because…" Dustin's eyes shifted to Steve, his 4 years old brother. "Steve is scared of the monster."
"That's it?" Leslie was taken aback.
Dustin broke down in tears, "I don't believe in the monster. But we already lost dad! I can't lose you too!"
Leslie was caught off guard. She hugged Dustin and sobbed slightly. "I'm not going anywhere. You silly boy."
"You said that, but you didn't come home." Dustin cried again.
Now, my conscience was pricked twice. One, because of the Slenderman story. Two, because the work for the auto festival was taking up too much of Leslie's time.
In 2025, everyone knows how to label their feelings, even though it was numb from all the doomscrolling.
In 1977, people didn't know how to process their feelings properly. Emotions at this time were raw, direct, and quite destructive.
That's why the main advice for men at this era was to just keep everything bottled up.
I had a private talk with Dustin once things settled down. We stood by the porch in front of his house.
"You know, I made up Slenderman." I told him.
His eyes widened in shock. "You made him up?"
"Yes. I thought it'll be a fun way to prank my friends." I smiled slightly, which irked him.
"So you made me explore the jungle for nothing?" He was annoyed.
I laughed and said, "It's pretty brave of you to try to hunt down a monster like that."
He lowered his head slightly. I sighed and looked up at the stars. "I probably couldn't be as brave as you."
"Huh?" He looked at me.
"Hunting down a monster to save my family? I can't do that. That's why, I created Slenderman. It's easier to blame everything on a monster."
Dustin went silent for a bit.
"Do you miss your dad?" I asked him.
He nodded slightly after a while.
"I miss him too. Sometimes." I replied. "It's strange. Even though he hurt me when he left our family, a part of me still waits for him to come back. A very small part. Now that my mom left me too, the part died with her."
I turned to Dustin and scolded him, "Don't worry your mother like that. I'll make sure she can come back home and spend time with all of you now. So, never go out to hunt the monster again. Do you understand me?"
He paused for a bit and said, "I do."
"Great. Now, go get some sleep. You have that Spring Dance tomorrow. We're going to go shopping for your suits after school."
"Do I have to?" He sighed.
"You caused a huge mess. Of course you have to. You're going to get a date, and let your mother take a picture of you too. Since you owe her that."
"Fine." He said gruffly and turned around. Before he went inside, he said, "You're actually a good Big Brother."
"And you're a good Little Brother." I said teasingly.
In this era, admitting your fault was seen as a weakness. Admitting you miss your dad? It was even more of a wimp behavior.
But I figured if I showed Dustin some examples on how to deal with his emotions, it would help him process his grief better. The kid didn't need a perfect hero. They needed a flawed adult that would show up.
I went back after a while and went straight to bed.
…
The next day at school, Kat Peterson approached me at my locker.
"Hello, Steven," she greeted. "Are you going to the town's spring dance tomorrow?"
I closed the locker and said, "No. I'm going to Raceway Park tomorrow."
"In Chicago?" She was taken aback. "You're going to race again? Didn't that car—"
"Word already got out, huh?" I smiled slightly. "The car's fine. We're doing a stock race again. It's not official stock racing, just a weekend race. Hopefully we won't run into Bud Koehler."
She giggled at the joke. That dude was the eleven-time stock race winner in Chicago at the time. Running into him would just make things worse for the Mustang, since it was the last race for it with the current chassis.
Once the chassis was swapped, could it still be called the same car? That was what I wanted to avoid.
Kat suddenly asked, "I've never been to Chicago before. Can I come?"
"Sure. The more, the merrier."
All my friends were coming, and my auto shop employees too. No one wanted to miss out on the race.
"Alright then. It's a date." Kat giggled and walked away.
'See. That's a clear approach right there. Instead of letting me wonder whether it's a date or not.'
Eric and Kelso approached me after school ended. I stayed for P.E. since I had to make up my attendance.
"Hyde! Wear the shorts!" Coach Jefferson barked at me.
"No!" I grimaced. "And if you want us to run laps, shouldn't you lead by example? You could stand to lose a couple of pounds."
"Do 100 push-ups! Right now!" he shouted angrily.
It was better for me to do push-ups than run laps. And by instigating him, he didn't even care whether I wore the school shorts or not.
Truthfully, the shorts were just too short. They looked like something a girl would wear to an overnight party when you knew she was ready to tango.
The people who designed the school uniform should be investigated.
After school, I picked up Dustin and took him to a children's suit store.
There was a tailor there to make adjustments.
"So, did you ask Alicia out?" I asked as he was being fitted for his tux.
"Yes." Dustin sighed. "She's really happy about it," he said begrudgingly.
Everyone who was anyone had already been asked to the spring dance. Luckily, the girl who always talked to him was still dateless. She had messy hair and wore braces, which made the other kids make fun of her.
Dustin was in the same boat, so they bonded a little.
I laughed. "I'll send a car over. Make sure to pick her up and give her the corsage."
"That's for prom!" Dustin said, embarrassed.
"She'll still be happy if she gets one," I said casually. "Or you can get her actual flowers."
He rolled his eyes. "The corsage is fine! Thank you!"
I didn't stay after dropping him off with his mother, who had the day off. She would be chaperoning the dance to monitor Dustin and make sure he would be a perfect gentleman—her words, not mine.
"Ugh. I'm so tired." I yawned as I got home. "I should get a good night's sleep before the race.
…
The next morning, I went to the auto shop, and got ready with everyone else to go to the race.
The Mustang would be towed there in a trailer. More than 50 cars left the town today to see the race on the tracks.
Finally, the racer took the car to prepare for the race. I went to the stand after setting up some cameras on tripods near the tracks. There was even a camera inside the car.
I clenched my hands slightly. Kat saw it and giggled. "Are you nervous?" She asked teasingly.
"Yes. I'm very nervous." I replied to her. "Sure hope this will go well."
The towners in the audience were extremely nervous too. Since they all realized it could be the last chance.
The air already smelled thick. Leaded fuel, burnt rubber, cigarettes, smokes. A hell lot of smokers here.
Engines roared in the pit lane. Carbureted V8s coughing to life. Blue smoke lingered low over the asphalt.
The track was a half-mile oval, asphalt cracked in places, blackened by years of rubber. I took a shot of the race track using a drone, hiding my figure from everyone.
"Is that a bird?" Eric was confused as he caught a glimpse of it.
The racing line curved dark through each corner. The outer guardrail carried dents and paint scrapes from cars that got too ambitious.
I tried to keep calm, but I was pretty nervous.
I made sure one camera filmed the audience, and especially Megan who came here with her sisters.
The Mustang was already on the track. It was placed at the last spot, since no one really believed in the car.
"I even paid to get into the race." I grumbled in dissatisfaction. Basically, I bribed the organizer to get the car there.
Twenty cars rolled into double file formation. The green flag dropped and the audience cheered.
The field exploded forward.
The camo Mustang stayed at the back for the start of the race. Tony Soprano, the driver, was being really careful now since he crashed the car at the last race.
"Just cross the finish line." I mumbled. Kat heard it and laughed slightly.
However, the car was optimized by me. Compared to the other race cars, it was naturally more powerful. On the 10th lap, the car was in the upper middle, following closely behind car number 7.
There's 15 more laps before the race finishes.
"Do you want some hotdog?" Kat asked me.
"Sure." I replied casually and took the hot dog from her. As I took a bite, I almost spat it back out. Kat has a similar reaction to me.
"This sucks." I grumbled.
"It tastes like shit." Kat threw the hot dog away quickly.
We focused on the race again after being disappointed by the food there.
Lap 17. The Mustang was now at number 4.
The towners were really nervous now. "Don't do stupid things Tony!" Tyrell shouted with cupped hands, hoping to reach the driver.
Final five laps.
The Mustang closed the gap in the corners but lost ground on the straight. The engine screamed near the redline. The car drifted wide in Turn Three, catching the darker rubbered groove.
White flag was waved.
"One lap left."
Tony accelerated greatly. Everyone was shocked by his brazenness. He jumped from fourth to second place.
"Please god. Don't let it repeat again." Eric prayed. "Just let it pass the finish line this time!"
"WIN! GET NUMBER 1!" Kelso shouted excitedly.
"Get the first place!" Jackie shouted too.
But the leader shut the door. Tony couldn't pass the first place car in time.
The checkered flag waved after the first car reached the finish line. The audience went silent.
"We…. GOT A SECOND PLACE!" Donna shouted.
The Point Place towners exploded in cheers! It was the first time our small town participated in the race, and we even won something.
"Second place." I was shocked. Then, Kat kissed me on the cheek. I turned to her slowly.
"Congrats Steven!" She said excitedly. "You won! The car won!"
Tyrell also came to me. "HYDE! WE GOT SECOND!" He grabbed me slightly.
"I know. I saw it." I replied with a deadpan expression, laughing slightly.
Suddenly, I was circled by all of my employees.
"God no–"
They picked me up and tossed me in the air.
"HYDE! HYDE! HYDE! HYDE!"
"God damn it." I cursed as I bounced around in the air. I couldn't hold it back anymore and burst into laughter.
Even Dustin tried to raise me up. But his hands were too short. Red looked at me proudly. Mrs Forman was crying.
I laughed with relief. I laughed with satisfaction. It took months to prepare the car for the race. Finally, it ended with a really great result.
Megan was fully crying at the time. Her knees buckled, and her sisters were comforting her. Her tears couldn't stop even an hour later.
Her husband's dream finally came true. And now, she could finally let him go.
"All of that effort… and we only won 500 bucks from the race." I grimaced as I saw Tony grab the check from the organizer.